KRIM’S LONE HAND.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 19 June 1926, Page 9

KRIM’S LONE HAND.

VERY SKILFUL TRIBESMEN. AN EXPERT BOY GUNNER. LONDON, June 6. The collapse of the Riffs, says the Tangier correspondent of The Times, discloses the fact that the supposed presence of influential Europeans at Abd el Krinils headquarters existed only in the imagination of the French and Spanish newspapers, chiefly owing to their disinclination to believe that the great difficulties with which the two Powers were confronted were due to the Riffs alone. It is now apparent that, except for a few deserters from the French Foreign Legion, who were useful as mechanics and instructors in trenchdigging and drill, and some Riffian exsoldiers who acted as instructors in the use of mitrailleuses and bombing, the troubles of Franco and Spain were entirely due to the ability of Krim and the courage of his followers. The Spaniards have found that the tribes which surrendered included boys who were skilled mechanics, also one lad, 13 years old, who, in the presence of Spanish officers, dismantled and remounted a mitrailleuse, after which lie fired with precision. The Riffs who were employed in the Algerian telephone service trained youths to work Krim’s war telephones.