Evening star., 1941-07-11
Russians Impressive
In First Movies Of
Action Against Nazis
Infantry Field Equipment
Declared as Modern as
Used by Any Army
BY ERSKINE CALDWELL.


Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and PM.
MOSCOW, July Ill saw. the
frst Soviet newsreel clips of the
war today and can report that the
Red Army makes an impressive
showing on the screen. The clips.
lust flown in from three sectors OF
the front, show infantry tank units
and air force in action. After edit
ing they will be released for public
showing throughout the U. s. s. r..
Margaret Bourke-White and I were
the only foreigners who saw todays
preview in private projection
room.
The Red Army infantry in the
field made a particularly good i'm
preston. Their field equipment was
as modern and up to date as any I
have seen used by any army, any
time, anywhere. The number of
tank units and other motorized
forces surprised me.
In reading communicates describ-
ing tank battles I had visualized,
at the most, engagements of sew
eral score tanks. But after seeing
these newsreels I have changed my
conception of modern mechanical
warfare and now I am prepared
to see several thousand tanks hurled
into a fight at one time.
Telling of Bomber Shown.
One of the clips showed the air
fleet bringing down a German
bomber somewhere over the Soviet
Union. The Soviet success was evi-
IDENTIFY one out Of three planes and
in that case it is a good average
in any mans war.
Several clips were shown of Ger
man air force prisoners. The Ger
mans wore natty uniforms and
judging from their youthful appear
ance they could easily pass for An
napolis youngsters. Rumanian and
German infantry prisoners were a
bedraggled looking lot. They evi-
IDENTIFY had been captured on the
BeSsarabian front and looked as if
all the fight had been taken out of
them.
But war isn't all grim in the
U. S. S. r. 1t has its lighter mo-
ments and the satire -barbed car
toons, jokes and stories in the cur
rent issue of Crocodile. a Russian
humor magazine, are all good for
lQIIUhS prortiHo1 11yr -
the magazine is a thrust at Hitler
and the German Army. There is a
full-page cartoon of the captured
German high command marching
at the head of its troops. The officers
are hungry looking, bedraggled and
fearful. The caption reads: THE
German Army enters the Ukraine. {"
Conference Is Shown.
Another full-page cartoon shows
Hitler and Mussolini in conference.
Hitler asks:
How many soldiers do you have
in the Italian Army?"
Mussolini replies: Two million.
but If you count the ones captured
by the enemy there are 1000 .OOO."
The most popular joke in the
country at present is one that I
have not seen in print, although
from all accounts it is so old that it
probably has travelled around the
world several times. Undoubtedly
there are many versions of it by
now. The one told me today is as
follows: Hitler arrived at the French
shore of the English Channel and
became perturbed when he saw so
much water separating him from
Britain. He was told by his advisers
that in Biblical times the Red Sea
was smote with a stick and the
waters parted. Hitler sent for a
rabbi to be advised how the act
could be repeated. The rabbi told
him that all he needed was the
same stick used to smite the waters
of the Red Sea. Hitler asked where
the stick was. The rabbi said: In
the British Museum in London"
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