ITALIAN DEBACLE

Evening Star, Issue 23836, 17 March 1941, Page 7

ITALIAN DEBACLE

REVERSES IN ALBANIA MUSSOLINI'S ABORTIVE OFFENSIVE LOSSES ESTIMATED AT 50,000 (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, March 16. (Received March 17, at 10.53 a.m.) Messages from war correspondents with the Greek army on the Albanian front state that the Italian forces thrown into an offensive launched on Mussolini’s orders six days ago are put at 120,000 operating on a front of about 20 miles. Mussolini, the messages state, lost several of his closest collaborators, including six members of the Fascist Grand Council, of whom some, like Professor Pellegrini were taken prisoner, and others, like Barbelini, were killed. The Italian losses are estimated some 50,000 killed, wounded, and captured. The debacle is attributed by. correspondents 1 to the accuracy of the Greek artillery, the skill and ability of the machine gunners, and the alertness of the infantry, as well as lack of morale among the Italian troops. Whole Italian regiments, it Is ~ stated, had been flung against positions held only by small Greek detachments only to be mown down by shell fire when they were still 500yds from their objective, Whqfc enthusiasm these unfortunat* troops had when they started soon ’• evaporated. Their formations wera broken up and thrown into a slate of confusion, the officers trying vainly to restore some sort of order at the revolver point, but few of them lived to return to the starting point. REPEATED DEFEATS NEW ATTACKS REPULSED .. t MANY DEAD AND WOUNDED LEFT ON FIELD (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, March 10. (Received March 17, at 10.55'a.m.) Last night’s Greek communique- indicating that the Italians have .been unable Svholly to maintain the violence of their attacks in the face of repeated defeats was. elaborated in Athens by ; an authoritative ■ commentator, who said that at 4.30 a.m. the Italians launched an extensive attack in the . central sector against positions they vainly at-' tacked on the previous day. ;They were repulsed with heavy losses. At six o’clock there was a new attack by reserve forces in the same direction, but this failed lamentably, the Italians suffering heavy losses. ' '- : At 6.30‘ a.m. a carefully prepared attack was carried out on another position in the same sector, but, the result for the Italians .was even. worse, their losses being particularly heavy. Following artillery and mortar fire preparations, the : commandant of the eleventh Italian army launched a new attack at 2 p.m. Strong effectives recently arrived from Italy supported by largo numbers of aircraft, took part. The battle raged throughout the afternoon, . fresh waves Of Italians being thrown in to take the place of those who had fallen. By nightfall, however, the attack was checked and the Italians left in any _ dead and wounded,on the field before the , Greek ; lines. The Greeks did not Jose an inch of ground. They captured a great deal of war material and fifty prisoners. The prisoners stated that during the six days of the offensive the Italian losses had been terrible. OFFENSIVE CHECKED NOT A SINGLE YARD GAINED ATHENS March 16. (Received March 17, at 9.30 a.m.) General Papagos, congratulating the army, said; “ Six days’ effort on the part of the enemy left you unshaken. Moreover, for four months since the attack against Greece was launched you have proved yourselves victorious and have covered yourselves with unprecedented glory. The efforts of the enemy are now spent. Your determination remains as strong as ever. Your faith in victory has not wavered a hair’s breadth.” A semi-official statement says the Italian offensive has been checked. The enemy failed to occupy a ‘single yard of territory. Tire statement reveals that though the offensive raged principally in a sector 20 miles wide, the Italians threw their heaviest concentrations into action over a width of only two and a-hal£ miles. Tho Greeks have taken over 3,000 prisoners, including several high officers, who state that one division suffered 40 to 50 per cent, losses. Another was decimated and was replaced, and a third completely smashed. The Blackshirts also suffered heavily. R.A.F. SUPPORT NUMBER OF ENEMY PLANES DESTROYED (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, March 16. (Received March 17, at 11.30 a.m.) A communique issued from the headquarters of the R.A.F. in Greece states that successful attacks wore made by R.A.F. bombers on enemy aerodromes at Benat and Vhlona yesterday. At Bsrat-a number of aircraft on the