Evening star., 1941-07-22
Soviet's Defense
Front Is Broken,
Berlin Asserts
~ the Associated Press.

overnight IN an aIJdCk OlIlCldlly
described as retaliatory, while
Adolf Hitler's ground forces were
declared to have torn the Sow
let defense front into discon-
nected groups"
This first aerial thrust of the war
against the Soviet capital, the Ger
man high command said, was in
retaliation for BolShevist air raids
on open capitals of the allies,
Bucharest tRumania) and Helsinki
tFinlandp.'
German dive bombers were re-
ported by Nazi sources today TO have
sunk three heavily laden Soviet sup
ply ships on the Dnieper River.
In % hours Sunday and Yesterday
the Russians lost 10 planes II Of
them in dogfghts. D.N.B. said.
Bomb hits in the Kremin dis
trict. the heart of Moscow: fires east
of the Kremlin and flames which
spread throughout the region of the
Muskva River bend. the site of
power plants and Communist party
administrations, were reported in
Berlin.
Buildings of high Soviet execu-
tive and administrative Importance,
as we'll as supply industries of the
city, we're destroyed or badly dam
aged" the high command said.
One of Heaviest Thrusts.
Informed sources said the thrust
was 'one of the heaviest carried
out by the German air force"
comparable only to the most severe
attacks on England. The high COM
mand described Moscow as the
Bolshevist traffic and armament
center"
The start of the second month of
the German drive to the east along
the vast battle zone from the Arctic
to the Black Sea was declared in
the high command communique to
disclose a crumbling of the Soviet
leadership.
Despite stout local resistance and
stubbornly conducted counterat-
tacks," it said, uniform leadership
Of the enemy no longer is ap-
parent
German operation against indi-
vidual groups we're declared to con-
tinue steadily"
D.N.B. official German news
agency, declared stubborn attempts
of the Russians to repel German
troops east of .Smolensk collapsed
Yesterday under heavy German fire
which produced bloody losses. Many
prisoners were said to have been
taken. Seventy-three tanks were
said to have been DESTROYED in the
Vitebsk area and SO in the Torbov
area.
Rail Lines Are Raided.
To the south, DNB said. Rus
,ian facilities for reinforcement were
paralyzed by raids on rail lines con-
Meeting zhmerinka, Odessa and
Kiev.
In the Moscow raid fires were de
elared to have been observed COW
ering huge area southeast of the
Moskva River. East of the Krem-
lin 20 spreading blazes were OBJ
served. 1t was said that radio head
quarters Of the Red Army and a
number Of government departments
are situated in the latter section.
German sources described the anti
aircraft defense of the camouflaged
Soviet capital as ineffective, although
1t was admitted there was plenty
Of shelling an dsearchlight activity.
FLYERS said the sky was overcast
At the beginning of the attack. but
later cleared and the city's promi-
nent buildings and other landmarks
were clearly visible. After the first
wave of attackers had turned home
ward. They said, targets were easily
traced by the light of fires visible for
scores Of miles
Public Edifices Targets.
The high commands report that
executive buildings in Moscow had
been bombed was considered particu-
iarly significant in view of German
contentious that previous attacks on
enemy capitals were directed at
purely military objectives In the
case of Moscow there was open ad-
mission that public edifices were
among the first targets, in keeping
with the expressed German determi-
nation to destroy Bolshevism to its
roots"
Stukss were said to have par
hcipated in the raid.
D.N.B. said the Luftwaffe also di-
rected destructive attacks against
retreating Russian columns, railway
lines and stations and tank concen-
erations along the entire eastern
front throughout the night.
A number of trains on the Lenin-
grad Moscow line were reported de-
rallied by bombings
IL Big Blasts Reported.
Twelve big explosions were re-
ported in the Kremlin district.
Bomber squadrons unloaded an un-
disclosed amount of heavy ex-
plosives and thousands of incendi-
aries on the city's war-vital OBJ
jectives, Germans said.
German panzer units were re-
ported to have destroyed 391 Soviet
tanks Sunday. the bulk of them in
Dniester River sector where TO-
900 prisoners were reported cap
tured. -
OF 220 Soviet tanks rounded up
by one German tank detachment
In the Dniester area, 40 were said
to have been artillery bearing. The
others were declared to have been
blown out of action in the Porkhov
and Vitebsk regions in encircle-
ment maneuvers.
German coastal batteries on the
Latvian coast sank a Soviet warship
of an undesignated category yester-
day, Germans said, and a German
U-boat reported the sinking of q
tSee BERLIN. Page A-3) -
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