ITALIANS OUT OF EGYPT

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 December 1940, Page 7

ITALIANS OUT OF EGYPT

SOLLUM & CAPUZZO FALL NILE ARMY’S FURTHER PROGRESS HUGE EQUIPMENT CAPTURED [BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.] RUGBY, December 16. A brilliant success has been achieved by the victorious army of the Nile, which with the capture of Solium and Fort Capuzzo,.has now chased the Italians out of Egypt. This stirring information was given in a Cairo official communique, published in London shortly before midnight, as follows‘ ‘ Our troops to-day occupied Solium and Fort Capuzzo, capturing a number of aircraft on the ground. Further details are not yet known,”

BARDIA ALSO?

(Received December 17, 12.15 p.m.) LONDON, December 16. Some of the most bitter hand-to-hand fighting since the last war, has been going on near the Egyptian frontier, according to observers m the Western Desert. American correspondents repoit that Bardia has fallen, but this is not confirmed in Cairo.

ITALIAN CAMP LUXURIES

LONDON, December 16. j By land, sea, and air the British of- j tensive against the Italians in_ the; Western Desert is being violently pressed. The sand storm which was reported as making fighting conditions very difficult has in no way checked the heavy British blows, but theie aie few details yet of the latest operations. ; There is heavy fighting on the Libyan border, and it is known that British forces have penetrated into Libya at some points. British mechanised land ■ forces and infantry are still fighting hard in the advanced positions, and behind them the colossal task of clearing up the battlefield goes on. i British troops in the Western Des-•' ert are scavenging the equipment of an entire Italian army, says a special correspondent of the “Daily Tele- . graph,” writing from Sidi Barrani.' Marshal Graziani, he says, seems to have lost everything except a few.j tanks. The landscape is strewn hap- ; hazard with millions of pounds’ worth | of war material. Dumps of ammuni- / tion for mile after mile are neatly dis- j played and big barrels of Diesel oi are tumbled about in huge heaps everywhere. Nibeiwa camp, the most advanced, of the Italian, outposts, presented an I astonishing scene of luxury. British troops gazed spellbound at liqueurs, bottles of Chianti, and mineral water in every tent, hundreds of eases of macaroni, tins of quince jelly, tomato extract, tunny fish, and spaghetti. Some officers had elegant silverware and also plenty of perfumery. British casualties in the land operations are reported to be. amazingly light considering the intensive nature of the fighting. . One British armoured brigade whicn captured 1,400 prisoners in an hour, signalled urgently for assistance m * watching them, as it was anxious to continue the advance. British troops are mopping up all over the battle zone, which is littered with guns, ammunition, and equipment of every kind. The dead are being buried where they lie. It is reported from Alexandria that hordes of ragged Italian prisoners are pouring through the town, where they are being watched by large crowds oi jubilant Egyptians. British officers are being cheered by Egyptians and foreigners alike. . . r The Egyptians have enthusiastically celebrated the British success.

CAPTURED STORES*’

| GAYDA’S ADMISSION.

; - ROME, December 16. I Signor Gayda, writing in “Giornale dTtalia” says: Britain has concentrated three hundred thousand men in Egypt. The Italian forces are inferior to the British in some respects, but they are fighting hard. Eight hundred British cars and tanks are carrying out an encircling action in the desert.

I OPERATIONS DESCRIBED.

I; FIRST SURPRISE COMPLETE.

LONDON, December 15.

■ The first British success in the operations against the Italians —the capture of Nibeiwa—has been graphically described by a Reuter correspondent. The most eastern of the Italian bases in the Western Desert, Nibeiwa •was strongly defended. Outside, _it jwas guarded by land mines and inside the encampment were heavy -batteries.

! Blasting salvoes of gunfire woke the Italians at 4 o’clock on'the morning < the British offensive began, but then . came a period of quiet until the Ital- ' ! ians were at breakfast. Then about a ' dozen British tanks charged into the camp from the rear with all their guns ' blazing. Indian infantry then took ai i hand, charging into the camp from the 'front through the minefields. Some ,of the mines blew up. The Italians ly/ere so taken by surprise that tank i crews had no time to get into their 1 tanks. The commandei’ of the Italian 'armoured division (General Maletti) • was hit in the lung by a bullet and died as he was being carried to a tent. The Italians were completely routed,. and only a handful escaped. I The British forces then attacked I I two other camps further to the west and only at one was there any serious resistance. Here 12 Italian tanks were knocked out. The British forces re- | formed their lines after they had taken these camps- and commenced the advance on Sidi Barrani. Tanks reinforced by infantry attacked Sidi Barrani from the south and the west and, pther forces of infantry attacked from ' bthef directions. 'The right wing of: the attackers quickly reached its objective, but the left wing came under heavy fire and 25-pounders were brought up to clear the way. The final attack came at 3 p.m., when Highlanders and other infantry regi-: ments charged with fixed bayonets. .When they approached the camp the Italians began to flee, but between 3000 and 4000 were taken prisoner. Others who escaped were harried by British forces further to the west.

RUGBY, December 16. It would appear that the Italian reserves in the war theatres have been appreciably diminished as the result of desert fighting and the Albanian reverse. Greek captures of material have been so considerable that her armies are reported to be better equipped now than at the outset of the campaign. A feature of Britain’s Western Desert victory that has enormously impressed newspaper correspondents visiting the scene of the Italian debacle, is the immense amount of military stores and equipment of all kinds that have been captured. It is stated that the amount is more than double that used by the British to drive the Italians out of Egypt.

FIRMER RESISTANCE

RUGBY, December 16.

Some Italian resistance is reported in a communique to-day, by the British headquarters, Cairo, which states: “In Egypt, the enemy is still holding strongly defended positions about Solium. Meanwhile, our advanced forces are well across the Libyan frontier, where fighting continues. Bad weather is still interfering with visibility. “On the Sudan frontier our patrols had another successful day.”

ENEMY FORCES,

(Recd. Dec. 17, 9.5 a.m.). CAIRO, December 16.

British headquarters are not prepared to say whether Graziani has moved up reinforcements from Libya, but it is believed that r the Italian forces, which the British at present are fighting, consist of remnants of the beaten army from Egypt, together with garrisons manning the chain of forts in the coastal sector. It is authoritatively stated that British forces are now fighting in the neighbourhood of Solium, Bardia and Capuzzo.

ITALIAN ESTIMATES

LONDON, December 15. A special communique issued -in Rome last night says that the battle ,will last perhaps more than a week. 'The Italians at present engaged and reserves are more than sufficient for ■'the situation. „ The newspaper “Popolo d’ltaha 'admits that all Italian stories that New Zealand and Australian troops are incompetent mercenaries have been proved inaccurate. The events in Egypt have shown that they are formidable fighters.

SIDI BARRANI’S CAPTURE.

HIGHLANDERS CHARGE.

SUCCESSFUL COMMANDER

N.Z.’s CONGRATULATIONS

conception and execution, and are confident it is a happy augury for the future of British and Allied arms.

r NAVAL ASSISTANCE.

ITALIAN SUBMARINE SUNK.

LONDON, December 15. News of the Navy’s part is contained in a communique from the Command-er-in-Chief, Mediterranean (Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham), who said that naval forces had been active along the coast between Sidi Barrani and .Bardia, and carried out several successful bombardments. An attack was made, on British naval units by E- , boats, but these were driven off. / An Italian submarine which attempted an attack while the warships were shelling the shore, was sunk. A Cairo message states that throughout the night the Royal Navy was pouring in shells on Italian positions, disorganising their frantic attempts to consolidate defences against the land attack.

AERIAL ATTACKS.

ITALIANS LOSE 26 PLANES

LONDON, December 15.

It is officially stated that British machines have bombed every Italian landing ground in the wide area covered by the fighting, and, in addition, a heavy attack was carried out on Bardia, a few miles inside the frontier. Heavy damage was done to barracks and warehouses, and there were many large explosions. Bardia and Tobruk were still burning from earlier raids.

I A special correspondent of the '/‘Daily Telegraph” at Cairo describes how a British pilotfi flashing down to attack an enemy machine, saw a white flag waving from the rear gunner’s turret—surely an incident unique in ,air history. /

The French Air Arm has been cooperating with the Royal Air Force in attacks on Italian positions along the coast. British machines have even been as far as Tripoli, and they gained three direct hits on ships there. Twenty-six Italian aircraft were shot down or destroyed on the ground. Of these, 14 bombers and four fighters were shot down by one squadron and ‘three fighters and three bombers were shot down by other squadrons. At Derna, two machines were de■stroyed on the ground and others were severely damaged. The destruction of many other machines oh the ground seems certain.

Royal Air Force machines maintained constant fighter patrols to cover ,the British advance. Three British machines failed to return —one bomber, one fighter, and one reconnaissance machine —but one may be safe within the British lines.

(Recd. December 17, 1.45 p.m.) LONDON, December 16. The “Daily Telegraph’s” special correspondent, describing the capture of Sidi Barrani, reveals that one brigade, supported by tanks, bore the ■ brunt. A unit of a famous South County I regiment held a stretch of high ground on the left wing, the Highlanders held the centre, and the Midlanders took the right flank. A squadron of the most modern tanks aided the left wing, and smashed a way through, enabling the infantry to storm and occupy the objectives. , Meanwhile, the centre and right wing were delayed by heavy enfilading fire. The Brigadier sent the centre to the assault. The Highlanders charged against savagely-intensified opposition, and hand-to-hand fighting followed, before the attackers gained a foothold on a low ridge. Tanks from the left wing nosed round between Sidi Barrani and the shore, and rounded up bands of Italians who were trying to escape. The Highlanders later launched a 'final attack, racing down the slopes and fighting the final stages of the battle against isolated groups of Black Shirts, among clusters of wrecked buildings.

RAIDS OVER WIDE AREA.

RUGBY, December 16.,

(Recd. December 17, 9.5 a.m.) LONDON, December 6. It is authoritatively stated that the commanding officer of the British division in the Western Desert campaign is Major General Creagh, described as a dashing cavalryman. He was a former commander in the Fifteenth Hussars.

R.A.F. activity is dealt with in . a communique which states: “Despite bad weather, the R.A.F. continued to attack the enemy landing grounds and aerodromes in the Western Desert. On Sunday our fighters maintained a protective patrol for our advanced troops. During the nights of December 14 and 15, arid 15 and 16, raids were carried out on Bardia, Timini, Gubbi, and Eladem. At Bardia, fierce fires, which could be seen from a dis-, tance of 60 miles, were caused. The jetty was hit and considerable‘damage was done. During yesterday and Sunday, Bomba, Appolonia, Derna and Benina were visited by our bombers. R.A.F. fighter aircraft carried out :.an offensive patrol over a wide area ! reaching as far as Tobruk. During this opera-ion, two CR42’s Were shot down. One other enemy fighter was ; probably destroyed. Throughout ’these intensive operations no R.A.F. ' aircraft was lost.

GENERAL FREYBERG’S MESSAGE

WELLINGTON, December 16. The Minister for Defence (Mr. Jones) has been advised by MajorGeneral B. C. Freyberg V.C., that in the recent battle in the Middle East, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force was represented by divisional signals, petrol and ammunition companies, a supply column, and a reserve motor transport company. The Fourth Brigade group was held in reserve. The action was a very great success, and the results of the battle farreaching. With the initiative in the hands of the British forces, the prospects are very bright.

In Italian East Africa, a night attack was made on Gura, bombs falling on the aerodrome, hangars and near the aircraft parked at one end of the aerodrome. On the same night, Zula, Gondar, Assab and Bahardar were also raided. Fires were caused among the buildings in the barrack area at Assab, ana the aerodrome at Gondar was heavily bombarded. Large fires were started in a nearby camp, while ;at Bahardar, bombs fell well within the target area. The full extent of the .damage was not observed.

WELLINGTON, December 17. Mr. Fraser has sent the following to General Wavell, Cairo: ‘‘The Government and people of New Zealand extend their warmest congratulations to you, and all those under your command, on the brilliant victory in the Western Desert. We are filled with pride at its splendid

RAID ON NAPLES.

SEVERAL WARSHIPS HIT.

• RUGBY, November 16. Further information regarding Saturday night’s R.A.F. attack on Naples is given in an R.A.F. Middle East communique this afternoon. It states: A very heavy successful raid was carried out by long-range bombers, on Naples, during the night of December 14/15.. Bombs burst on the jetty to which two battleships were moored, causing fires which burnt for a considerable time. Five direct hits were made on a concentration of cruisers and destroyers, resulting in four large explosions. One of our. aircraft dropped an entire bomb load close to a battleship. x At the same time the aerodrome was raided and fires started. The railway Station and junctions were attacked, resulting ip three large explosions, followed by a number of fires. MOST VIOLENT SO FAR. I & (Recd. Dec. 17, 12.55 p.m.). GOTHENBURG, December 16. The Danish newspaper “Berlingsketende’s’” Rome correspondent describes the British raid on Naples as the most violent, thus far, against any Italian city. MALTA RAIDS. MALTA, December 15. Italian raiders approached but did .not cross the coast this morning. Last “night they came over at intervals and dropped bombs, but did little damage. There were no casualties. ITALIAN CIVIL WAR? FASCISTS v. ARMY. RUGBY, December 16. The present situation must come as a profound shock even to devoted followers of II Duce, especially as events 5 have ■-shown how ill-prepared the ■country was for the military adventure into which it was rushed by the political chief at a time when he Thought that great gains could be secured from the success of his fellow dictator at the expense of an unfortunate neighbour. Unrest and disillusionment are at present manifesting them- ' selves even within Fascist circles, and ' an effort is being made to divert cri- ! ticism from the politicians and concentrate the blame on the Army.I Evidence that such unrest is occurring is shown by Signor Farinacci, a

member of the Fascist Grand Council, who, in a newspaper article, states that it has become necessary to issue strict orders to all leaders and former Fascist executives, stating that the Fascist Party will apply the sharpest measures against those who do not or will not understand that Italy is _ ut war* While soldiers are sacrificing their lives at the front a definite end will be put to defeatist and anti-Fas-cist propaganda. Commenting on that article, tne “Daily Telegraph” states: Signor Farinacci has been allowed or ordered to proclaim what looks almost hke civil war. Marshal Badoglio and his friends in high places and in the army are the enemy.” . x The newspaper then points out that Il Duce himself is the commander-in-chief of the Army, and he readily accepted the laurels of victory, but apparently he expected Marshal Badoglio to shoulder the responsibility in meeting adversity. It adds: “Before now self-imposed governments have found it necessary to find scapegoats in their military commanders, and before now the scapegoat has turned into a veritable unicorn. The Rome radio speaks truly when, at the end of an endeavour to belittle the Greek and British successes, it stated that the Italian people are aware that they are living in the gravest hour of their history.”

WEALTHY DENOUNCED

(Recd. December 17, 9.5 a.m.) NEW YORK, December 16. The “Herald-Tribune” correspondent in Rome reports that the Italian Press is increasingly worried because of the unrest among the well-to-do classes, who are adopting a defeatist attitude. , x “Popolo di Roma” asserts: “These people are mostly frequenters of bars and famous drawing-rooms of enlightened ladies of the political dilettanti. They listen to the 8.8. C. and shed tears because they have not any French perfumes any more. They are persons, therefore, who have nothing to do with the masses.”

GERMAN AID FOR ITALY

LONDON, December 16.

The Zurich correspondent of the ‘.‘Daily Telegraph” says it is reported that German officers and picked squads are being rushed to Italy to give aid or to take command in the event of disturbances.

The . Munich newspaper “Neueste Nachrichten” declares that if somewhere among certain bourgeois circles in Italy there are sordid elements, an energetic campaign must be waged against them.

COLLAPSE POSSIBLE.

(Recd. Dec. 17, 9.5 a.m.). BERLIN, December 16.

The “Frankfurter Zeitung” says: Britain has given our allies a hard test. Should Italy collapse like a house of cards, the British plans will have proved to be right, but with Signor Gayda we hope that Italy will resist, especially as she has large reserves at her disposal.' Meanwhile, Germany will, relie by means of constant attacks on England.

BALKANS PEACE.

(Received December 1.7, 1.1.55 a.m.) LONDON, 16.

The pact between Hungary and Jugoslavia, and the Bulgarian desire to improve relations with Turkey, is believed to confirm the view that Germany, at present, does not want war in the Balkans, says “The Times’s” Ankara correspondent. Turkish political circles are wondering whether, in view of Italy’s Egyptian disaster, Hitler will attempt a Balkan campaign, which would weaken the German effort against the British Isles, without putting the Axis in a position to achieve decisive results against the British in the Mediterranean. German propagandists are circulating a story that Italy declared war without German consent, which suggests that Hitler does not intend to allow Mussolini’s distresses to divert German attentions from the British Isles. “Yenishbah” suggests that Britain should not be required to pay the whole expenses for a war fought for the benefit of small nations, which should contribute to the post-war financial settlement.