Evening star., 1941-07-19
Attack on Capital
May Await Soviet
Army Destruction
ey the Associated Press.

SS tit hScpAlhtcu flSSS
BERLIN, July 19.-The gate
to Moscow" was declared open
tonight after the Germans
claimed substantial successes far
east of Smolensk, but there was
no indication that the NaziS pro-
posed to take immediate advan-
tage of the reported Vulnerable
ity of the Russian capital.
Military commentators said the
chief purpose of the Germans would
be destruction of the largest possible
part of the Russian Army as fight
ing force and would continue to
pinch off sections and mop them
up as fast as possible.
The German wedge. driven past
Smolensk into Central Russia. has
been considerably Widened, the Ger
man high command said.
In review of the first three weeks
of the Russian war the high COM
mand said the Russian Air Force
up to July 10 had lost 6.233 planes
on all fronts. and that Russian
losses in the battle between Bialy-
stok and Minsk amounted to 324.-
600 prisoners, 1900 cannon and 1882
tanks. In other actions Russian
losses were placed at 10000 prison.
ers. $500 cannon and 4.233 tanks.
The war bulletin also reported
gains on the northern and southern
tanks of the central front.
1t declared German and Ruman-
Ian forces moving into the Ukraine
from BeSsarabia had crossed the
Dniester River in several places"
and said the Red Army had been
pushed back in the north to the
northern shores of Lake Ladoga.
The German and Finnish drive
from the north was said to have
smashed through stubborn Soviet
resistance.
A continuing advance on the i'm
portant central front was claimed in
the communique.
Counter attacks Broken.
How far the motorized troops had
pierced beyond the historic old Rus
sion western bastion on the upper
Dnleper was not revealed by the
German high command. but it said
Soviet efforts to recapture the city
had been shattered since it fell
Wednesday after stout defense.
tUnofhcial German accounts
intimated 20 days ago that Nazi
Spearhead was within sight of
Smolensk.D
Berlin newspapers and military
commentators. celebrating on the
official account, declared a wedge
probably had been driven deep into
the hinterland beyond the fortified
city of more than 100000 popula-
tion while infantry and follow-up
forces were cleaning up trapped Red
Army units in the rear.
Much was made of the fact that
smolensk-230 miles southwest of
MoscoW-is the last natural bar
rier between the Germans and Mos
COW.
With the Luftwaffe still steadily
hammering at supply and commu-
nications lines east of the battle
front German sources took the
view that the Russians are expert
encing "a repetition of what led to
catastrophe for the French armies
a breakdown of communications
and military information.
Questions Unanswered.
After a week of assurances from
the high command that all is going
well along the entire Eastern front,
the German public is expecting that
questions in the mind of the people
about specific operations toward
Leningrad and Kiev may be an
sWered soon.
There has been lack of definite
news from these fronts for the past
few days, while the press has car
ried reports of minor victories scat
tered along the entire front and
descriptive stories from soldier-re-
porters.
"A British Exchange Telegraph
agency report last hight from
1stanbul said larg--scale military
preparations directed by the Ger
man general staff were under
way in Bulgaria opposite the
Turkish frontier.
Travellers entering Turkey
from that direction were reported
to have predicted that important
German moves in Bulgaria could
be expected
DNB reported the Luftwaffe
heavily bombed the rail junction at
Cherkasi yesterday, ripping up rail
beds and leaving eight troop trains
ahame. Cherkasi, along the Dnieper
River, is 100 miles southeast of Kiev.
Soviet airports north and south
Of Lake linen. just south of Nov
Eorod and east of Lake Peipus. below
Leningrad, also were said to have
been bombed DNB reported 20
planes destroyed on the ground at
one base, and seven shot down in an
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