FIVE GENERALS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23840, 16 December 1940, Page 7

FIVE GENERALS

I'BISONEBS OF BBITISH ABANDONED MATERIAL STORES OF FOOD AND OIL (Received December 15, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON. Dec. 14 "In addition to the three senior generals captured on Thursday, two further general officers commanding divisions are now in our hands," says a Cairo communique. "The number of prisoners has also increased by several thousands, but owing to the area of the battlefield it is still impossible to give the precise figures." The five captured Italian generals have been conveyed to Cairo by air. The capture of General Sehastiano means that Italy's two generals commanding the forces in Egypt have been eliminated. Other reports from Cairo state that the Italians are now reported to be retiring in disorder and abandoning entire units and materials of all kinds, as well as outdistancing their officers. The British have captured all the food and oil the Italians accumulated for the invasion of Egypt. Five Italian divisions have been chased from strongly-fortified positions. Military circles say it is difficult to estimate the exact strength of Italian divisions, which are extremely flexible. .\ Libyan division is usually 7000 or 8000, a Black Shirt 10,000 or 11,000, and a Metropolitan 13.000 or 14,000. There may be an additional three or four corps of troops with each division in a big army. A correspondent in Cairo says Marshal Gra/.iani has probably lost eight divisions —more than 100.000 men. 31 ost of the Italian prisoners appear numbed and bewildered. The majority Mere completely ignorant of events in Greece. SMUTS DELIGHTED "MUSSOLINI IS BEATEN" (Received December 15, 8.30 p.m.) JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 14 "Mussolini is beaten and his army of 300,000 is in wild flight," said General Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa, in a speech. "Italy still has 200.000 men in Abyssinia, but we will talk about them next Christmas. I do not believe the war will be over before then; but South Africa will see that the menace to its future happiness and independence is banished from Africa."