NO RESPITE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 74, 8 January 1941, Page 5

NO RESPITE

BOMBING OF ITALIAN BASES.

TOBRUK AND TRIPOLI POUNDED ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL THRUST. (United Press Association—Copyright LONDON, January 7. British advance units are already knocking at the door of Tobruk, 65 miles west of Bardia, while Australian troops are gathering in prisoners and war material at Bardia. Prisoners counted so far exceed 30,000.

Tanks, guns, huge supplies of stores, and other war materials have been taken, and it is estimated that Italy has lost one-half of the guns, lorries and ammunition massed by Marshal Graziani for the assault on Egypt, besides a substantial part of the army itself.

General Sir Archibald Wavell (the British Commander-in-Chief in the Middle East) is giving the Italians to the west no respite, and Royal Air Force bombers have been pounding Tobruk and Tripoli.

The correspondent of “The Times’’ at Bardia, indicating the activity' of British patrols, says that another successful thrust was made, concurrently with that on Bardia, against the line of Italian defences following the frontier southward to Jarabub oasis. Units have advanced far enough to isolate the garrison at Jarabub. Excellent Fortifications. Military technicians and staff officers at.Bardia are thoroughly surveying the Italians’ system of fortifications, which are considered excellent strongholds of the Siegfried Line pattern. All the main forts have concrete Avails five feet thick and are built entirely underground. They shoAV abo\ r e ground only guns of all calibres peeping from the casemates.

A high British officer, declaring that either Marshal Graziani was a very bad general or had been pushed into unwise action by the Fascists, explained that the Italians had been unwise in advancing Avithout securing themselves against such a defeat as they had noAV suffered. He added that the Italian intelligence service had been consistently wrong about the size of the British forces, sometimes grossly overestimating and sometimes being entirely unaware of their presence. The correspondent in. Bardia of the Associated Press of Great Britain. says it. is sickening to see thousands or Italians marching into captivity like sheep, and displaying about the same reactions as sheep. The truth is that a large part of II Duce’s North African army is composed of Neapolitan waiters and southern peasants 3 who 1 have no interest in the Avar, desiring only to .return to their little farms, homes, and mandolins. One prisoner said: “I don’t like the Avar, because I’m liable to get hurt. I did not want to come, but AA r hat could I do?” Moral and Material Results. Although the British lines of communication have been further extended, the problem of supply has been, lightened by the occupation o' Sidi Barrani and Bardia. The moral and material results are also important on Italy’s troops in East Africa. A London spokesman expressed the view that an Italian' counter-attack could come only from Tobruk, and the rapidity of the British advance made this extremely unlikely. Britain Avould press home the advantage, he thought, Avhile ' Italian nerves were still shaken by their reverses.

The possibility of an invasion of Egypt has now disappeared. Italy’s hopes in East Africa have been further depressed by the British victories, and an Italian communique says that there has been British naval activity already off the East African coast.

The Italian Air Force has been compelled to withdraw from its bases, and is now operating from points west of Tobruk. Some of the old Italian airfields are now occupied by the Royal Air Force, which is concentrating its main attack on Tobruk and its harbour.

The Italian High Command has now issued a communique admitting the fall of Bardia, just two days after it happened. The British attack, was described in a broadcast from Rome as a fiascu. and no mention has been made of the Italian losses in men, tanks and guns. Material losses must run into some millions of pounds.

Further details of the action in which the monitor Terror and the gunboats Ladybird and Aphis bombarded the Italian positions at Bardia have been released. According to a correspondent with the Mediterranean Fleet, the monitor threw shells weighing a ton into the Italian positions, creating great havoc and destruction. The Italian batteries replied, but their fire was ineffective. The ships were unsuccessfully 'attacked by torpedo-carrying aeroplanes and bombers. The only naval action that the Italians ventured to take was to send a fleet of motor-boats to tinattack, but these were repelled hv the secondary armament on the monitor.

TH Ei CAIRO COMMUNIQUE

(Received This Day, 10.25 a.m.) LONDON, January 7

A communique issued at Cairo states, “Operations towards Tobruk are proceeding satisfactorily. In the Sudan east of Gallabat our patrols again inflicted casualties on the enemy. There is no quango in Kenya.—British Official Wireless.