Retreating Italians

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 144, 14 December 1940, Page 11

Retreating Italians

HARASSED IN DESERT

British Press Hard on Their Heels

LONDON, December 13

The British air and land forces are not giving a moment's rest to the retreating Italian forces in the Western Desert, and the operations are reported to be progressing very satisfactorily and according to plan. Renter messages from Cairo state that E.A.F. reconnaissance planes have seen the advanced headquarters of the Italian Tenth Army moving out of Bardia, well inside th© Libyan frontier, towards Tobruk, still farther west. The latest news of the fighting is contained in an R.A.F. "communique which shows that British bombers are carrying their devastating attacks to the Libyan bases to which the Italians are retreating, while British fighters and bombers are constantly breaking up retreating columns of Italian troops and transport. On the ground the British Army is pressing hard on the heels of the Italians. Several thousand more prisoners have been taken in addition to the 20,000 officially reported yesterday. Among them are two more general officers commanding divisions. All the five captured Italian generals have been taken back to Cairo. One, General Sebastiano, is a corps commander, and he and General Maletti, who was killed on Monday, were the two commanders of the Italian force in Egypt. Owing to the area of the battlefield, it is still impossible to give precise figures of the number of prisoners taken.

It has now become clear that the Italian defeat has been on a very considerable scale. In less than a week five Italian divisions have been forced to abandon fortified positions which they had been building up for more than three months. In addition, all supplies, including food and oil, which the Italians had accumulated in the Sidi Barrani area for the invasion of Egypt are reported by Reuters correspondent to have been captured by the British Army. Another report states that the war material captured by the British is said to be enormous. Reuters correspondent with the Army of the Nile says that the Italian prisoners seemed numbed and bewildered, and that the majority were completely ignorant of the course of events in Greece. Some were insufficiently clad to withstand the cold of the winter nights. A message from the frontier says that the speed of the operations, which began on Monday morning, has exceeded everybody's expectations. Perhaps the most striking tribute is that paid by a member of the staff of General Meletti, who was killed in the taking of Sidi Barrani. He told British officers: "The action was brilliantly conceived and even more brilliantly, executed. We were taken completely by surprise." He said, "that when operations began just before dawn on Monday the Italian general sent out two patrol forces, but they .were taken quite by surprise when they heard British tanks rumbling up behind them. INCESSANT AIR ATTACKS. This evening's R.A.F. communique says British bomber and fighter aircraft maintained their incessant attacks on enemy aerodromes and troops and motor concentrations in Libya throughout last night and yesterday. A particularly heavy raid was carried out on Tobruk during the night. Many tons of bombs were dropped on the town and the harbour. Fires were seen burning fiercely in many places, and violent explosions followed by fires were observed near a petrol dump by a returning aircraft. There were also heavy explosions near ammunition stores. At El Adem aerodrome, near Tobruk, hangars were seen to have been completely gutted by previous raids. Aircraft on the ground were heavily machine-gunned by British reconnaissance machines. Heavy raids were also made on Bardia, the advanced headquarters of the Italian Tenth Army. Bombs caused a violent explosion in a store dump which resulted in flames rising to a thousand feet. Enemy aircraft on the ground were machine-gunned and three were destroyed. At another point one enemy aircraft was riddled with bullet holes, and other aircraft badly damaged. In all, over a dozen enemy landing grounds and aerodromes were raided and considerable damage was done. British fighter aircraft patrolled throughout the day, covering the Allied troops, who were pursuing and harassing the retreating enemy. Much mechanised transport was destroyed and enemy troops on the line of communication were demoralised. The Royal Australian Air Force added to their previous successes by shooting down three fighters. One British eight-gun fighter attacked two bombers, despite the fact that the enemy bombers were escorted by a large number of fighters. One of the bombers was shot down and the other is believed to have been destroyed. Two British bombers and two fighters ■have failed to return to their bases, but it is possible, states the communique, that later news may be received stating that they are safe.