Show Minsk Capture Opens Path Pal To Germany Russians Engulf City Miles From Ea East t Prussia Pru sia LONDON July Mily 1 3 UP The Ul The red army Monday londay captured Minsk l capital of White Russia nus Ia and opened the ancient Invasion route westward ard only miles mile from the German soil of East Prussia v Minsk l risk ga gateway ewa to Warsaw Vars w wand and Berlin b beyond Y nd fell to red Jed army f forces exec executing a deep flanking maneuver er Stalin re reported reported re- re ported in lna Ina a hint the German garrison had fJ fled d the cit city to escape the red arm army trap snapping snapping snapping snap snap- ping shut behind It By Edd Eddy Gilmore I M MOSCOW SCOW July 3 UP jp Soviet P-Soviet tanks and eav struck within 10 miles mUes of ot Minsk Monday and another another another an an an- other column c curving carving d deep ep beyond that city ham hammered ered within 65 miles of Wilno which is only miles from East Prussia Pounding at the front gates of Minsk red army imy men captured Sloboda 2 miles to the northeast north- north cast east and th then n pushed within 10 miles of the White Russian capital But passing by-passing columns already aheady were yere sweeping around the cl city y on the Jie northwest and southwest cutting cut cut- tins ting the Germans escape railways to Wilno and to Brest The rush on the the- northwest posed a threat to Wilno mer fo Polish c city ty ju just t 15 miles nilles from the old Lithuanian border This drive captured captured cap cap- Lured 65 miles due cast east of Wilno and 46 miles northwest of Minsk Nazis in Rout ou In almost every everY's lector the R R RUssians RUs- RUs s- s said German Ge man commanders d is i's appeared unable t to break the onrushing onrushing on- on rushing tide of soviet tanks ca cavalry cay cay- v- v aIry alry and infantry advancing relentlessly re- re under an air all cOv cover r that grows daily in strength There were continued signs of indecision part of nazi ers as as' as well aa contact Jack of contact of contact be we n enemy e en my divisions deployed along the front t fron front t dispatches dispatches' declared By y no stretch of the Imagination one ne soviet correspondent nt said can canth th ho 1 collapse of German resistance be called a planned pJ retreat br Or r reven even a systematic wIthdrawal Although the onrush of the red army has b passed by-passed Minsk and cutt cut cut- Jt It t off from Crom from all all direct aid or escape except by air and one sma dirt road leading westward to unusually heavy fighting was re reported reported reported re- re ported in th the broad half moon of steel the Russians have have thrown about the thc city Pravda said all German counterattacks counterattacks counter counter- atta attacks ks in this area atea had proved futile futile fu- fu tile ile and said the nazis were dying by bythe the thousands Immediately east of Minsk Gen- Gen Continued on Pa Pane Page t Two i f Column Russians Capture Minsk by y Storm Continued from PK Pate One On era eral Ivan Third army ca cavalry val y and tan tanks s were wagIng waging waging wag wag- ing a a. savage battle down On the War War- saw Moscow highway Napoleons highway Napoleons Napoleon's old road of disaster disaster and and last reports re re- reports ports had Russian tanks pressing on about 20 miles from the city in inthis inthis inthis this quarter Across the Ule border in Jn old Poland one red army column took 30 miles mUes northwest vest of Minsk Mink cutting cutting cutting cut cut- ting the railway from rom Minsk northwest northwest north north- west to Wilno Another severed the tho rail line running to Brest Brest- at Poland 45 miles southwest of Minsk and captured 25 miles mUes northeast of the railway junction of Barano Barano- From a military point of or view the defense of ot Minsk appeared use useless Use se less but the Germans were fighting fighting fight tight ing desperately as they fought in trapped Cherbourg last week in Normandy Just as fascinating as the red arm army's s 's whirlwind offensive was the apparent collapse of ot th the German armies in White Russia We sec see the German army falling fallIng falling fall- fall Ing apart everywhere reported I Pravda Correspondent Vadim Koz- Koz I In Borisov there thele were I three concentration camps for tor German German Ger Ger- man deserters During the first I days of our offensive the number of prisoners in these camps camp was doubled Abandon Equipment Another Pravda dispatch reported report report- ed huge quantities of German equipment strewn around the forests for lor ests eats and swamps of White Russia In places the stench of German dead is so strong It is Is' difficult to brea breathe the With units deserting and fleeing in numerous sectors the Germans were reported t to be hurrying special ape special cial storm troop units into battle to guard important ca Thousands of new German prisoners prisoners pris pris- are being taken reported The forests swarm with them Toward eV evening the Germans crawl out of the woods and send delegations to give themselves themselves them them them- selves up I saw a German medical medi dI- dI cal officer pestering a girl directIng directing direct dIrect- ing inS traffic on a r road ad to leave her post and take him prisoner This correspondent also said that fighters lighters of our supply columns are capturing Germans Ge nans by the hun hun- The Germans as a rule prefer prefer pre pre- fer to give up to s supply troops or traffic traffie officers considering this the safest way We saw how peasant from one village marched Germans from froma a forest lorest We even saw a LL general commander who had put on the clothes of a private Often where our troops have surrounded the Germans we find German officers and men which the thc Germans th themselves have ha killed Other correspondents correspond who flew low over the front reported the red arm army was moving so fast that the roads appear endless columns of trucks and soldiers flowing ever westward |