BADLY BEATEN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20507, 18 March 1941, Page 7

BADLY BEATEN

“GREAT MARSHAL” INGLORIOUS DUCE SIX-DAY BUTCHERY GRIM ALBANIAN FRONT LULL IN OFFENSIVE (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. March 18, 11.40 a.m.) LONDON, March 17. Reports from Greece state that the last two days have been relatively quiet on the Albanian front. The Italians did not attempt to launch a further serious offensive. The Athens correspondent of The Times says that the fourth Italian Commander-in-Chief—this time the Italian Empire’s great Marshal Mussolini—left Albania badly beaten by the Greek’s after six consecutive days ot the bloodiest attacks, which infuriated Italian urisoners call butchery, costing over 50,000 casualties. So many dead are lying on the battlefield that the air is polluted despite the snow and intense cold, compelling the Greeks to take special sanitary measures. The British Official Wireless Service reports that since the complete failure of last week’s desperate Italian assault on the Albanian front there appears to have been no major engagements. The latest Greek High Command communique briefly states that artillery activity of varying intensity was experienced. The magnitude of the Italian defeats in indicated by the fact that although seven divisions were employed on a front of 20 miles, with the main effort directed on a narrow sector two and a half miles wide, the enemy failed to gain any ground. In fact, in many places the Italians are back behind their lines of assault. Signor Mussolini, who hoped for the spectacular scene of a march to victory, has now returned to Rome in the knowledge that some 3000 Italian prisoners are in Greek hands as a result of seven days of attack and that all the losses suffered amount to 50,000.

The Athens correspondent of The Times says it is probable that the enemy will not be in a position to renew the offensive for two months, if then.

An official Athens estimate of the result of the enemy’s offensive efforts says: “It failed to suppress our offensive, our counter-attacks following each attack. The results of this success are among the most important we have yet won, especially as the enemy’s attempt was preceded by long preparations, as immense quantities of ammunition were brought together and important forces were engaged far in excess of our own.”