Evening star., 1941-07-28
Special Prayer Books
For 'Chutists Found
On Captured Nazis
sundbues and Army Lorries
Are Only Signs Of War
To Be Seen in Moscow
BY EUGENE PETROV.
FOREIGN Correspondent of The Star
and N A

WITH THE RED ARMY AT THE
FRONT, July 28.-People at the
front laugh at German reports that
they have captured Smolensk. One
German unit reached the citys out
skirts where it was surrounded and
destroyed. The city itself was never
IN German hands.
I left Moscow Friday afternoon.
The city's appearance is practically
unchanged. Only Sandbags covering
shop windows and an abundance Of
army lorries remind one of the war
A splendid road took US past sunny
country homes. forests and tall yel-
lowing crops of grain. Everywhere
people worked busily in the fields.
Cattle grazed in pastures.
Not far from Moscow two German
planes were lying by the roadside.
They we're brought down that morn
ing while attempting to penetrate
the capitals defenses.
One of the planes was Heinkel
Ill. It's smoking ruins lay on the
bank of a small river. The engine
and propeller were half buried in
sand Nearby lay the arm Of Ger
man flyer. 1t was in sleeve and
somewhat burned. The fingers were
twisted but the nails still bore evi-
dence OF recent manicure.
Well camouflaged lorries with Red
Army troops and munitions and
gasoline tank trucks moved incess-
antly toward the front lines. Cater
pillar tractors rumbled past with
heavy guns trailing behind The
reserves seemed endless.
Saboteurs Arrested.
Before entering small town our
car was stopped by a young girl
with a gas mask holder over her
shoulder She demanded our doc
uments, examined them carefully,
then returned them with a smile.
Don't take offense." she said
This is an important matter. Our
youth group Yesterday arrested two
German saboteurS.'
We heard stories of parachutists
and scouts and of the liquidation
of parachute groups thy home guard
battalions and Popular Guards. I
heard many such stories during my
first trip, too. What the Germans
succeeded in doing in Western
Europe, where the parachutiStS
landed on airf1elds, and even in the
squares Of big cities, utterly failed
in Russia. Here the army and
the people are working hand in
hand
Special German prayerbooks for
parachutists were found on captured
saboteurs. They included prayers for
Hitler and Goering and were COM
posed in the Berlin Propaganda
Ministry There was also a special
prayer for escape from a tight
corner"
The closer to the front we got
the more cheerful seemed peoples
faces. The Germans bomb roads,
but they cause practically no dam
age. When the planes come the
men Immediately take refuge in
dugouts or III the forests. Camou-
f1aged machines are kept hidden
under trees. For some time after a
hlltz attack the men keep quiet.
Then they begin to exchange Ques-
tlons and remarks.
Are you alive?" one of them will
ask.
Yes, and you?' another shoots
back.
1T seems that am alive"
SHAVE and Haircut" Tactics.
Then they move on until there is
another raid The Germans first
drop their bombs, then fly low and
pour machine gun fire on the forests
where the men are hidden, This
operation already has the name
shave and haircut"
Yesterday we got shave and
haircut" the men say.
Often the German bombers are
attacked by Russian fighting planes.
People have learned to distinguish
the Red Army planes from the
enemy's by their sound. In general,
sudden air raids on the roads i'm
pressed people only at first Now
they are Injured and the raids have
little effect on army communica-
tons. On rare occasions when the
roads are damaged they are re-
paired almost immediately by special
road gangs.
About 50 miles from the firing
line We began 10 come across huge
herds of COWS being driven far 70
the rear by peasants. One Of the
peasants told me that he had seen
a leaflet dropped from plane ad-
vising the people not to drive off
their cattle or burn their supplies
We'll, We figure it this way" the
peasant said. IF the enemy asks us
to do something, We must do just the
opposite