TRIPOLI HEAVILY RAIDED

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23220, 6 January 1941, Page 5

TRIPOLI HEAVILY RAIDED

SHIPS AND JETTY

HIT BY R.A.F.

SERIES OF ATTACKS ON BARDIA LONDON, January 3. The penetration of the defences of Bardia at dawn on Friday by the Australian forces was preceded by a series of Royal Air Force raids, and at the same time heavy attacks were made on Tripoli, according to a Royal Air Force Middle East communique, which states:— “During the night of January 1-2, Royal Air Force aircraft carried out two heavy raids on shipping in Tripoli harbour. During the first attack bombs straddled the south-east mole. Five cruisers were moored there. Several fires were started near seaplane hangars. Other bombs hit a customs jetty and one ship. A number of explosions and fresh fires occurred, and the seaplane hangars started burning. "During the second raid, direct hits were registered on the customs jetty, causing five fires and three explosions, probably in one of the ships moored alongside the jetty. Two large motorvessels were hit, and clouds of heavy smoke resulted. The fires were visible for more than 60 miles. “In the Western Desert, Bardia was again subjected to a series of raids. During the night of January 1-2, as a result of a bombardment, large fires wore started among stores and buildings. Two further raids were carried out yesterday, mainly on a motor transport concentration and encampments west of the town. Considerable damage was caused, the extent of which is confirmed by photographs.

"In Italian East Africa numerous reconnaissance flights were carried out, but there is nothing of outstanding importance to report. From all these operations all our aircraft returned safely.” A Rome communique states: In the frontier zone of Cyrenaica, Italian artillery counter-attacked British mechanised forces. Naval units and Italian bombers repeatedly attacked the British advance base, and anchored ships, hitting one cruiser.”

RUMOURS ABOUT CASUALTIES

OFFICIAL DENIAL

GIVEN

(Received January 6, 12.40 a.m.)

MELBOURNE, January 5.

Australian Army Headquarters have issued an official denial of rumours that a long casualty list of the Australian Infantry Force in Libya is being withheld. Headquarters, in affirming that the rumour was completely false, said some of the stories were particularly heartless, and specifically named some Australian casualties to the great distress of their relatives, who were officially advised to disregard such rumours. Headquarters mentioned four specific cases in which the names of four wellknown Victorian footballers were mentioned. It was proved that there was no casualty reported in respect of such men. . The casualty lists so far received contain a few names. Yesterday week one man was reported wounded and two missing, believed prisoners.

GERMANS WARNED BY BERLIN NEWSPAPER

“ WAR AGAINST ENGLAND NO CHILD’S PLAY”

BERLIN, January 3. The newspaper, “Berliner Lokalanzeiger,” commenting on the German High Command’s review of the year, says: “The war against England is no child’s play! This greatest Empire m history is a giant, and the British are no cowards. It is sad enough, but true, that through the rush to join up which occurs in England in war time, the best ones of the race must tight for the plutocratic gangsters and snobbish business politicians. “Our soldiers, therefore, will not have to deal with the rabble from the Bourse, bank, and clubs who started the war, but with that English element which can both deal and take hard blows.”

Locomotives for Turkey—Built in Glasgow for war service in France, 22 locomotives will be sent to Turkey. They have been bought, with a number of railway waggons, by the Turkish Minister for Communications.— London, January 4.