Evening star., 1941-08-18
Germans
Continued From First Page.)

capture Of Nikolaev yesterday from
the high command which at the
same time announced the Red Army
had been cleaned out to the last
man from the Krivoi Rog IRON
producing region, 100 miles to the
northeast.
The city of Krivoi Rog. which is
west Of the Dnieper River, was
claimed captured last week.
Thus within a matter of a few
days the Germans seized control of
the rich ore region on which So
Wet Russia depended for much of
her vitally-needed iron, and a big
naval and industrial port, second
only to Leningrad as Russian
shipbuilding and refitting center.
Not only that, but they virtually
completed a ring of steel about
Odessa, largest Ukraine port,
through which flows vast quantities
of the territory's grain exports.
Odessa normally has population of
604 900, compared with Nikolaev's
100000 and Krivoi Rog's 10000.
Gap of IS Miles Left Open.
Only a gap of Is miles from
Nikolaev down the Bug River
estuary to the Black Sea coast ap-
peared to be left open between
Odessa and the rest of the Ukraine
and Germans here were confident
their troops would lose no time in
closing it.
That would leave the Russians in
the Odessa area facing the neces-
sity of making a stand or attempt
ing a getaway by sea.
But whether these forces would
choose to make the port a Russian
Tobruk or Russian Dunkerque still
was matter of conjecture here.
Reports flowing in from the south
ern front indicated the Luftwaffe
was knocking of one by one or at
least hitting various Soviet naval
vessels operating along the north
coast OF the Black Sea, but they
failed to say whether these vessels
were engaged in evacuating OF
Strengthening the Odessa garrison
Claims Advance Is Not Held Up.
At any rate, the German opinion
is that Rumanian Gen. Ion An.
tonescu, the Axis commander in ths
south and the only foreigner besides
Spanish Generalissimo Francisco
Franco to whom Hitler ever has
entrusted the lives of German SOL
diers, would do a soldierly job ir
cleaning up the bigger Black Sea oil
and grain port.
Appraising the military situation
well-informed Berlin commentator
said the cleanup and "combine
through" of the Ukraine was moi
holding up the German advance tc
the east.
The commentary Dienst aus
Deutschland, which keeps q finger
on the pulse of Wilhelmstrasse off,
cialdom, spoke Of German units en-
gaging Russian forces on the banks
Of the Dnieper, where, it said, there
was an impending Soviet with
drawal.
Newly captured Krivoi Rog is only
so miles from the Dnieper at its
nearest point and some 100 miles
from Dnieperopetrovosk, the big
Soviet hydro-electric center strad-
ding the stream.
Looked on rs Good Omen.
The capture of Nikoleav was
looked on by Germans as q good
omen at the beginning of the ninth
week Of Hitler's campaign to smash
Russia. The value of the harbor
possessing floating drydocks and
various other navy and flying corps
equipment was stressed. CThe Russ
slams reported they blew up docks
at Nikoleav)
While the center salient of the
German line around SmolenSk ap-
peared to be fairly quiet, the north
ern wing about Leningrad was char
acterized as one of the areas under
heavy pressure. Action was re-
ported In the areas Of both Lake
LAdosa. on the Karelisn Isthnus
and Lake linen to the south.