ITALIANS WORN DOWN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 262, 3 October 1940, Page 7

ITALIANS WORN DOWN.

VALUABLE WORK BY R.A.F

LONDON, Oct. 1. The Daily Telegraph’s Cairo correspondent says the steady wearing down of Mussolini’s bases in East Africa was carried a big step forward in September. This aspect of the war has not received the publicity it deserves because of Hitler’s assault against Britain and Marshal Graziani’s push against Egypt. The British and South African Air Forces have been on the job night and day and have chalked up a series of magnificent successes. The pilots have flown tremendous distances over savage, mountainous country where a forced landing is certain death. The British planes raided 32 military and air force bases in September, making 66 full-scale attacks, apart from countless reconnaissances.

Assab, the chief target, was raided ten times, resulting in the sinking of ships and the burning of aircraft, petrol dumps, hangars and barracks. The vital airport of Gura was raided seven times, and Kassala and Asmara each four .times.

‘ Mussolini in September lost 57 planes throughout Africa for certain, and probably another 44, making the totals since the outbreak ,of war 214 and 124. Tell tale columns of smoke throughout Abyssinia reflect the systematic war of attrition against the Italian bases. ' .

A Nairobi message says it is revealed that South African troops have been holding the Turkana, front for several weeks. The main purpose of this front is the protection of the desert routes into Uganda and Kenya, also the safeguarding of the Turkana tribesmen from raids by Italian reguSouth Africa has provided not only infantry, but all the auxiliary services including transport oyer nearly 500 miles.