HARD TO STEM

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 27, 1 February 1941, Page 11

HARD TO STEM

CAVALLERO'S EFFORTS

ATTACKS REPULSED

TEPELEN) IN JEOPARDY

(British Official Wireless.) (Received February 1, 10.30 a.m.)T RUGBY, January 31. Little success seems to be attending the efforts of General Cavallero to stem the Greek pressure in Albania and it has been officially intimated in Athens that during Wednesday and Thursday the Italians staged four attacks on one part of the front, all being repulsed. At another point the Italians attempted to infiltrate the Greek lines but were thrown back by a barrage. The Greek night communique states: "Local operations have been crowned with success. Several enemy positions have been occupied. About 200 prisoners, of whom seven were oflicers,. have been captured." Reports received in London suggest that Greek nibbling tactics round Tepeleni may have been successful in forcing the Italians to evacuate the town but no direct information of the evacuation has yet been received. < RUGBY, January 30. The .attempts made by General Cavallero in the past few days to revive the Italian morale by a series of counter-attacks have so far met no greater success than delaying the cautious Greek advance. As each of these counter-attacks has been repelled the Greeks have followed up with small advances. There appears to have been no Italian counter-attack yesterday, but, according to. the information available in Athens last night, the Greeks; who still hold the initiative, succeeded, despite bad' weather, in further advancing their lines, taking 50 prisoners and much material. HEAVY FIGHTING. Strong Greek attacks northward of Klisura today halted an Italian attempt to advance. A Greek "advance began at dawn yesterday after several Italian ' reconnaissance thrusts aimed at finding Greek weaknesses. After heavy fighting the Greeks pushed their lines to new heights. The Athens radio announced that in the past 24 hours Greek detachments in one sector dislodged the Italians and so brought the Greeks in close proximity to an important military base. Offensive action on a wider scope than the recent activity was also undertaken on the northern front, where local attacks resulted in valuable gains. According to reports of correspondents with the Greek army a feature of operations yesterday was that after Wednesday's attacks the enemy was showing signs of fatigue and circumspection—the result of the check given to their assault yesterday when the drivers and machine-gunners of the first tanks were subjected to a terrific hammering. The next lot of tanks turned back and the third batch was rendered useless. • " Another feature of the fighting yesterday was the aerial activity. The real fight was beyond the Tepeleni district where the Italians lost two bombers which were brought down in flames. A third Italian plane was brought down by anti-aircraft fire.