MUCH WAR MATERIAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 114, 25 February 1936, Page 5

MUCH WAR MATERIAL.

FOR RAS DESTA’S ARMY. BRITISH' AND GERMAN CARTRIDGES. (Received This Day, 12.25 P-m.) BERBER A, Feb. 24. Six hundred tons of wav material by the steamer Santa Maria, formerly the "Wendy, have been transported by lorries to the southern Abyssinian border, to enable Ras Desta to contend with General Graziani’s mechanised units. The material includes 30 anti-tank and six automatic guns, ten thousand Mauser and 1200 automatic rifles, fifteen million cartridges, five hundred g as masks, and thousands of incendiary bombs, also machinery and tools. Two million cartridges are British made, the remainder being a shipment from Stettin, Germany.

POSITION OF THE ITALIANS. EXTENT OF VICTORY DOUBTFUL. LONDON, February 23. In spite of the Italian claim of a considerable success at Amba Aradan , “The Times” points out, in a leading article, that operations which. dftsted a week culminated only in the Capture of a height two or three miles irom the starting point. This suggests that the resistance was very effective or that the Italian methods were even more deliberate than in the innumerable battles of Isonzo from 1915 to 191 (, which are a gloomy parallel to the present invasion. Moreover if Ras Muluglieta was routed so completely with such a disproportionate loss, it is curious that the Italians have not exploited the victory more strikingly, instead of leaving the harrying of a beaten foe to the aii force. The Italians have still to prove that they can move sufficiently fast in mountainous country to cut off Rass Kassa and Ras Seyoum, while the advance on Amba Alagi is continuing in short stages. Even from that place it is several hundred miles to Addis Ababa. The Italians’ most promising line of advance for a decisive issue is still to Harrar, which General Grasiani attempted, and stopped to attack Negelli. "Whether they possess men and time for a successful resumption of the Harrflr attack remains to be seen.