MORE ITALIANS CAPTURED

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23177, 14 November 1940, Page 7

MORE ITALIANS CAPTURED

War Equipment Also Lost ERRORS IN ENEMY CAMPAIGN (Received November 13, 12,45 p.in.) LONDON, November 12. A Greek communique states: “We took prisoner a great number of Italians, including several officers, in the Rindus; region on Sunday and Monday, Numerous materials of all kinds fell into our hands. The enemy bombed several points on our front ineffectively. Our air force bombed port installations and Shipping at Valona.” It is reported from Monastir that the Italians are shelling the Greek positions at Lake Presba, and dive-bomb-ing Greek positions on the Koritza front. The Greeks claim that they ate counter-attacking and are using abandoned machine-guns to hasten the retreat of the Italian force trapped in the Plndus area, where the ravines are strewn with abandoned arms, ammunition, and field kitchens. The main Italian offensive against the Greek centre was liquidated one week after the date set for the triumphal entry of the Italians into Athens. The Italians’ drive against Salonika from Koritza has been flung back. Only 3000 alpinists of the 12,000 escaped the Greek trap. A relieving infantry column was also routed. It is revealed in Athens that the Italians were confident that Greece would not resist, and that they had arranged for necessary funds to finance services after the occupation. A large party of officials accompanied by Bank of Italy Officials, left an Albanian outpost on October 28 with the intention of installing themselves at Janina.

Reviewing the Italian-Greek war as a whole, British military experts consider that it is now possible to trace the Italian plan of campaign and to gather to what extent this has gone astray. In the first place, Italy seems to have thought that the Greeks would not resist, or not strongly enough to prevent a fairly easy overrunning of the country. The plan may have comprised a holding action in_ the north and an attack to the south in the Pindus area by an alpine division, with reinforcements of Fascists militia and bersaglieri, who Were to go through Metsovo on the road across the Pindus mountains, the capture of which would cut the Greeks only lateral communication. . . Further south, another division was to attack dowm the road from Argyrokasllon, and contribute to the main attack, which was to have been a large-scale turning movement along the coast. , , , ~ The holding attack has not held and the Greek army has advanced into Albanian territory towards Koritza. The alpine division, with its attendant forces, has had to retreat, and there seems no doubt that the Italians have had to abandon a proportion of their arms and equibment, and a certain proportion of the forces evidently cut off and captured. The coastal attack crossed the Kaiarnas fiver, but beyond that little seems to have happened, and it wmuld appear that the attack was not pushed in strength further south, though probably light reconnaissance units have penetrated south to the Acheron river. The present position in the country between the two rivers seems largely to be dominated by Greek patrols.