Evening star., 1941-07-03
War
Continued From First PageD

f3ldlySLOk, III GENERAL, IL COllCluucQ.
las already announced in special
report, its effects are of world i'm
portance."
Tho earlier special communique
had added that "unimaginable
chaos" had broken over the Red
Armies, which struggled in the
Bialystok area with Nazi legions
for IL days.
Numerous Red Army infantry,
cavalry and tank divisions can be
regarded as destroyed" the high
command said. and are being chased
by German forces cooperating on
the ground and in the air.
Desolate Scene Described.
German reports described a desc
late scene of death and destruction
on the roads and in the bloody for
eSts where the battle of Bialystok
was fought
For about 40 miles, they said. both
sides of the broad highway from
Bialystok north to Grodno and VOL
kowysk are Strewn with smashed
and abandoned armored cars and
Uttered with the bodies of men and
horses in the wreckage.
They pictured hundreds of arm
ored vehicles of all types and sizes
blown apart by the force of German
bombs and shells and hurled tens
of yards.
The same devastation remains on
side road, where a horsedrawn
column was caught by German
bombs. they said, and field kitchens.
fuel trucks and cars containing re-
pair outfits were wrecked.
Anti-aircraft guns were pictured
still standing with their barrels
against the sky between silent NOR
tars and long range guns whose
crews had retreated or been killed
In reviewing action, Hitler's head
quarters said that from June % to
July l more than 10000 Russians
had been captured. The commu-
nlQue said the Russians offered stiff
resistance and made desperate at
tempts 10 break out of encircle-
ments only to lose many times as
many men as those taken prisoner.
German losses were termed graft
fyingly small" but no figures were
revealed
During the same period. it was
said. STA tanks, 1880 guns. 4
armored trains and 4,725 planes were
destroyed or captured.
Although no late details were
available. Berlin advance units in
the central sector were reported op-
Grating on the Minsk- Moscow high
way. These units were reported last
to have crossed the Berezina River
on the way to Smolensk.
Dlenst aus Deutschland, usually
Well-informed commentary. told its
readers the German speed troops"
were progressing in a dash past
Lwow' and that the Pripet Marshes
already had been left behind. These
troops have as their objective.
Dienst said, the Dnepr River city
OF Kiev, capital of the Ukraine.
Berlin sources said the Russian
troops were not "eyacuating" Ga
licia, but were being thrown out
after heavy battles. Appearance of
Hungarians. marching through Car
pathian mountain passes into Ga
hcla, has made the Russian position
more critical, these sources said.
Dvina Crossing Claimed.
on the Baltic front commentators
said the Germans had crossed the
Dvina River leaving broken parts of
Russian forces behind hopelessly
trying to break out of the Riga
Dvinsk-Tilsit triangle. This means
the commentators said, that the
most difficult terrain in that area
had been overcome and Nazi forces
were pouring into Estonia.
In the fourth German sector
Finland-the reported crossing of
German and Finnish forces into
Soviet Russia Shouldn't be under
estimated" political circles said.
Authorities said they were unable
to comment on Swedish reports that
Murmansk, northern Russian port,
already had been occupied by Nazi
Alpine troops from Norway.
A high command statement that
German and Finnish forces had
crossed the central and northern
borders of the Russian Finnish
frontier was interpreted here to
mean they had not yet reached the
former Mannerheim Line, which now
protects Leningrad, second largest
city in the Soviet Union.
They used similar tactics against
the Russians in the 1939-40 war.
The British radio yesterday broad
cast unconfirmed reports that the
Murmansk-Leningrad rail line had
been cut where it crosses the White
Sea Eorlier in thu dau tho Ranli.,