FINAL SCENE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23970, 21 May 1941, Page 9

FINAL SCENE

LAST TO LEAVE duke of aosta I campaign not ended DIVISIONS CI'T OFF - Press Association -Copyricrht (Heed. 1l.:(o p.m.) LONDON', Miiv -jo The Duke of Aosta, Viceroy and Italian commander in-chief in East Africa, will personally surrender at noon to-day. It has been further arranged. in compliance with the Duke pf Aosta s ui/gent request, that lie should he the last to leave Aniha , Alagi. He will lie accompanied by General Trezzani and all his per- < gonal staff officers when he stir- < renders. The forces to he surrendered include Savoy Grenadiers and batteries of ax-til- (

lery, as well as other war material. The Italian garrison is believed to be in British hands already. According to military circles in Cairo, it, is too early to say whether the surrender of the Duke of Aosta means the end of the Abyssinian campaign. AboiP two Italian divisions are concentrated m the •) iin nia area, and there I arc also two at (iondar. These, with the help of the rains, uia\ hold out .until the end "f the rainy season, but on the other hand, when they receive the news of the Duke of Aosta's surrender, they may decide to do likewise. Fe.fr of the Bush The British military spokesman emphasised the importance of the capture of the road junction at Dalle. This

cuts off the oiilv reasonable chance of escape for the tu v o Italian divisions in the Jimma district, and they can nononly take to the hush. Italians have a particular aversion to the bush because of the patriots lurking there. Tlie Times, anticipating that the surrender of the Amba Alagi forces will mean the end, says the consequent release of seasoned Imperial forces will be the most important outcome. TinTimes stresses that Irak will be the chief new commitment, but finds grounds for confidence in the fact that the Royal Air Korce and the Fleet Air Ami have already taken strong action b#th in Irak and in Syria.

Difficulties lor Germans "Germany wil] doubtless attempt," gays the newspaper, "to make all possible use of such portions of the Iraki army as adhere to the cause of Hash id Ali, but even with the aid of her bombers it is "to he doubted whether these troops, who have not the slightest interest in the conflict forced upon / them, will prove of much value to her." The Times contrasts the difficulties attending the transport of German troops with Britain's ability to reinforce through the Persian Gulf, and ' adds: "If we can dispo.se of enough wrships to make the Levant too dangerous for the enemy, enough aircraft ft l deny him free communication across Syria, and enough equipment to enable us to us>.' our troops to the best pos- ■ sills advantage in Irak, it will not be a matter of great difficulty to keep the Germans out//' .

"SAD MOMENT" ■ i DUKE OF AOSTA'S MESSAGE HEAVY LOSSES ADMITTED tfßecd. 5.35 p.m.') LONDON, May 20 In his last message from Amba Alagi to Mussolini, the Duke of Aosta said: "Faced with the impossibility of 'accommodating and caring for the many wounded, aijd owing to the continual deterioration of the situation, which permitted / only brief resistance *ith heavy losses, I have been led to ; ask the enemy for honourable surrender, and my request has been granted. "This is a sad moment, but 1 am comforted hv the conviction that I have 'done everything humanly possible. [ relinquish my command and thank you. Dace, for having during the year's hard, struggle, always accorded me your support and confidence. The war is notover. We shall soon return to this soil, once more drenched with Ttalin.il blood for our country's glory." Mussolini replied: "You and your soldiers have fought heroically and resisted beyond, all limits. The Italian people, who have watched and admired you, share your faith for the future."

POSITIONS CAPTURED "IMPERIAL TROOPS' SUCCESS .PRISONERS AND GUNS TAKEN LONDON, May 1!) Units of the Sudan Defence Force, Assisted by patriots, captured an important position in the Gondar sector, Afflicting serious damage on the enemy. The operations an 1 proceeding satisfactorily. In southern areas Imperial troops captured Dalle, an important r °ad junction .'!•") miles south of SciasciaWannn, on .May 16. As a result, of this successful operation HOO prisoners were captured, including two colonels, a numher of staff officers, two guns and two Armoured cars. A month ago it was reliably estimated that thc)-c were '22,000 enemy troops in .Jiijmia, but to what extent this number has been reduced by desertions, casualties and the capture, ol prisoners" is not definitely known. In C">n<lar, which is practically surrmi"ded, there are probably about, SOOO Italians, ami ;i .few-, thousand native troops British aircraft luue continued to Assist the troops in mopping up operations. At! acks were made mainly on enemy motor transports retreating along roads.

WIRELESS OPERATORS COURSE FOR SERVICES .(Heed. 7.15 p.m.) LONDON. May 10 ' llenv scheme for training wireless operators for the Army, Navy and Air otce lia- been outlined by Lieutenant[,yritt, tin. chairman of the iioless lelegraphv Board. The course Wl]| L. ' oe open to any young man who 83 between 16$ years and 18 on Jan***9 29 last.

BITTER PILL

EAST AFRICAN DEFEAT ITALIAN PLANS WRECKED SPEED OF BRITISH ADVANCE (Reed. 7.15 p.m.) LONDON, May 1!) The importance of the capture of the Duke of Aosta and all his forces iti the Amba Alagi area, says the British official wireless, is stressed by a staff officer, who says: "This is indeed a bitter pill for Italy to swallow. Although it was impossible for the Germans to send direct help to their pattners in Abyssinia, the Italian radio made no secret ot flic desperate messages sent Ironi Home urging the Duke Jo hold out at till costs so as to pin down the British forces opposing him. But all bis effort's have tailed, and now we shall be in a position to redistribute

our lorees fighting in Italian .East Africa. •"The Duke's task must have been a disheartening one. Since January 19, when we retook Kassala, the Italian troops in East Africa have been de-

feated and driven out on all sides, losing enormous quantities of men and material. The object of the campaign was the conquest of a vast country, mountainous and undeveloped, subject to extremes ot heat and tropical rainfalls. and deietided by a large and wellequipped Italian army. Two Phases of Campaign "There have been two distinct phases in the East African war: First, our strategic withdrawal in the face of vastly superior numbers, which gave the Italians temporary possession of British Somaliland; then came the second phase—slow and steady pressure at many points of the long front, coordinated with lightning converging ' advances along the main roads into the heart of the enemy's country. <

j "The Duke of Aosta was forced to j evacuate Addis Ababa and split the | Abyssinian garrison into three parts. One was to go south-west to the .Jimnia plateau, the second-largest: centre of Italian colonisation; one was to go southeast to join the Xeghelli forces and hold the difficult Arussi Hills, which the Abyssinians used as a centre of resistance in the 15>•"?•"> campaign; while the third was to go north-east to Dessye toward the retreating survivors of the Kritrean army, who held the mountainous country at Atnha Alagi, and possibly reinforce the beleaguered garrison at Gondar. Relentless Pursuit ''ln Jinima, Gondar and Dessye stores and ammunition had been accumulated to enable those forces to continue their defence; but that plan was also wrecked by our relentless pur-

suit of all the retreating forces. "The capture of Amba Alagi virtually means the end of the Kast African campaign, and the surrender of the Duke of Aosta will be a severe blow to the morale of the remaining troops. While in the other areas resistance may yet continue, the tight tends to take on more and more the character of guerilla warfare. "The Italians boasted that their conquest of Abyssinia had been a marvel of speed. Yet it took them seven months to reach Addis Ababa, a distance of t'-'o miles, when they opposed ill-equipped native levies. As against that. General Cunningham's column covered 117)0 miles from the south to Addis Ababa in 50 days, opposed by Italy's best forces, fully trained and equipped with modern weapons."

GEN. SMUTS' MESSAGE CAPETOWN, May 20 The Prime Minister of South Africa. General Smuts, has sent a message of congratulations to the General Officer Commanding in Kast Africa, General Sir Alan Cunningham. General Smuts sairl the fall of Amlin Alagi was a just, reward of brilliant leadership. The success of the Imperial troops in the Abyssinian campaign would take a high place in the annals ol warfare. WAR INJURY INSURANCE AUSTRALIAN SCHEME STATE TO CARRY WHOLE COST CANBERRA, May 20 The Federal Cabinet has approved in principle a personal war risk insurance scheme under which every civilian in the Commonwealth will he covered. The Commonwealth will carry the entiri financial burden and compensation will be paid to civilians who suffei personal injury from enemy action in Australia. The proposed compensation comprises temporary allowances to tide incapacitated people over their period of incapacitation; permanent pensions to people totally incapacitated; and permanent pensions to dependents of breadwinners killed by enemy action. I'll., scheme could be brought into operation undei the National Security Act in 21 hours.

GROWING WEIGHT AIR RAIDS ON GERMANY LONDON, May 10 The Berlin correspondent of the Basle (Switzerland) National Zeitung, after reviewing Germany's appraisement of the war situation, says there can he no misunderstanding that British efforts have grown. The Royal Air Force night after night continues its attacks against Germany, and the number of machines is ever increasing. An admission of tlit? serious damage caused by the I'oyal Air Force iu raids mi Germany has been made by the chid of the German air staff, General Milch. Addressing A.R.P. workers, he said: "We cannot look on when great damage is done by (ire to our factories important for the war effort. By this we should suffer losses which we cannot replace." General Milch added: "[ beg you to continue to work in the A.R.P. to prevent damage, and to remain ft collective band as an example to others." LOAN OVER-SUBSCRIBED CANBERRA, May 20 As predicted the Commonwealth's I'.'!.").()()(),(XX) war loan has been closed. It was over-subscribed by £7- r >0.0()0. Senator A. W. hidden, acting-Prime Minister, stated that the whole amount would he used for war purposes. Nearly 52,000 individual subscriptions wore received,

LITTLE ACTIVITY

RAIDS OVER BRITAIN A FEW BOMBS DROPPED NOT MANY CASUALTIES (Heed. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, May '2O The Air Ministry states that there was little enemy activity over Britain on Monday night. Bombs svere dropped at a point in the East Midlands, where there were some ■asuaUies, and at a few points elsewhore, but there was no extensive damage anywhere. During daylight (in Monday there was sonic enemy air activity, mainly off the east and south-east coasts, but few hostile aircraft flew inland. In the early morning bombs were dropped in two places on the south-west coast. Some damage was done and a small number of casualties was caused, some of which were fatal. Fight Over Channel Five enemy fighters were destroyed by fighters of the Royal Air Force over the Channel on Monday. Four British fighters are missing from patrol, but three of the pilots are safe. In the past 21 hours eight enemy aeroplanes have been destroyed over and Britain. Four Spitfires, patrolling over a convoy in the English Channel on Monday afternoon, met ten Messerschmitt lOH's. In the fight which followed five of the Messerschmitts were shot down in as many minutes without loss to our aeroplanes. Two Spitfire pilots got two each, a third the other. Only one German had time to hale out. The fight gave the pilots revenge for a formation of Messerschmitt 109's which earlier in the day pounced on two machines of the same squadron and shot them down. Both of the pilots baled out and were saved. This squadron now claims 87 victories. Famous Buildings Damaged It is revealed that the centuries-old manor house at Farningham, Kent, which was once the home of Captain 131 igli of the Bounty, was demolished

The Dreadnought hospital for seamen in Greenwich, which in the past had ) cared for thousands of all nationalities, . including 5000 German seamen, was serif ously damaged in another raid. Nurses r carried out 28 patients and had six 1 beds available for sailors two days s later. 1 Among famous buildings damaged in " recent raids were the Royal College of " Surgeons and the Royal Naval College 1 at Greenwich. At the Royal College of Surgeons the lecture rooms were destroyed, as well as the greater part of ' the museum and its treasures. i lIESS AFFAIR AIR-GENERAL IMPLICATED LONDON, May If) Air-General Willihald Spang, head of the meteorological office of the German air force, is now implicated in the Hess affair says the Daily Express. Hess carried weather charts which must have been calculated by an expert weather man. The Gestapo has ordered a thorough investigation of Spang's staff, and unless Spang produces the culprit he is likely to be removed. UGANDA'S FINE GIFT l Kfcd. 7.15 p.m.) LONDON, May. Ui Uganda has now raised a total of £11)0,000 for the purchase of tighter aircraft. The squadron will be named , after the Protectorate.