Evening star., 1941-07-09
Strongly Fortified
Town of SuIlu Is
Declared Taken

BERLINA, July 9.-New Ger
man pushes across three Soviet
Russian frontiers-into Soviet
lied Estonia, Russia proper at
Ostrov and into Russian terri
tory won from .Finland-Were
reported by the Germans today.
Although these major claims were
made by several sources, the high
command, for the second successive
day, cut off its report on the great
battles in Russia with one cryptic
sentence
The fights continue successful on
the entire eastern front, said the
communique from Adolf Hitler's
quarters which then switched with
out another word to the war against
Britain.
Occupation of the strongly for
tilted Finnish Russian frontier town
of Salla. which Russia took in the
1910 peace with Finland, was re-
ported by a military spokesman.
Salla is on the long Russian-Finnish
border from Lake Ladoga to the
Arctic at one of the nearest points
to the vital Murmansk- -Leningrad
railroad
Murmansk Highway Claimed.
At the very top of the 2.000-mile
battle line, German forces also were
said by the authoritative news COM
mentary Dienst aus Deutschland to
have broken through fortified
Russian height and won possession
Of an important highway to the
Soviet Arctic port of Murmansk.
D.N.B., official German news
agency, said German forces pushing
ahead in the Baltic area had cap
tured Parnu and Viljandi, in South
ern Estonia. and Ostrov south of
Uskov on the main rail route to
Leningrad.
Russian forces in this area are
in retreat and are being closely
pursued after having been frus-
trated in an attempt to set UP
new defense line on the border be
tween Latvia and Russia proper,
DN.B. declared.
AS a consequence of defeating
these Red Army forces, it reported,
the Germans surged over the border
into Estonia to take Parnu and Viii
jandi and across the frontier of the
U. S. S. R. to seize Ostrov.
At some undisclosed points. a
German spokesman said. Hitlers
legions have driven almost $50 miles
into Russian territory.
In a general way" he said, "it
can be said the Stain line is being
subjected to a severe assault and
that our strategy aims not only at
defeating but also at destroying the
enemy"
Havoc Reported Among Reds.
D.NB. reported havoc behind the
Red Army lines as result of Ger
man air smashes and, by contrast.
limited that Russian air efforts were
futile.
On the important railroad between
Zhltomir and Kiev, in the Russian
Ukraine, it said six trains were de-
stroyed and between Polotsk and
Neuel. on the northern sector. "15
burning transport and freight trains
are halted on tracks disrupted by
bomb craters.'
Another report said German flyers
had destroyed more Russian
trains and 81 tanks this morning.
When Russian bombers tried to
raid German air base Yesterday.
DNB declared, all q enemy
planes were shot down" and, at al
most the same moment. tank-led
Germans were capturing 50 other
Russian planes in surprise charge
on Soviet airdrome.
Military dispatches from the Rus
sian fl lont remained scant. however.
and the high command indicated it
would have little to say for several
days more.
Tanks Declared Crushed.
SITOng Russian TANK formations,
thrown into a desperate counter
attack to check the German-Ru-
manian onrush through Bessarabia
on the southern wing of the eastern
battlefront, were crushed and de-
stroyed. informed German sources
declared.
The Germans and Rumanians,
following up the repulse which oc-
CURED yesterday, thrust into the
Russian rear guards and took many
prisoners, captured irreplaceable
equipment and gained considerable
territory, it was said.
Farther north, German engineers
were reported busy the past few
days laying out roads across swampy
districts to facilitate the advance
of German war machinery.
Masses of German infantry were
reported making forced marches
toward the front to fill in the gaps
left by the rapid thrusts of panzer
divisions and Schnelle Truppen
tspeed troops bent on ripping the