ITALIANS HEAVILY BATTERED

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23131, 21 September 1940, Page 13

ITALIANS HEAVILY BATTERED

First Blunder Made At Sidi Barrani

HARD HITTING BY BRITISH FORCES

: ,LMTED I’ilEBS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) (Received September 20, 11 p.m.) LONDON, September 20. While the Italians are consolidating their supplies at Sidi Barrani they have not attempted to advance from Sidi Barrani, and the bombardment by the three British services has been intensified. The* Royal Air Force is now using aeroplanes of a modern longrange type carrying heavier loads. The long-distance bombing of Benghazi offered the first evidence of this new power. It is officially stated that Tuesday’s fighting was much heavier than was at first reported. The Italians, pouring into Sidi Barrani too rapidly, made the first blunder in an excellently organised march. Both the Royal Air Force and the British artillery caught them before they were ready and solidly plastered the congested troop-carriers, supply-waggons, and tanks. The wreckage is too drastic to be yet estimated.

Light mechanised patrols simultaneously carried out a manoeuvre in which they must now be the world’s experts, namely, cutting in with a series of high-speed hit-and-run raids. Bren gun-carriers spurting across the desert at 40 miles an hour ploughed a furrow through the long Italian column and then dashed off in clouds of dust.

The Royal Air Force chose this moment for its deepest raids on Libya. For the first time it made 1000-mile return flights to Benghazi, roasting the aerodrome with high-explosive and incendiary bombs. The Royal Air Force now has its target along the coast from Sidi Barrani to Benghazi, and impartially by sun and by moon is bombarding the communications which Marshal Graziani must keep up or fail.

Marshal Graziani apparently has as many troops as he can handle in Egypt. He is concentrating on the supply situation, particularly on petrol and water. Tank-waggons and barrel-laden lorries lumber across the dusty tracks.

Marsha] Graziani boasts that his men marched and fought with only a litre of water a day. However, in spite of Marshal Graziani’s confidence, the Italians are suffering severely from unceasing bombardment from land, sea, and air, which is taking a heavy toll of men and machines, and playing havoc among the supply, convoys.

The Cairo correspondent of “The Times” savs the Italian invasion is causing a violent anti-Italian - reaction. The people are demanding that the Government take a more active part in the war, and a movement for a dear-cut declaration of war is jrrowinir da'ly. ° b

To-day's communique from British

feadquarters in Cairo reports that there is no change in the situation in Egypt. The enemy ■ continues to consolidate his positions in the Sidi Barrani and Solium areas. On other fronts there is nothing to report.

hangars and buildings, and many fires v. eve started. An attack was also made on Lavello. in Abyssinia. One enemy bomber was destroyed and considerable damage to hangars and buildings resulted. Three raids' were' made by Royal Air Force bombers on Kassala, and one enemy fighter which attempted to intercept the raiders was damaged. Assab and Diredawa were again attacked, and (ires were observed.”

Reuter reports that the Italians have not yet reached the main British defensive positions and have not been engaged by any but mobile units, which have successfully used guerrilla tactics against them. A Rome report states that Marshal Graziani has reported to Mussolini that Sidi Barrani was occupied-when the enemy, alter resisting inch by inch, was finally upset by an Italian pincers movement and hurriedly retreated to Mersa Matruh, destroying munition dumps and salting the wells. The British are said to have lost over half their numerous armoured units.

Naval Operations *u De T?4- 01 Jlaval operations against the Italians in East Africa are contamed in an Admiralty communique, which states: “An initial report from the Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean indicates that units of the Royal Navy continue to harrv the northern flank of the Italian advance from Libya. On the night of September 17 one of our naval units bombarded the coast road to Solium at close range. Simultaneously other units attacked enemy concentrations at Sidi Barrani. “The Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean reports that both these bombardments appear to have had considerable success.

The Royal Air Force communique issued in- Cairo states: “Enemy aerodromes, transport concentrations, and communications were again successfully dealt with on September 18. Several hangars were destroyed and aeroplanes set on fire at the Benghazi aerodrome. The flames were seen from 70 miles away. A bomb burst among the Sidi Barrani gun emplacements. An Italian flying-boat was shot down over the Mediterranean, and the members of the crew were rescued. Eritrean and Somaliland aerodromes and barracks were successfully bombed. South African Air Force bombers attacked Elwak on September 17 and 18, and the Birkao landing ground on September 16, where three buildings were demolished and set on fire. A wireless station suffered a direct hit.

“Benghazi was attacked by aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm on September 16. During this attack one merchant ship was set on fire, one destroyer was probably sunk, and several other ships were damaged. Yesterday’s Italian communique admitted that a torpedoboat ' and a pontoon had been sunk and a few fires started at Benghazi. “Concurrent with these operations off the Libyan coast naval operations have been carried out in other areas. In the course of these operations no enemy naval forces could be located.

“Highly successful air attacks were launched on enemy bases in the Dodecanese Islands. At Maritiza, in Rhodes, fires were started and several explosions, which were followed by large fires, were seen at Calato. Hangars, barracks, the harbour, and a jetty were hit at Portolago, and at Leros a fuel store was hit and the fire spread along the coast. All our aircraft returned safely. “Continuous raids were launched against the enemy from the Western XSesert. An aircraft was set on fire. and buildings were hit at Tobruk, and large concentrations of motor transport between Solium and Sidi Barrani were set on fire. A successful attack was made on about 50 aircraft on the ground at Elt Mimi. Bombs- fell among the aircraft and severe damage was caused. Raids were also made on Bomba, Bardia, and camps in the Capuzzo and Solium area. One of our aircraft is missing. “Aircraft of the South African Air Force raided the aerodrome at Mpgadiscio on September 17 for the sixth time. All the bombs were dropped on

“In the north-eastern Mediterranean one of our convoys and an escort of warships several times were unsuccessfully attacked by aircraft." An Italian communique states: “British naval units started the bombardment of Italian troops between Bardia and Sidi Barrani. The Italian Air Force intervened and bombed the enemy ships, forcing them to flee. A 1 0.000-ton British cruiser was torpedoed from the air and seriously damaged. We again bombed and machine-gunned enemy columns and mechanised units, which are fleeing everywhere. “We also bombed Mersa Matruh and other military targets. The enemy raided Tobruk, Bomba, >and Benghazi, and did limited damage. The British made an air raid on Rhodes and Leros. Many fires were started, but there were no casualties. The British raided Kassala Assab, Yavello. Mogadiscio, Diredaw’a, Zeil, and Mersataclai.-- killing seven and wounding 13."

“MOST SAVAGE RAID YET"

a battalion parading, and marched in perfect order to nearby surface she!ters. A number of victims of Wednesday night's raids 1 are still trapped under the debris of a school used by the Auxiliary Fire Service and Ambulance Service. They are, nurses and girls employed in this work. About 10 people were killed, seven of them in one house, when two heavy bombs exploded within 100 yards of each other in a south-east town. None of the people took shelter of any sort. The County Hall, the headquarters of the London County Council, is carrying on in soite of the damage done in recent raids. There were 200 people working in the building when a heavy explosive bomb landed.

GERMAN BOMBING ON

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

LONDON, September 19.

Many observers regard Wednesday night’s raid on London as the most savage yet. The Germans flew lower than ever and took suicidal chances in a frenzied endeavour to pierce the vast, hellish curtain of fire round and over London.

The raiders made no eflort to seek out military objectives, but sought only to unload their bombs as near as possible to the heart of the capital. The chief gain from this barbaric onslaught was damage to objects of historic interne and the devastation of private property. Their so-called reprisals have become expressions of blind fury at Britain’s resistance. ■ Two raiders fell with a terrific explosion in a south-west suburb. There was a stirring scene in central London when a bomb set on fire a famous building. More than 1000 people sheltering in thfe vaultsformed up like

Daylight Saving in Britain. —Daylight saving in Britain will now end on the night of November 16-17, instead of on October 6, as usual.—London, September 19.