Center Charge

If Russia's enormous flanks were being bent inward last week, Russia's center was charging hard. In defense of Moscow, Marshal Semion Timoshenko's three-week-old counter-attacks were reported to be only twelve miles from Smolensk at one point. The Russians said they were constantly shelling that city.

The Russians printed their news as they made it, setting type in the fields (see cut, p. 20). One Soviet newsman, Eugene Petroff, who also serves the North American Newspaper Alliance, reported that in autumnal forests and still summery fields the Russians were "fiercely beating the Germans on a firm, established front."

Newsman Petroff told of one Captain Voitsekovsky, who seemed sure to become Russian legend. Captain Voitsekovsky was using a church tower as an advanced observation post and had there rigged up a field telephone. Suddenly he was surprised by a German tank attack. The Captain phoned the nearest Russian artillery batteries: "Fire at me. In the church bell tower. The square is full of German tanks. Farewell, comrades!" It was the end of Captain Voitsekovsky.

No one except the high commands knew last week whether Russia's center drive was a series of quickly improvised actions or a full-fledged counteroffensive, such as the late Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky plotted in the Red strategy books (TIME, Aug. 25). Marshal Tukhachevsky's ideas, as developed by disciples, called for a carefully prepared initial break-through by a "shock" army of twelve divisions (228,000 men) on a 30-mile front, supported by 2,500 artillery pieces, 960 tanks, 600 planes.

That the Red charge was a lot less ambitious was suggested by the fact that the Russians did not at once report the capture of many prisoners. But the Germans were forced to retire. If they retired much farther the Russians might recapture the most direct railway line from Leningrad to Odessa, might thus prevent Adolf Hitler from establishing valuable north-south communications east of the Pripet Marshes.

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