Evening star., 1941-07-05
Progress Claimed

BERLIN. July IP).-Adolf Hit
lers legions have driven to the shore
of the Dnepr River. 110 miles east of
Minsk, in a region of Soviet Russia s
strongest defenseS. the German high
command reported today.
In broad outline, without detail,
it again pictured the Red Array be-
ing folded back on the whole front
from Finland to Bessarabia.
Where Nazi panzer divisions have
driven deepest into Soviet territory
and closest to the Russian capital,
the war bulletin said only: East
of Minsk the River Dnieper has been
reached"
The Dnieper lies about so miles
east of the Berezina River which
the Germans have reported
crossing at several places, but
which the Russians say is still
an obstacle to the German ad-
vance after days of bloody fight
ing.
The German communique in
dicates the reported new pene-
tration to Russia's next formi-
dable water barrier may have
been panzer advance in the ac-
customed German tactic of
driving armored spearheads
through weak spots in opposing
linesD
Progress South of Marshes.
South of the Pinsk marshes,
where another German column is
pointed toward the Russian Ukraine
capital of Kiev, the war bulletin
reported progress on schedule.
Scattered Red Army forces were
reported destroyed by German re-
serves in that sector. Several
thousand prisoners were claimed.
In the Baltic" the communique
added, pursuit of the beaten enemy
has continued. German and Finn
ish units advancing from Finland
have made further progress. de-
spite great difficulties of terrain and
stubborn enemy resistance"
On the southernmost fighting
front. the communique repeated
Hungarian high command claims
to have taken Stanislowow and Ko-
lomyja, across the Carpathian
Mountains in the Galicia area OF
Southern Sovietized Poland.
Major Test in Prospect.
A major test in the titanic battle
for Russia was believed near at
hand as the armies of the swastiks
and the hammer and sickle came
to grips in the region Of the Stain
Line.
The German military machine,
which cracked the French Maginot
Line little more than a year ago,
rolled up to the outposts of Russia S
massive fortification system as the
Nazis announced that they had
forced a crossing of the Berezina
River, on the path to Moscow, at
several points.
A special communique last night
announced that 10000 encircled
soldiers at Minsk had shot their
political commissar, thrown down
their arms and surrendered. This
brings to 10000 the number OF
prisoners officially reported taken
thus far in the two-week- -old con-
flict.
(The Soviet government an
nounced year ago that the sys-
tenn whereby political commissars
were equal in power to army COM
manders had been abolished and
that the commissars had been
made subordinate to the military
leaders without authority to
counter-sign or veto orders)
Still More May Be Trapped.
The wording of the communique
issued from Adolf Hitler's headquar.
ters, implied that still more Soviel
troops were caught in the Nazi trar
near the White Russian capital. oc.
cupation of which the high com.
mand significantly has avoided
mentioning, although progress east
of the city, notably at the Bere.
zina, has been reported,
(The Russians said German ef-
forts to bridge the Berezina had
been beaten back again in the
(see BERLIN, Page A-30