BADOGLIO RESIGNS

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 December 1940, Page 7

BADOGLIO RESIGNS

GREEK WAR DISAPPROVED ARMY AND FASCISTS QUARREL MORE ITALIAN REVERSES [BY CABLE.—PRESS ASSN.—COPYRIGHT.]

LONDON, December 6. It is confirmed from Rome that Field-Marshal Badoglio, Chief of the Italian General Staff and right-hand man to Signor Mussolini in military matters, has been relieved of his post at his own request. The form in which this announcement is made in Rome contains a strong suggestion that Marshal Badoglio has taken this way of showing his disapproval of II Duce’s venture in Greece. It is known that Marshal Badoglio.’s disapproval of the Greek campaign is shared by officers and men of the army. Reports from the Albanian front show that the army’s heart is not in the war, and that the rift between the army and the Fascist Party, which fanatically supports the war, is widening. For some time Fascist writers have been critising the Italian High Command for its conduct of the war, and on the other hand, the army has not hidden its opinion that the war in Albania is unnecessary and unpopular. General Ugo Cavallero succeeds Marshal Badoglio. General Cavallero, who is 60 years of age, was Chief of the Operations Bureau at Italian General Headquarters in 1918, and president of the Italian military delegation to the Peace Conference. Since 1937 he has been Commander-in-Chief in Italian East Africa. Meanwhile, the Italians have suffered yet more reverses in Albania. The Athens authorities have not yet claimed the capture of the naval base at Santi Quaranta, but reports from the fighting front say that the Greeks have entered the town and that the Italians are retreating north to Valona, with the Greeks hard on their heels. The fate of Argyrokastron, further north, seems to be sealed. The wireless station there has gone dead and Greek troops have encircled the town. THE NEW COMMANDER. (Recd. December 7, 11 a.m.) LONDON, December 6. It is reported from Rome that General Cavallero’s appointment has already taken effect. Marshal Badoglio remains President of the National Council of Resarch, which covers military and scientific fields. , General Cavallero received Italy s highest military decoration, the Order of Savoy, for reorganising the talian defences after the inglorious debacle at Caporetto. He retired from active service for two years after 1914-18.

SANTI QUARANTA TAKEN. LONDON, December 6. It is stated that the Greeks entered Santi Quaranta at 8 a.m. yesterday, after a short but fierce fight. They captured 125 prisoners and a considerable amount of material, and hoisted the Greek and Albanian flags on the prefecture building. Off Santi Quaranta on Wednesday an Italian destroyer was bombed by British aircraft, and direct hits were scored. It is believed that this destroyer was there to evacuate Italian officers and their documents, while the rest of the defenders of Santi Quaranta were left to take the longer and more perilous road to Valona. Following the capture of Premeti. in the central sector, the Greeks occupied further peaks m the Mokra mountains. Some positions changed hands several times, but the Greeks eventually considerably their strategic position in that section. The Italians’ hopes of preserving the second of three lines of defence south-east of Premeti are gradually crumbling. The British and Greek air forces are completely masters of the situation. Greek successes north of Pogradetz are also very important because they should enable them to cut off the enemy’s retreat. The Greeks last night drove the Italians at bayonet point from Frasheri, in a mountain range north of Describing the advance in the central sector, a Greek spokesman said that the Italians had been shelled with six heavy guns captured by the Greeks, and hundreds of prisoners had been taken. . The Athens radio, announcing the capture of villages in this sector, emphasised that heights which had been taken were of supreme strategic importance.

ATHENS, December 6. It is officially announced that Santr. Quaranta has been occupied by the Greeks. FURTHER PROGRESS. I — ATHENS, December 6. A Greek night communique stated- In fighting throughout the front, our troops have been making new progress, especially in the eentral and southern sectors, despite lively enemy activity. _ ITALIAN ADMISSION. (Recd. Dec. 7, Noon). LONDON, December 6. An Italian communique: The enemy In Albania, employing forces taken from other frontiers, continued his pressure, especially on our left wing.

ITALIAN PLANES DESTROYED. RUGBY, December 6. It is now confirmed that in the air ( battle between a formation of R.A.F. | fighter aircraft and a ; of enemy fighters, CR 42 s and G 50 s, in south-western Albania on December 4, eight enemy aircraft were definitely shot down and destroyed. Seven others were severely damaged, and seen to be in difficulties. Several more were also damaged. All our pilots and aircraft returned to their bases. BRITISH MILITARY OPINION. ITALY’S DIFFICULTIES INCREASE RUGBY, December 6. Commenting on the position in the Albanian theatre, military quarters in London incline to the view that the reason for the relatively inextensive

advance in the northern sector is due more to the nature of the country over which fighting is taking place, than the strength of the Italian resistance. In this sector, the exact of the advanced Greek troops is uncertain, but the line appears to run north north-west from Pogradetz towards the village of Rajan, which is about ten kilometres west of Moscopol. It is certain that at least 15 officers, 200 men, as well as eight guns and 50 machine-guns were captured there. The Greeks in this sector experienced, the stiffest resistance yet offered during the last day or two. Fighting is taking place in the snow. As regards the centre sector, military commentators are unable to give the detailed line of advance, as there >are merely tracks without any named roads, by which to fix positions. The most pronounced advance is on the Epirus front, where Premeti has been captured, and Delvino is in Greek hands. ’ Military circles in London, commenting on reports that Santi Quaranta has fallen, state that this town, which the Italians used as a port, and which stands on the junction of the coastal road to Valona and the lateral roads, was of great importance to the Italians, who are now thus deprived of the opportunity of sending rein-, forcements moving south either to Argyrokastron or Santi Quaranta. A tract of wild mountainous country, some 15 miles wide and 40 miles deep, separates .these roads, and the Italian General Staff now will suffer the disadvantage of having fully to make •up its mind which part of the front it desires to reinforce, while the fcroops are at least 40 miles away from the objective. Commenting on the report of the resignation of Marshal Badoglio—it :s pointed out that this is what is really meant by “being relieved of the com•mand at his own request”—military circles say the Italian Army is thus deprived of one of its most experienced commanders, and it suggests that Badoglio’s action may well have been prompted by reason of his disagreement with the military policy of the Fascist Government. SUPPLIES FROM BRITAIN LONDON, Dee. 6. The Cairo correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” says that Britain is equipping a large part of the Greek Army to withstand the Winter in the Albanian mountains. Britain’s effective resistance is still largely aerial, but a steady stream of material is flowing into Greece from Egypt. Greek naval personnel will be warm in strong British boots, thousands of pairs of which have been dispatched from the Middle East, while Greek soldiers are using British blankets. Since the recent urgent dispatch of anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, Britain has also been sending big quantities of barbed-wire and sandbags. Hospitals are being established and badly-needed medical supplies are pouring across the sea.