Evening star., 1941-10-28
Continued From First PageD

tCOIlllllucU FIOIll T IL 81 HdsC'
planes a day-it is probable the
output when 1 was there was around
10 planes a day. This is the only
plant our observers have seen. The
Soviets are supposed to have three
more like it. I have reason to be-
lieve that it has been moved out
of Moscow since I was there, be-
cause I myself witnessed the emil
grafton Of large amounts Of indus
trial equipment to the east and the
southeast.
As to the organization of the Sow
let Army-which in war time must
be thought of as including the Or
sanitation of transport behind the
lines-I was amazed at how smooth
ly it was functioning. l say l was
amazed, because of this circum-
stance-I am not professional mill
tary observer. Before l went to
Russia I sought competent counsel
Each professional l talked with ad-
viSed me that the mistakes would
make in studying battle in progress
would be to overestimate the sig
nificance of the confusion. They
pointed out that the best run battle
looked chaotic to a layman-tIucks
broke down, supplies gave out, de-
tachments arrived at the wrong
place at the wrong time. men IN
charge were hungry and tired to
exhaustion, and looked it.
Yet, 1 found Soviet trains run
ming faster and more efficiently
when I came out 80 miles behind
the front line than I had when
came in six weeks earlier from the
east. l have inspected many. many
Soviet motorized units. I found the
rubber in their tires in good con-
dition. their moving parts creased.
1 found them completely loaded. I
observed them moving smoothly and
rapidly on the road and saw them
well dispersed, camouf1aged in woods
when at rest.
1 can testify that the Soviet air
force has not been knocked out OF
the war, for I saw flight 60 up
to meet German planes over Khar-
kov. Nowhere did I find cluttered
road-even driving, as did, 80 miles
down the Smolensk highway toward
the front. I saw no refugee move
ment anywhere, not even In the
Ukraine
Migration Of Industry.
In other directions, away from the
front. I saw the heavy migration OF
industry to safer districts-train
after train after train. all through
the day and all through the night
moving steadily south and southeast
On each train there was uprooted
machinery piled on fiat cars, with
the engineers and the factory hands
swinging their legs from the doors
of box cars on the end OF each
train
II any of you have any idea that
the Russians are not planning to
continue fighting all I can tell you
is that for nine consecutive days
coming into Moscow from the east
I passed not less than two training
fields q day around which buzzeC
so to $50 primary or secondary
training planes in an intensity Of
preparation, surpassed only in Great
Britain last year.
For four or five of these nine
DAYS at every station at which oul
train stopped we took on new re-
cruits. They were waiting at each
station. At intervals our train
unloaded the men 1t had picked up
at a training center. A thousand
miles from Moscow I saw new troops
drilling In town squares, running
through mock combat in the sub
urbs. And in the country I watched
anti-aircraft batteries practicing or
sleeve targets towed behind air
planes in the sky.
Against these things I have also
heard scores OF eyewitness tales
from Russians who fought the Ger
mans from the new border In POLAND
back across the old border and ir
retreat IS far As Smolensk.
It was also borne painfully home
to me that in the type Of war nov
being waged there is an enormous
premium on ending the battle ii
possession OF the battlefield. Tit
Northern armies defeated th'
Southern armies in the Battle o
Gettysburg, even though they dit
not sweep them, to a man, from th'
field. In many individual engage
ments in the battle for Russia
Soviet troops decisively defeated