GREEK SUCCESS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 127, 22 February 1941, Page 11

GREEK SUCCESS

Air Raids On Italian Targets FEW ENEMY PLANES OPERATING

LUN DON', February 21

A United States commentator, broadcasting from Athens, says that for some days past remarkably few Italian aircraft have been operating over Albania or Greece.

Yesterday Greek planes successfully raided Italian targets behind the lines.

It is learned in \\ ashington that Greece has again asked the United States tor help, particularly in the supply of aircrait A survey of the position is to be made.

Greeks who escaped from the Dodecanese Islands report a shortage of all things there.

“The honour of the Italian army depends on this operation." read an order found in the pocket of an Italian officer who was killed in an Italian attempt to seize a very important strategic height on the central front.

A correspondent of the Exchange Telegraph Company with the Greek army says that the attempt was unsuccessful. The Italians fired 3000 shells from heavy guns and mortars in support of the attack, but the Greeks counter-attacked and drove the Italians from their original positions, capturing an anti-aircraft, battery and inflicting heavy losses. The Exchange Telegraph correspondent. with the Greek forces reports that torrential rains on Wednesday impeded operations on a large scale.

A Greek communique states that local mopping up operations have been carried out and scores of prisoners taken.

A Greek radio announcer reporting the fact that Hurricane eight-gun fighters have been seen over Athens in the past few days, said that they were impressive evidence of Britain’s air aid to Greece. “The Hurricanes are the scourge of the skies and have performed magnificent feats in the battle of Britain and also in France, Holland, Belgium, and Africa,” he said. “They are here to wipe the enemy air force off the map.”

Greek aircraft were active on Wednesday, bombing and machine-gunning effectively from a low altitude enemy camps, convoys, stores, and troops on the march. One enemy company which was broken up and fled was forced to turn back again and try to reoccupy its positions by fire from Italian machineguns.