RUSSIA RELIES ON SPACE AND MANPOWER.

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23362, 23 June 1941, Page 4

RUSSIA RELIES ON SPACE AND MANPOWER.

RED ARMY

When the train steams slowly past the frontier posts which used to divide Poland from the Soviet Union, the first thing the traveller notices on Russian territory is a line of barbed-wire entanglements stretching away on both sides of the railway into the empty distance as far as the eye can see. But this line of barbed wire stretches farther titan, that. It stretchps from the Baltic to the" Black Sea, interrupted only half a dozen times to allow trains to pass. Behind this barbed wire, occupying ah average of 30 miles, defences run right across the broadest part of Europe, It is not only the broadest part of Europe—it is also the emptiest and loneliest. In this broad belt of territory running for practically all its length through a vast, flat, bare plain, there is not a village, not a farm house, not a living soul to be seen. ■. Although the fortifications on the western frontier were begun rouch later than those in the Far East, they are far more elaborate. In the period between the Treaty of Raphllo and Hitler’s seizure of power, much or Germany’s military knowledge and experience was at the disposal of _ the Russians; in the .period since Hitler, much of France’s. So the Soviet ‘‘Maginbt Line,” stretching literally without a ,break for .800 nules lrom the Baltic Sea to the river Dniester, can be regarded as the most modern and complete defensive system m the world. Outwardly there is dothing to be seen but occasional block-houses, which serve merely as q u .^f s „*Xthe frontier guards in peace toe,, and the high watch-towers . with searchligms and signalling apparatus whichv are spaced at intervals ola few hundred yards the whole length of thefrontier. But it is known that no-mansiana. between, the barbed-wire and the de fensive works themselves, fa one gre Sum.- The is not just one line of subterranea behind these lines, numbers of subterranean Aeroplane hangars with enormous reserves.of petrol stored in tanks, buried deep underground. Five' Annies The defence of the Soviet Union is divided into two halves: European Russia and eastern Siberia. Bothhalves are completely independent of each other. Behind the Magmot Line m the west there are four armies, comprising 12 to 15 army corps which can immediately be increased to 18 if war is threatened. Although these armies are distributed amongst various military commands, in reality they are in a permanent state of mobilisation, ready to march at a moments notice. A fifth army is ready in reserve. Officially, it is called the Moscow Command and is concentrated behind the centre of the future European front. Still another reserve is at hand m the form of a special cavalry-army, mixed with mechanised units, and situated in the Ukraine and western Caucasian s cavalry-army is unique in its size and organisation, Nothing on the same scale can be found among the armed forces of any other Great Power. Besides- the cavalry proper, it is furnished with an enormous quantity of tanks of all types and also—a Russian specialty—with double and treblespanned machine-gun' teams. Air Force

The greatest numder of Soviet aeroplanes ever seen at one time by foreigners was at the First of May celebrations in 1936. Foreign visitors and journalists were present on that day in seven European-RUfislan garrisons. The parades took place m all seven garrisons at the same time. And during these' parades a total of well over 4000 aeroplanes flew oyer the seven parade grounds simultaneously. The task of making the people of the Soviet Union .air-minded is in the efficient hands of the Ossaviacnim, the organisation for encouraging voluntary pre-military training. It devotes very special efforts to building up reserves of pilots and technical personnel.

This" article is condensed from two articles published in the “New iSteSLi and Nation" last year. The author is said to have lived in ' Russia for a number of years.

' The enormous distances in the Soviet Union are its best protection against air attack. Russia is the country which has least to fear from aerial bombardment. What is there for the enemy to -bomb? Forests, marshes, plains? A few of the hundreds of thousands of villages. There are only two towns of any importance near fae European frontier; Minsk and Kiev, And even if these two towns were hid in ashes, what effect would that have on the military operations? .None, fa any case it would be easy to evacuate these towns in time of war. Even heavy bombardments of .towns near the frontier would have no effect on the morale of the population in the rest of Russia, because they would know nothing or very little of them. An air attack on Moscow, the only city where bombing would produce a bad effect on the morale of the population, hardly seems possible. For 16 to 18' hours are necessary for the flight from the nearest frontier and back. Only one large city in European Rusiia would be an easy target if hostile air-craft-carriers could operate in the Baltic Sea, or If the Baltic countries were on the side of the enemy. That is Leningrad. But that has been fareS6 Just as the Soviet Union offers a . difficult object to enemy bombing aeroplanes, so it Is in an extremely favourable position for aerial attack upon other countries. The whole of East Prussia lies comfortably within the range of the Russian air forces. And with the tendency of the Rad Army leaders to risk huge quantities Of men and material, one can well reckon with more distant raids than these. Tnft Soviet Union's tremendous aerial army. has been created to “demoralise,” not so much soldiers, as the civil population of the enemy. ' The Navy Less is known about the. Red Navy than about any ■ other branch of the Soviet armed forces. The construction 1 programme is wrapped in the greatest secrecy. We know that the Soviet Navy consists of three fleets, the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Pacific Ocean fleet, together with the three flotillas of the Caspian, White., and Polar Seas. In the navy are also included the numerous river flotillas, a large proportion of which consists of quite new monitors, constructed as a result of the experience gained during the civil war. Whereas before the war Russia possessed no river flotillas, the Soviet Union has strong fleets on the Dnieper, Dniester, and Volga river* in European Russia, and the’ Amur and Sungali rivers ih Asia. This much is known, that for many years the Soviet Union has gradually how? increasing the units of its nav *-< he naval dockyards in Leningrailfand Nikolayqv on the Black Sea nawbeen greatly enlarged. For smaller ships, and particularly for submarines, the naval arsenals have been* - transferred to the interior. There are many such shipbuilding yards for submarines on the Volga, on certain. lakes and particularly op .Lake Baikal. Absolute secrecy Is ensured regarding the number of Soviet submarines; they are built, dismantled into their component parts, and finally transported to their bases for assembly.

Thousands of young men and women' • are taught at this school how to make ’ parachute descents, first step ’fa their training. ‘ln no,'country of the > world is so much importance attached to parachute jumping. About 2,000,000 young men have already been hard* ened and made "air-worthy.*: About a quarter of them are selected fat further instruction and first receive* | thorough training in Riding. The Soviet Union maintains' large number of regular air-lines. All these services give regular flying practice to thousands of reserve pilots, ostensibly civilians, but living in barracks in the flying fields. They could, be transferred to military service immediately, on declaration of war. And throughout the Soviet Union, .apart from the regular flying fields, there are hundreds of secret aerodromes hid. den in the midst of thick forests and in little valleys in the middle of’the vast open plains. Bombing Strategy