Evening star., 1942-04-23
90 PET. Of Nazi
Army Reported
On Red Front
1900, 900 German
Reserves Called,
Moscow Asserts
n, the Associated Press.

KUIBYSHEV. April 23.-By
mastering 100000 reserves
made up Of workers in vital in
dustries, boys as young as II and
10 and men from the conquered
lands, the German Army has
concentrated nine -tenths OF its
fighting force on the Russian
front, a Soviet spokesman de-
clared today.
He would not say, however. that
this disposition OF German power
justified creation of a second Euro
pean front by the United Nations
He did say that despite this
mighty massing of Nazi troops, the
Red Army. itself being bolstered
with fresh forces, has enough re-
serve power TO drive the invaders
from Soviet soil.
10000 In 17-1s Age Groups.
The spokesman, S. A. Lozovsky
vice commissar OF foreign affairs
told a press conference that the
latest call Of German reserves in
cluded 100000 In two new military
classes-youths of II and 18 years.
The remainder OF the 1900, 900 re-
serves was said to be made up Of q
half million men from the subju-
gated countries and 100000 drawn
from vital German industries.
Lozovsky said the German rear
vas disintegrating while the Rus
sian home front remained strong
The Germans back OF the lines are
exhausted" Lozovsky asserted.
He praised the r. A. F.'s recent
raids on Lubbock on the Baltic and
Augsburg in the heart of Southwest
ern Germany, saying "the more the
better because this is the only Ian
guage the Germans understand"
The number of German prisoners,
he said, Is increasing, but the
spokesman refrained from giving the
figures. Asked II they would be
used In agricultural work in Russia,
he said, Well not use prisoners as
Soviet captives are used in Germany
because their treatment is unimag-
tnable."
No Change In Jap Relations
Replying to an inquiry, Lozoysky
said there had been no change in
Soviet-Japanese relations In the
past 10 days-the period since the
April Is anniversary of the neu-
trality pact. when the Russian press
warned japan to abide strictly by
the terms of the pact.
Asked If Premier Stain had seen
the new Japanese Ambassador, Mao
take Sato, he said any such meeting
would be announced in the press.
There has been no such announce
ment.
Lozoysky said the Soviet press had
given "a straight-fo forward, clear
denial to italian reports that Ameri-
can planes bombed Toxic from a
base on Soviet soil. He declined to
say what action Russia might take
II American planes should be forced
down on Soviet territory.
Asked whether United States sup
plies were continuing to reach Rus
sia satisfactorily, Lozovsky replied
ut is better to say as little as pos
sible about this"
Germans Change Tactics.
Battered heavily by Soviet d.
visions in recent weeks, the German
armies on the southern front were
reported to have abandoned their
counterattacks and changed their
tactics to defense of fortified posi-
tons.
A front-line dispatch to the army
newspaper Red Star said that only
In a few sectors do the Fascist
troops make futile attempts to
strike at our units" and reported
the partial humiliation and rout of
q strong Italian detachment which
was cut of by Soviet pincers after
attempting to outflank the Russian
positions
Fighting in other sectors appar-
emily was limited to violent skirmiSh-
ing-two NaZi counterattacks beaten
of in the southwest, where Soviet
artillery smashed a pontoon bridge
to block a German attempt to cross
an unnamed river; Soviet units mov-
ing up through German log de-
fenses to widen the wedge driven
into the invaders lines on the Bry-
anSk front below Smolensk: 200
Germans killed in five unsuccessful
attacks in central front sector.
At Yukhnov, according to a Pravda
correspondent, thousands of Nszi
bodies were found when the melting
SHOWS uncovered a huge pit in the
central square of the town
Two More Axis Ships Sunk.
Soviet Navy units have sunk two
more Axis vessels in an Arctic mari
time accompaniment TO Red Army
drives against Finnish posi-
tons on the northern front. the
Russians announced.
Our ships sank a 5.00o-ton Ger
man tanker and a 4,000-ton trans
port in the Barents Sea" the Soviet
Information Bureau said
The Moscow News reported only
yesterday that 90 German vessels to-
(See RUSSIA. Page A-5D