HOW TOWN FELL

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 109, 1 February 1941, Page 11

HOW TOWN FELL

Relentless Advance By Empire Forces (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.l Received January 31,7 p.m. LONDON, January 30. It was officially announced in Cairo this afternoon that the town of Derna was captured this morning, a week after the fall of Tobruk, giving another valuable base for supplies in the British It is reported that operations continue at Mekili. Following the loss of Derna the Italians are hastily evacuating civilians from villages toward the Barce area. British reinforcements and supplies are already following up in the continued westward push, which is apparently 60 miles wide. Only some of General Wavell s troop= Have been left to occupy Derna. British and Australian troops took Derna by a series of small operations beginning last weekend. The garrison is believed to have comprised 10,000 men, including crack Bersaglien companics, but most have probably escaped. The defence by both land and air was the most determined that has been encountered

50 Prisoners who were taken at Derna insisted that General Bergonzoli, who commanded the Derna garrison, is now organizing a new line west of Derna for a final attempt to halt the British drive.

The Italians at Derna, in a strong attempt to delay the inevitable, rained thousands of shells from the three forts and from other batteries against the Australian infantry. The British guns replied and in the weekend silenced the most troublesome battery. In face of the severe fire the Australians had advanced three miles to within four miles of the town. The defences did not equal those of Tobruk, but three forts ' surmounting ridges dominated the approaches. The British worked throughout Sunday, night and brought, up guns. From their new positions the Australians advanced under the protection of these guns and, with armoured units, reached on the following morning Derna airport, which the Italians were forced to abandon, leaving a few dead. An Australian infantry platoon and a North Country machine-gun platoon shares the honours of capturing the airport and of carrying the last defences of Dema. They wormed their way on their stomachs across the airfield, and for four hours derelict planes were the only cover from the Italian machine-guns, which spat unceasingly. Some were wounded and it was more difficult to get them back than to go forward, but just at sundown the Australians got to within striking distance and rose and charged with fixed bayonets. Italian Planes Attack. The Italians lied. The Australians occupied hangars and then after dawu discovered thte Italians only 350 yards away with three tanks. Machine-gun-ners on both sides furiously exchanged fire. Finally, the arrival of Britishmanned anti-tank guns turned the scale. They set on fire one Italian tank and crippled the others, which lied. The Italian guns from the forts immediately opened up and plastered the aerodrome with accurate fire, pumping in 150 shells ' - 90 minutes. Two Italian fighters also swooped down and machine-gunned platoons, but the Australians and North Countrymen filed out and accompanied their tanks unfalteringly through the hail of fire. Their machine-guns rattled and, with the aid of British bombers which suddenly appeared, they silenced the nearest battery. To gain Derna they had to go down a bare valley and climb up the other side with an Italian battery firing straight along it. Nine bombers and 20 fighters attacked the Australians and supporting artillerymen, but their marksmanship was poor. British fighters swooped in and shot down two and chased off others, while anti-aircraft guns brought down a third. The British artillery moved on and continued its pounding while the Australians mopped up position after position. The Italian tanks attempted a counter-attack from the west against the attackers’ Hauk, but Australian units went out to meet them, and after a brisk encounter the Italians made off, leaving CO dead. Like Gallipoli’s Hillsides. Other British and Australian forces then moved up and made a supporting drive to Derna from the west. The original heroes from the aerodrome struggled on, dusty, dry and bedraggled, but grimly determined as they set out through barbed-wire and fields of landmines. Another Australian patrol went to the beach and approached Derna from the east. These ran into a hail of fire from a fort, but hung on though without water or food for 24 hours. Climbing all night over country that is identical with the coast on which their fathers fought at Gallipoli, they reached an almost perpendicular hillside 400 yards from the fort. After water-carriers had brought up rations and water the troops rushed the hill and entered the fort. They left some dead outside. They herded in a courtyard 68 officers and men who had surrendered to a squad of Australians whom they outnumbered three to one. The rest of the platoons carried on eleaning up machine-gun nests and isolated snipers. Mopping up in the gulches and split ridges prolonged I lie operations, which wore further hampered by blinding sandstorms. These delays, combined witli the broken country and the scattered nature of Denia’s defences, are believed to have allowed most of the defenders to withdraw to the west. The Italian air attackers at Derna included dive-bombers escorted by the latest lighters. ’Pile garrison’s artillery consisted of coastal defence guns, antiaircraft butteries and fairly light field guns, with which they bad plastered the road from .Martuba. Entering Fertile Country. ""lie Dermr harbour is artificial and is formed by a mole. Big ships discharge into lighters, out its position i.s valuable because the road southward to Mekili provides a lateral line for the transference of troops and supplies behind the push. Derna is a much larger town than either Bardin or Tobruk. A strong wall had been built to keep off Bedouin raiders, but apparently there were few defences capable of siandiiig against modern mechanized troops. The British and Empire Forces are entering an area wh’icn is said to have the best climate iu all Africa. From Bomba, whore the Italians had a Sea-

plane base which was evacuated some days ago, the country starts to change from barren rock and sandy waste to rolling hills on which deep grass grows in tlie spring, and the town of Derna itself is surrounded by gardens and orchards.

Water is more plentiful than at any other place on the' route taken by General Wavell’s victorious armies—-a feature of the greatest importance in the further advance on Benghazi, It is stated by a London commentator that the tree-covered uplands are more favourable to the defenders thau to the attackers. At the same time the Italian morale is said to be low, and the Italians may not take full advantage of the chances offered by the changed terrain.