VALIANT WARRIORS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22403, 27 April 1936, Page 11

VALIANT WARRIORS

STUBBORN RESISTANCE ITALIANS' SLOW ADVANCE MUDDY GROUND TRAVERSED By Telegraph— Press Association— Copyright LONDON, April 23 A despatch from Addis Ababa states that Has Nasibu's version of last week's battle in the south states that the Abyssinians for three days valiantly resisted an attack by Italian native troops and drove them back 20 miles in hand-to-hand fighting. General Graziani then sent in white troops who forced the Abyssinians to retire to their former positions. The Crown Council has decided to remain in the capital and defend the three possible routes of the Italian advance. For this purpose the Abyssinians, re-equipped, are concentrating at natural strongholds.

A message from Rome says that under the eye of General Graziani, who watched from an aeroplane the widespread advance on a 250-mile front, four columns are progressing, in spite of the muddy terrain, at an average of 18J miles a day toward the Abyssinian position.

From .Tij iga westwards four columns are aiming at preventing Has Nasibu's 20,000 troops from reaching Sasa Baneh. Four thousand Abyssinian corpses are lying all over the sodden country or floating in the rivers. A communique from Marshal Badoglio claims the capture of a big camel caravan on the Somaliland front which was transporting supplies to Abyssinian troops. The Libyan Division (Italians) continues to advance. Aircraft on the entire front efficiently bombed enemy positions.

RED CROSS BOMBINGS OFFICER'S ALLEGATIONS BRITISH INACTION CONDEMNED LONDON, April 23 " What I have seen in this ugly war makes me ashamed to be British, said Captain Brophil, a British Red Cross officer, in an address to members of the Abyssinian Association at a meeting in the House of Commons. He added: " 1 realise that I am a member of a wealthy and powerful Empire which is a party to the most shameful betrayal of faith ever perpetrated. If Italy gets away with these atrocities Britain has indeed fallen from her high estate." Captain Brophil declared that Italians had been using poison gas since December, when his ambulance received the first victims. Thousands of Abyssinians, including women and children, must grope in blindness because their eyes were put out by the ruthless decree of a dictator of whom they had never heard. Recalling the Italian bombing of the British Red Cross at Lake Ashang|i, Captain Brophil said: "A reconnoitring aeroplane came over and I waved to the pilot, indicating the Red Cross. He waved back. Next day several aeroplanes flew over and dropped bombs. One fell among 10 women and killed two and wounded the other eight.

" The bombing continued for threoquarters of an hour. The leading aeroplane had the large number 7 on the fuselage. Locally it was supposed to be piloted by one of Signor Mussolini's sons. After that aeroplanes fired machine-guns at us for two hours and a-half.

" After consultation with my colleagues I decided to put away the sacred emblem of the Red Cross, which has an uncanny fascination for Italian ' heroes.' We dared not show the R<jd Cross for three months, and even then we were bombed 12 or 14 times a day."