Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-08-26
The War
TODAY
StoIingrad
Years Most
Vital Battle
BY CAPT. JOHN II. CRNGE
" r1ttsa Especially fer International NtSt
SER cs ARd Detroit Iimrs

WITH fkLhE MI - La
CHURCHILL hack al his desk
in London after historic con-
ferences with Premier Stain,
ominous news from the eau
casus swings world attention
back to the gigantic battle
being fought between the
Red Army and the Nazl
Wehrmacht for Russia's vital
oil supply.
The Russian-German battle
line is the most important
and critical Of all the far-hung
fronts Of the war this year.
The Red Army is the only
military organization on the
continent of Europe that has
been able to stand up 10 the
Nazis on fairly even terms.
The history Of this war has
proved that Russia was the
worlds only nation besides
Germany that kept pace with
the developments Of military
science since 1918 and built
a truly modern fighting or
ganiZation in the terms Of
total world-embrscing conflict.
THE SOVIETS faced Hit
ler's surprise thrust Of June.
1941, with an army that was
magnihcently equipped and
larger than the Wehrmacht
itself. Russian armies still
exceed those of their foes in
numbers of trained reserves.
Red Army groups on the
Russo-German front are said
TO total 400 divisions or nearly
5000. 900 men.
Compared to this. other
United Nations operations are
chicken feed.
The significance of the
Don River line is that il is
the last major geographic
obstacle to the sweep of
Nazi tank divisions towards
Stalingrad. Russias tank
arsenal and the Volga River,
the Soviets' greatest COM
munications artery.
THE VALLEY Of the Don,
in its great bend between
Kletskaya and Kalach, is more
than a mile wide, with steep
banks. At this season of the
year the water is low, but
still deep enough to consti-
tute a formidable hazard for
an advancing force under fire
Of skillfully placed artillery on
the defending side.
East Of the Don the land
surface is generally fat and
level over the stretch of less
than a 100 miles TO Stain
grad and the Volga. II the
Nazis have driven across this
river on a front wide and deep
enough TO enable them to
erect strong bridges and pour
heavy tanks and artillery to
the eastern bank, the situation
Is likely to prove critical in
deed.
MORE THAN three weeks
ago, Moscow communicates re-
corded the advance Of Nazi
forces 10 the vicinity Of Klet-
skaya. From that time until
the past few days the Wehr-
macht has been stopped dead
in it's tracks.
To the student of war, 1t
was obvious that this was
accomplished by the concen-
tration of heavy reserves by
Marshal Timoshenko. and the
long pause on the river en-
couraged hopes that a final
line for successful defense had
been reached.
A feature Of the fighting
has been the tremendous heat
Of the Russian summer. TEN
peratures have scared beyond
the 100-degree mark
This. like the cold OF las
winter, has reacted 10 the
advantage of Russian fighters
from the steppes, who were
accustomed 10 such weather.
STALINGRAD. PRIZE in
the vast battle OF the Don, is
Russia's greatest tank-mauu-
featuring city. In 1885 last
year for which statistics are
available, more than 100000
tractors were Manufactured,
most Of them agricultural
Even more important 10 The
Russian war effort Is The
Vnioa ~, uhote barke Stain.