ITALIAN SELF PRAISE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24737, 14 October 1941, Page 7

ITALIAN SELF PRAISE

THE WOLCHEFIT GARRISON FIGHTING LEFT TO AFRICANS RUGBY, Oct. 11. Interesting comment has been made in London on the Italian Government's effort to make capital out of the resistance of the garrison at Wolcheflt in Abyssinia. When most of the Italian forces in the country surrendered, two contingents holding strong positions in the mountain country of Gondar and Wolcheflt refused to lay down their arms, and during the whole of the rainy season when the approaches to their strongholds were impassable they continued their resistance. Wolcheflt surrendered on September 27. The Italian press and radio has been loud in their praise of the heroic garrison, and rightly so. Brave men deserve praise. But credit - should be given where credit is due. The total strength of * the Wolcheflt garrison when it surrendered was just over 3000, and of these 1631—little more than half —were Italian, the rest being African troops. On September 10, an order of the day was issued by the Italian general, who had given the casualty figures' for the four months' siege as: Killed, 54 Italians and 193 Africans; wounded, 89 Italians and 456 Africans; total—ltalians, 143; Africans, 649.

For every two Italians killed or wounded, there were nine Africans. It is easy to see who bore the brunt of the fighting. The Italians lost only 17 men out of every 100, while the Africans lost 61.