BRILLIANT FEAT AT AGORDAT

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 113, 6 February 1941, Page 7

BRILLIANT FEAT AT AGORDAT

Difficult Victory STORMING OF MANY HILLS (Received February 5, 9.30 p.m.) LONDON, February 4. The magnitude of the British victory at Agordat deserves emphasis. Agordat has been the centre of Italian civilization in East Eritrea and has been a big military and air base since the invasion of Abyssinia. Its defenders included the crack Second Italian Colonial Brigade, with light and medium artillery, under the command of Colonel Lorenzini, "who is regarded as among Italy’s most brilliant soldiers.

The British commander tried 10 push armoured units to the east to cut off Agordat from Asmara but was forced to admit that the ground was too difficult. A Scottish battalion reinforced by Indians was therefore sent to take Cochem Hill, overlooking Agordat from the east. They endured a 48-hours’ inferno of fire, fighting four and a half Italian battalions.

The constant heavy artillery fire made it most difficult to supply them, and the position looked bad till British armoured cars supported by a famous British regiment made a successful attack against the prepared defences running out from Cochem Hill. Later an Indian regiment, with orders to take and hold their objectives to the last man, stormed four smaller bills east of Agordat. Simultaneously the Royal Air Force spotted a strong Italian column coming in from the east, and British armoured units and infantry attacked and knocked out in a few minutes 11 tanks, which was half the enemy’s force. The Italians then retired from the impregnable height of Laquetat to south from Agordat. A swift attempt was made to cut off the retreat of the enemy from Agordat itself, but they were too quick and slipped out in the darkness over the secondary road to Asmara.

The British entered the town without resistance. The Italians suffered very heavy losses, those killed and taken prisoner exceeding 2200.

When a British officer entered Agordat and found the telephone exchange still intact, and the Italian operator at Barentu was trying to get. Agordat on the line and was unpleasantly surprised when he was answered in English.