TACTICAL ERROR

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 151, 23 December 1935, Page 10

TACTICAL ERROR

ITALIANS IN NORTH

OPEN TO FLANK ATTACKS

FIERCE GUERRILLA WARFARE

TWO DASHING FIGHTERS

United Press Association—By Electric Telograpb—Copyrleht. (Received December 23, 2 p.m.) LONDON, December 22. "The Times" correspondent at Dessie states that Ras Ayalou's remarkable drive into the Shire territory, resulting in the Dembeguina victory (reported elsewhere) greatly Aveakened position of the Italian army corps based at Adowa. The strategic error of the Italian command, when launching the cam- ; paign, becomes apparent now that the -two dashing guerrilla fighters— Ras Ayalou, in Shire, and Ras Seyoum, in Tembicn—are still actively raiding and are within the invaders' right flank. ■ The first cardinal mistake was when the two army corps concentrated on a small baseline from Entiscio to Adigrat and advanced towards Makale, -further restricting the front. Not only might one army corps have accomplished this work ■ but also it was unwise, to occupy Makale for the purposes of prestige without first cleaning up the Shire, Tembien, and Cheralta regions on the right flank and to the rear. Consequently one army corps" based at Ado.wa had to tackle the ' gigantic duty of cleaning up Adiabo and Shire, guarding the right flank communications to Eritrea, and establishing communications twice the . 'length of those of the other army corps systems to Makale, via the River Takazze. x BETTER TACTICS. It would have been more advisable to Jiave established real flank defences on the River Takazze after the conquest of Adiabo, then move the Third Army Corps from Adigrat southwards to Makale, occupying it.in conjunction .with the two other corps. This would not have endangered the right . flank and would have caught the .) Abyssinians en masse in the valleys •of 'the Makale' plateau, from which they could have been ' dispersed 'by aerial bombardment. As a result of the strategy employed so far,, the Takazze front still-. remains open to continuous attacks on Ras Ayalou's model, with Ras Imru's powerful levies from/the Gojjam Province waiting to participate. EMULATING WOLFE. The Dessie correspondent of the "News-Chronicle" says that fierce guerrilla fighting rages in the wild mountains north of- the River Takazze,. following Ras Ayalou's success with similar tactics which entailed- the scaling of the- heights above the river by secret paths in the darkness. The ' tactics recall General Wolfe's; attack on the heights of Abraham. ' ■ The "little rains" which are due in January will delay the Italian advance. - for a month, and if they continue into the spring, as they did this year, the Italians may have to abandon all the northern towns which they have cap- ' tared and postpone their 'further advance until October, because the Abyssinians hold important strategic points within the triangle bounded by Aksum, Adigrat, and Makale.