Evening star., 1943-08-19
| Tense Drunnu
Lies Behind
Soviet Gains
By HENRY C. CASSIDY,

I0OVCl OOJuS
~ HENRY c. CASSIDY,
Associated Prsss war ccrrsspondsnt.
ORn.-Ths terse lines Of COM
muniques and the stiH phrases Of
front line dispatches tell you that
after stubborn fighting, the Soviet
troops occupied" . populated point
or city.
But walk across the still-steaming
battlefield and zee what such terms
- defense lines broken--town oc-
cupded - prisoners released - mines
removed" really mean.
They have taken on even new
meaning In some new types Of nsht-
ING In the Red Army's first summer
Offensive. Here Il what they meant
IN retracing the battle Of orel:
Defense lines" meant three rows
Of barbsd wire stretched between
wooden poles, backed up BY solid
land mines and then Q continuous
front line trench with commmicat.
Ing trenches running back to the
rear.
Two hundred yards back there
was . similar line, farther back still
another. $50
Foe Well Entrenchsd.
Deep timber-supported dugouts
were built on the rear sides wherein
the enemy took cover under artillery
bombardment and then emerged to
reply with his own blaze Of fire to
any attempt to advance.
To break such lines meant send.
Ing artillery into the open under
enemy fire. to blast the positions out
Of the ground
Occupation Of the populated
point" at Mtsensk, Just north Of
orel, meant fighting . way through
such defenses into the once beauti-
full garden town famed In Russian
literature where now the only living
things were two cats and one dor.
The only building intact was . log
cabin,
In the yard at that house MAJ.
Gen. Boris Terpilovsky, the first
commandAnt Of Mtsensk,, estab.
ished headquarters in . stable with
the ground covered with straw. HIS
stan Get typewriters on q door laid
across some barrels to tap out the
orders. They lived In . dugout
which was blown up by . delayed
action enemy mine the day after
they moved.
How Orel Was Entered.
To enter Orel meant Z dash across
railroad track on the east side Of
town where the bombinss made IN
opening while the enemy remained
on the hills to the rear, then fisht-
Ing down Moscow street past ruined
factories and apartment houses TO
the oka River running through the
city.
There IS Tommy -gunners crossed
the stream just before the bridge
was blown up and two steel spans
rose from the concrete foundations
and sagged into the water. They
established . foothold In q two
story red brick house on the west
bank and held that bridgehead until
rcinforcements crossed the l00-yard-
wide shallow stream by fording or
over pontoons.
Prisoners released" meant fiud.
Ing fellows like sergt. Pilot Dmitry
Dernovoy, II, who told his story a
though recotinting . nightmare.
He made . forced landing north
OF Orel and was given refuge In the
cellar OF 4 peasant house. but the
Germans found him and made him
. prisoner.
Hanged Three Times.
His wounds unbandaged, he said
they took him to the command post,
hung him by the neck three times
for five minutes each and drained
on 200 grams Of his blood In q futile
effort to make him talk about the
strength and position Of hts regi-
ment. Then they threw him into q
concentration camp.
He escaped and hid In Orel until
the Red Army arrived and put him
In . hospital.
Mines Removed" meant hunting
tricky observation-disclosures with new
devices with chemical soundless
qualities which still are being
Sunderland get lid Of them before
they exploded.
They included all kinds Of pressure
mines, tension mines, clock mines
and photo mines.
In Mtsensk, the Red Army men
heard clocks ticking monotonously
toward their explosion point and
toiled for 13 days before they finally
found Is mines buried in q ditch
beside q stream.
They 90 OF In anywhere from 1
to IS days and any day might be
the day you are there.
That's what those terms really
mean.