The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-08-20
GERMANY CALLS
 IT CATASTROPHE
Continued from Page D

NOOLlb11luCU HUH EdSC 1I Germans in the Ukraine were to capture the city of Dnieperopet- rovsk, reported to be within artil- lery range, to take the great lower Dnieper dam which supplies pow CT to industry east of the river, and to take the port of Emerson, last Russian Black sea outlet west of the Crimea.
 It was indicated that the Ger mans were in no hurry to take Odessa, as it was cut off and use- less to the Russians, but they were attacking heavily to reduce the bridgeheads which the Russians still held on this side of the Dniep- CT.
 There was no real indication of the number or strength of the Rus sian bridgeheads or how many of his men Marshal Semyon Budenny had managed to ret across the Dnieper to form a new defense line.
 It was admitted that in the area now claimed by the Germans up to the Dnieper, there were numer- ous forces of Russians of varying strength, fighting fiercely to extri- cate themselves from entrapment.
 Strong Defense Expected
 Military informants said the most important Russian bridgeheads were those opposite Dnieperopet- rovsk and the Dnieper dam and it was indicated that these would be strongly defended, especially as the Germans claimed that the men holding them were cut off and could not hope to retreat.
 Though it was said that pause of some days would be necessary while the infantry caught up to the advanced spearheads along the Dnieper, and the German forces were refroined for a new advance, military experts already talked of the next offensive to the east.
 New problems faced the Ger mans in attacking the Dnieper line. They had the advantage of shorter communications lines within the bend of the Dnieper, a natural sal- tent. Their side of the river, also, had high bank from which Ar- tillery could command. the coun- try to the east.
 Features Never Met Before
 However, as an expert pointed out in today's Allgemeine Zeitung, there were features which the Germans had not encountered in crossing the Danube, the Pruth, the Dniest- CT and the Bug.
 The Dnieper, and also the Don and Volga to the east, have been shifting their channels westward for years by under-cutting the western banks. The result is high cliffs on the western shores and swanps and marshes to the east.
 It was admitted that the swanps and marshes would be a handicap to the Germans. On the lower Dnieper, for instance, it would be necessary at many points to bridge marsh and swamp lands far beyond the river itself to permit passage of heavy motorized units.
 Informants assert the Germans already have a bridgehead across the Dnieper south of Kiev and hint that it has been expanded into spearhead aimed at Kharkov, 250 miles to the esat. They say second spearhead is pushing southeastward along the east side of the Dnieper to trap the Russian Ukranian army from the rear. There has been no authorized statement that such a column is in motion.
 Informants were silent regarding the central and northern fronts ex-. cept to say planes had attacked and partly destroyed" Russian columns retreating Ion the northern front.
 An official news agency dispatch said the Germans had repulsed a Russian attempt to land 25 shock troops on the Esthonian coast and that the Russian survivors were captured.