BIG LOSSES ON BOTH SIDES

Southland Times, Issue 24492, 21 July 1941, Page 5

BIG LOSSES ON BOTH SIDES

GREAT STRUGGLE ON EASTERN FRONT ELASTIC SOVIET DEFENCE (8.0.W.) RUGBY, July 19. The statement this morning in a Russian communique that heavy fighting continues in various sectors, including that of Smolensk, and that “both sides have suffered heavy losses” is regarded in London as the only material information available of the titanic struggle which has now continued for four weeks. The German High Command claim to have captured Smolensk itself is at present treated with reserve in view of the fact that mechanized detachments frequently reach points well in advance of the supporting infantry and the Russians have already been known to hold up the main supporting German forces when the mechanized spearhead has actually been able to penetrate long distances ahead.

The Times says that at the end of the fourth week the German onslaught on Russia finds the Russian armies everywhere resistin'’ in good order and, despite their ordeal, with unabated courage and confidence. They have given ground before the superior might of a long-prepared attack. The threat to Kiev, the threat to Leningrad and the thrust towards Moscow, which seems to have reached Smolensk, are all no doubt formidable. But there is no sign at all of the break on which Hitler must have counted, either in the military or political front. The spirit of the Russians is indomitable, in the line, behind the line and indeed, in front of the line, where resistance is constantly springing up to embarrass the invader in territory already occupied by him. BOMBING OF OIL-FIELDS The Times says that the Russian Air Force, in addition to the support given the Russian armies, has found time to bomb repeatedly the Rumanian oilfields, thereby nobly supplementing the destruction which the Royal Air Force inflicts nightly on industrial plants in Germany itself. Hitler is being made to pay dearly for every square mile of

Russian territory invaded by him in the past four weeks. Russia has never, like Nazi Germany, deliberately set out to create an offensive war machine and war industries. But her amazing wealth of natural resources, as well as the toughness of her people, give her a staying power which Germany may prove to lack and her industrial capacity capable of eventual development which may one day far surpass that of Germany. The fear of the unknown in the present and of a potential rival in the future was probably one of the halfconscious motives which impelled Hitler into this adventure, states The Times. The essential factor in Russia’s power of resistance is the modern eastward dispersal of Russian heavy industry. The Ukraine still occupies a preponderant place in the Soviet output of coal, iron and aluminium. The oldestablished metal and engineering industries of Leningrad, of Karkhov and of the region round Moscow are still of first-class importance. But now the concentration of industry and production during the past 15 years in . the Urals and Western Siberia has given to Russia’s defences a new elasticity and new capacity for adaptation to every emergency. There can no longer be any question of putting Russia out of action by a few fortunate or wellplanned strokes at vital points. If Hitler counted—as he may well have done—on the strategy of a knock-out blow this method has failed him. The Russian armies can withdraw, as they withdrew before Napoleon, leaving destruction and devastation behind them. And if modern methods of war make the task of the invader in some respects easier than it was 100 years or even 20 years ago, Russian resistance has been increased tenfold. Their armies have wellstocked bases and well-organized factories and munition plants far behind any line which the most audacious invader can hope to penetrate. So long as the Russian defence holds together —and there are no symptoms of disintegration—no German acquisition of territory can destroy its power to resist and fight again another day.

M. MAISKY CONFIDENT OF VICTORY

(Rec. 9.40 p.m.) LONDON, July 19. The Russian Ambassador, M. _ Ivan Maisky, in a message to a function at Bristol to celebrate the Anglo-Soviet pact, said: “I have not the slightest doubt that final victory will be ours. If British aid is given to the Soviet fully and quickly, then I am confident _ victory will come sooner and the sacrifices will be small. ___