BIG PUSH ON OCTOBER 28

Northern Advocate, 25 October 1935, Page 7

BIG PUSH ON OCTOBER 28

ITALY’S THREE ARMIES _ « REAL INVASION TO BEGIN ABYSSINIANS ON MARCH lUnited Press Association.-By Electric Telegraph. — Copyright .] (Received 2.30 a.m.) LONDON, October 25. The Rome correspondent of the British United Press states that all Italy is confident great armies mustered in East Africa will, on October 28, the anniversary of the Fascist march on Rome, start an earnest march on Abyssinia. General De Bono’s army is expected to move towards Makale. The Eastern army has .been given the double task <of assisting General' IJe Bono’s left flank, and. attacking the Abyssinians in the Harrar region while General Graziani’s Southerr prmy is expected to attack Ras Nasibu, who is barring the road to the Djibouti railway. The gigantic nature of Italy’s war effort is revealed in the published figures of arrivals in East Africa in September, when 40,000 men and 65,000 tons of war material were landed. “The Times’” Addis Ababa correspondent says that Muluwaeta, the War Minister, is leading 70,000 troops from the capital to Dessie and Kas now advanced 50 miles. His followers are eating up the country like locusts as they march. If they see a crop of beans, wheat or maize they immediately consume it raw. They also camp together*, making an enormous target for air raids. Mulugheta, despite his 62 years, is an excellent marcher and covers 20 miles daily. He is accompanied by retainers carrying camp furniture, including vast tables, on their heads. Many women are following the army, including Mulugheta’s own house hold. Difficulties to be Overcome. The “Daily Matt's” special correspondent in Abyssinia, Major-Gen-eral J. F. C. Fuller, after the completion of a motor tour of the Tigre front, states that the country there is ideal for sharp-shooting and machine-gunners, and sometimes suitable for tanks, but, owing to the plenitude of ground cover it is difficult for aircraft. “Hidden peril lies at every turning in the road,” said the correspondent. “One thousand feet below the bend in the Adikaie Road lie five lorries broken to matchwood. Their drivers missed the . bend. Such accidents demonstrate the supreme difficulty of the Italian problem.

< A message from Djibouti, French Somaliland, states that a British airman, Mr Chas. French, who complet-, ed the trip from Djibouti to Addis Ababa in one day, states that the rugged topography of the country was less unfavourable to Italian airmen than was supposed. The mountains consist of scattered peaks, enabling pilots to fly * between them. Although there are a few good lauding places, forced landings are possible. Addis A'baba offers a poor target for bombers. The mountain slops show few signs of habitation and bombing would inflict little damage. The airman ’ encountered difficulty in taking off at Addis Ababa owing to the rarity of the air. Red Cross in Field. The advance guard of a Swedish Red Cross hospital under Dr. Pride Nylander and Dr. Eric Smith, both, of whom arrived by airj passed through en route to Harrar, where they hope to ■ create a field hospital with 100 beds. Dr. Nylander has had six years’ experience of medical work in Abyssinia.

Five ambulance cars with ,material and four doctors and eight male nurses will leave Marseilles on October 30. An airman is attached for liaison work and the transport supplies. It is estimated that the upkeep of the organisation for three months will be £14,000, which is already subscribed.