STORY OF AGORDAT VICTORY

Southland Times, Issue 24353, 6 February 1941, Page 7

STORY OF AGORDAT VICTORY

The magnitude of the Agordat victory deserves emphasis. Agordat was the" centre of Italian civilization in East Eritrea and has been a big military and air base since the invasion of Abyssinia. The defenders included the crack Second Italian Colonial Brigade with light and medium artilery under the command of Colonel Lorenzini, who is regarded as being among Italy’s most brilliant soldiers. The British commander tried to push armoured units eastward to cut off Agordat from Asmara, but was forced to admit that the ground was too difficult. A Scottish battalion, reinforced by Indians, was therefore, sent to take Cochem Hill, overlooking Agordat from the east. They endured 48 hours’ inferno of fire, and fought four and a-half Italian battalions. Constant, heavy artillery fire made it most difficult to supply them. The position looked bad when British armoured cars, supported by a famous British regiment, made a successful attack against prepared

defences running out from Cochem Hill. Later an Indian regiment, with orders to take and hold its objectives to the last man. stormed four smaller hills east of Agordat. Simultaneously Royal Air Force machines spotted a strong Italian column coining in from the east. British armoured units and infantry attacked and knocked out in a few minutes 11 tanks, which represented half the enemy’s force. The Italians then retired from the impregnable height, to Laquetat. south from Agordat.

A swift attempt was made to cut off the retreat of the Italians from Agordat, but the enemy was too quick and slipped out in the darkness over a secondary road to Asmara. The British entered the town without resistance. The Italians suffered very heavy losses, killed and prisoners exceeded 2200.

General Wavell recently visited the Eritrean battlefront and watched a phase of the battle for Barentu.