Evening star., 1941-07-15
Major Offensive Under Woy,
DnePr Crossed, Nozis Driven
Back 19 Miles, Russians Say
Novgorod Menoced
By Advancing Tanks,
Berlin Reports
By the Associated Press.


BERLIN, July 15.-A German
tank corps tonight menaced the
city of Novgorod, 100 miles south
of Leningrad, German sources
said, and added that the ring Of
steel seemed to be drawing closer
to Leningrad itself, second larg-
est city in Russia.
Novgorod lies only so miles from
the main railroad running between
Leningrad and Moscow.
DNB.. official German news
agency. declared the Red Army's
attempts to maintain a defense front
along the Dvina and Dnepr River
regions east of the pierced Stain
Line have been frustrated by Ger
man attacks
The high command continued its
policy of withholding details of the
eastern operations, simply reporting
progress, but censored dispatches
from the front told of the approach
on Novgorod, rail center with a
population of $4,000.
Fortified Zone Penetrated.
DN.B. said the entire fortified
zone of the Stain Line in the vi
tebsk area, $50 miles south of Nov
gorod, had been penetrated and
that the easternmost bunkers had
boo,, ip ,,occoecio, of Cory,op il,
fantrymen since last night.
The German infantry fought 36
hours in the field. the agency said,
until the gamouflaged main bunker,
"a giant block of cement and steel
with rooms under the earth,' was
completely onquered.
The German push toward Lenin-
grad was said to be continuing de-
spite efforts of the Russians to
patch their front by rushing in
hastily assembled units
The German high command re-
verted to use of a single sentence TO
describe events on the Russian
front:
Operations in the east are
steadily progressing"
Commander Reported Shot.
DNB., citing statements of Rus
sian prisoners for its authority.
said the commander of the Soviet
army in the Baltic countries-Lithu-
ania, Latvia and Estonia-and 10
officers of his staff had been shot
The reason, the agency asserted
was believed to be the judgment of
the Russian high command that
they had yielded positions in the
Baltic region too early.
Can italian expeditionary force
is on its way to the Russian
front, dispatches to Rome from
Vienna reported today. The
Italian force was said to have
passed through Austria.
(The newspaper II Popolo di
Roma said IA long trains a day
headed for the front had passed
through small railroad station
at Schwechat, near Vienna, since
last Friday. The trains were
said to have been loaded with
infantry, artillery and tanks
Meanwhile, pursuit operations
after the breaking of the Stain
Line continue swiftly" the agency
declared.
D.N.B. also reported that tank
led Soviet counterattacks in the
Kiev area were repulsed yesterday
by German forces.
Tank Units Wiped Out.
1t said strong Soviet tank units
were completely wiped out as they
tried to fill gaps in the bombarded
Notifications of the Stain Line" Z"
The Germans were reported con-
tinuing their advance on Kiev
D. N. B. said the fighting involved
hundreds of Russian tanks of so to
10 tons. Soviet armored cars were
said to have collapsed under Ger
man anti-tank fire which cost the
Russians heavy losses.
The news agency also declared
that German and Finnish troops
operating from Northern Finland
encircled two Soviet battalions yes
terday, wiping out many of the Red
Army troops and capturing the rest.
Meanwhile, informed Germans
said Russia's military machine is
"dissolving' along the whole far
flung front and hinted anew that
the disclosure of important Nazi ad-
vances is imminent.
There was general feeling in
Berlin that the high command,
which has had little to say concern
Ing developments in the east for sew
eral days, is setting the stage for a
dramatic announcement of the fall
of Kiev.
Informed sources declared last
night that Kiev was under such
pressure by land and air that it's
capture could be expected at any