ITALIANS IN ABYSSINIA

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 86, 8 October 1935, Page 9

ITALIANS IN ABYSSINIA

ENTRANCE NARROWED BY CITY OF AKSUM

REAL TEST OF CAMPAIGN AHEAD

Now that the Italian tricolour floats over Adowa in token of the obliteration of the defeat of 1896, and an obelisk has been erected ■ in memory of Italians who fell in that campaign, the northern ,';' threshold to Abyssinia lies open to the invaders, through an entrance .',' narrowed by the Abyssinian retention of the holy city of Aksum, . 16 miles to the west, the capture of which is essential before the • Italian army can fully consolidate its gains, states a United Press s ' Association message from London.

The Italians are continuing to deal with snipers before pushing into the mountainous wilderness to the south, where the real test of the campaign will begin.' The effectiveness of the tanks, of which four have already been lost, and their crews killed, will here be nullified.

The first obstacle to the advance will be the new line prepared by Has Seyoum on terrain thoroughly familiar to himself, but not yet known to the invaders except by aerial reconnaissance. Reinforcements 100,000 strong are hastening to Ras Seyoum's aid. His line extends from Aksum to Makale, facing the Italians disposed along a front embracing Adowa, Entiscie, and Adigrat. Behind Ras Seyoum's mobile barrier wait hordes of native warriors under territorial commanders, who, as the Emperor, proudly told the League, have "not yet begun to fight." Meanwhile the Roman legions in the cavalcade of modern war stream across theMareb River and traverse the Abyssinian border to add their weight to the coining onslaught. . . ■■■ . ' Coming Advance to Aksum. Battalion after. battalion of Italian askaris lead'the way for specially-trained mountain regiments equipped with accurate screw guns and heavier tractor-drawn field pieces. The flowing torrent of armed life is varied by mechanised field trains, horses, and mules bringing up the paraphernalia of warfare. Once the Adowa area is consolidated,'hospitals built, and ammunition dumps deposited, an ; advance, with bombing aeroplanes leading, will be made towards Aksum. Meanwhile the engineers toil day and night building bridges and widening roads through, the wilderness, where even wheel trucks previously have been unknown. Already a steel and timber'bridge spans the Mareb River.

: - The extent of the Italian casualties is not yet disclosed in Rome, though it is stated that "thousands" of Abyssinians were killed and wounded.

It is reported that' A3<wa is virtually a "no man's land." Despite the Italian victory, Abyssinian irregulars harassed the Italians all night long with incessant sniping, forcing them to send out mopping-up parties equipped with machine-guns. Theoretically the snipers were cleaned up with a merciless fire at the rate of 600 rounds a minute. Actually hundreds of tribesmen survived, as they have the faculty of literally becoming part of the ground.

Viewed in the cold light of strategy, the fall of Adowa was a one-sided victory. Ras Seyoum fell back to carefully selected positions bridging the gap between Makale and Aksum, and he is now a greater menace than when he occupied Adowa.