Evening star., 1941-07-16
Riga|sReported
She||ed byGuns
Of Soviet Fleet
Russian Armies
'Deteriorotine,'
Berlin Claims
Earlier Stories on Page A-1.)

By the Associated Press.
RuSsia'S Red Armies reported
today they had smashed a Nazi
panzer thrust less than 100 miles
from Leningrad and Soviet war
ships were reported by the Mos
COW radio to have shelled Riga,
capital of former Latvia.
However. the German official news
agency. D.NB., declared that Ge.-
man troops were advancing rapidly
on Leningrad and said reconnais-
Sance flyers found the Red ArmieS
"deteriorating more and more into
dlsOrganized masses"
DNB. said that the speedy Ger
man push on Leningrad had fore
Red troops 10 make a stand. wi,
the result that the Russians hs,
suffered considerable losses"
Running fights which occurrc
Yesterday east of Pskov. the agenc-
stated. indicated that the Russians
hoped strong rear-guard encounter
would hold up the Germans long
enough to dig in along a new line
of defense.
Partially Able to Resist"
The reports of reconnaissance fly
ers. DNB. declared, showed tbs
disorganized Red troops wero
'croWding eastward and blocking tha
roads. 1t added that their pos
tions showed Soviet forces were nov
"onlv partially able to resist the
constant German attacks"
Reuters. British news agency. re-
ported the shelling of Riga. The
report. picked up in Stockholm from
the Moscow radio. also said Russian
planes simultaneously bombed tn
city while German bombers Nnsuc-
cessfully attacked the Red feet.
Informed quarters in London sal
the British military mission in Mo-
COW had described the Red air f1ec
as a powerful fighting force, We,
much intact. and as doing very wei
Soviet pilots have shown no r.
luctanCe TO tackle the best the Naz'
can send at them. according to tn
information. and have attack
flercely and successfully.
One Russian request through T.
British mission. these quarters 81:
has been for more fighter planes.
Confidence Grows in Russia.
Moscow dispatches said the gen
eral atmosphere in Russian ouartei
late TODAY seemed to be one of grow
ing confidence as Germany's seconc,
offensive. now in its fifth day, sp-
peared to be failing to gain ground
as fast as the first Nazi onslaught
through the Soviet buffer states.
Signs of Moscow'S calm confidence
were apparent. The exodus of wom-
en- and children had slackened.
Transport systems continued to
function steadily.
The weight of the battle shifted
to the northern and central sectors
of the long Baltic -to-Black Sea front
and Russian counter-offensive was
reported still continuing west of the
Dnepr River. AdviceS from the
front said German forces had been
showed back even farther than the
l9 miles already claimed.
D. N. B. reported that German pan
zers, driving deep into the Stain
Line in a thrust toward Leningra6
had wiped out Soviet forces at Bjela-
ia, 81 miles east of Pskov. but the
Russians said they had smashed the
new salient PskOv is $50 miles
southwest of Leningrad
Luftwaffe Active Near Leningrad.
The German air force was re-
ported especially active in bombing
rail lines in the vicinity of Lenin-
grad as part of the heavy Ger
man air offensive behind the Rus
sian lines.
D.N.B. said combat planes at
tackled the freight yards south of
the city and that tremendous eX-
plosionS occurred indicating a
munitions train had been hit.
In a second attack. the agency
said, a train of tank cars was
struck and went up in flames.
Authoritative British quarters re-
ported that the Germans. in three
and half weeks of fighting in
Soviet Russia. achieved nothing
which cannot be quickly recovered
by the Russians and accomplished
nothing that can be reckoned as
final or as substantial advantage"
These quarters said there was
stiff fighting all along the front and
that German claims of the past
week end by now have been serious
ly modified as the Red Army
resistance stiffened.
In the western theater. strong
forces of r. A. F. planes swept
across the English Channel early
tonight toward the French coast.
apparently heading for targets be-