ITALY'S BASE

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 141, 11 December 1935, Page 12

ITALY'S BASE

MASSAWA CONGESTION

DOCKERS EXHAUSTED

The base port of Massawa, in Eritrea, is rapidly being converted into a formidable stronghold by the Italians, according to reports received at Suez, says the' "Manchester Guardian" of October 18. Batteries of 15in guns with a range of nearly twenty miles are stated to have been mounted in concealed positions among sandbanks a few miles north of Massawa. Fourinch guns which are thought to be capable of dealing with destroyers or light cruisers overlook the bay, and on the strategic islands off the port more four-inch and six-inch guns have been placed in position. v

These guns are reported to have been shipped to the islands in lighters under cover of night.

With their base thus protected, the offensive power of the Italian forces in the Red Sea is formidable. There are at least five Italian submarines in these waters, but the numbers on their conning-towers are said to have been painted over so that it is impossible to tell whether the vessels seen at various times are additions or not.

ITALY'S AIR STRENGTH,

More important still, the number of Italian aeroplanes now in East Africa is believed'to be near 500. Asab is the chief aerodrome, but many aeroplanes are assembled at Massawa, whence they are flown to an aerodrome between Assab and Asmara according to need. Many of these machines are bombers, and a moderate radius of action of merely two or three hundred miles would—it is said— enable them to dominate the southern half of the Red Sea.

More than a hundred aeroplanes are stated to be designed for "ground strafing" instead of bombing. Equipped with two machine-guns each, they are intended to swoop low over the tribesmen and spray them with bullets. These tactics are expected to be more effective in many cases than bombing owing to the lack of concentrated targets on the ground.

For a mile around Massawa the sea is a solid mass of ships, some of which have waited for five months to unload, as preference is given to those carrying the more important war materials. Crews of ships" which have called at the port say there is a considerable shortage of food, and pilfering from the quay is rampant. Soldiers on the troopships who are lucky enough to possess any spare cash are reported to be begging their officers to let them buy extra provisions, as their army ration consists mainly of bread, water, and cheese.

A number of the troops are stated to be suffering from malaria, but other disease is not prevalent. Once they land and get to Asmara, however, conditions are much better. The authorities always try to disembark troops at night and hurry them by forced marches to the Asmaran highlands before daybreak. The moral oil those detained at Massawa is apt to be much lowered by the terrific heat, the shortness of rations, and the lack of shade. Moreover the price of water has soared to fantastic heights. It is now being sold in Massawa at 10s per ton, compared with 2s 6d at Port Sudan and Is at Suez.

LABOURERS EXHAUSTED.

Bad as the congestion at Massawa is, it is reported to be increasing daily owing to the complete exhaustion of the Italian labourers who are employed in unloading the ships. The only other labour available is that of underfed natives, who are without strength or stamina. Even ships' officers are working like coolies to unload their cargoes and get away as soon as possible. In one ship that is under British command officers and men toiled in the scorching heat from daybreak until six in the evening, when they sank down exhausted on the decks. The Italian authorities, however, demanded that the unloading should continue until midnight, and when the captain refused they ordered the ship out of port to make room for another.

Ships carrying motor-lorries and cement for road-making, which are essential to the Italian advance, are unloaded first, other vessels having to make way for them. Despite the high prices ruling, many Egyptian skippers who have returned to' Suez after one trip to Massawa refuse to make another. Thus, although .maize and fodder for mules and camels are in g*eat demand, the unloading facilities are so bad that it does not pay any steamer to accept these cargoes. Suez is now the most expensive town in Egypt, since it is Eritrea's best trading port. Twenty ships per month ply between Massawa and Suez. Everybody in Suez is complaining of the high.prices of food, clothes, etc. Thuy say that Suez has been bled white by Eritrea. The price of meat has risen from Is lOd to 2s 6d per kilo—over 21b.

Hundreds of lorries, the bodies for Which have been made here, have been shipped to Massawa. They are also being brought here from Cairo in such continuous streams that the desert road has been ruined and the Government has ordered it to be closed to heavy vehicles.

The oil refineries of Suez, which are the largest in the Near East, are receiving big orders from Eritrea, but are only selling for cash.