FINE ACHIEVEMENTS IN EAST AFRICA
(8.0.W.) RUGBY, September 8. Further light on the achievements of the Imperial forces in the East African campaign was shed by LieutenantGeneral Sir Alan Cunningham, who commands them. Outstanding was the lightning advance on Addis Ababa—--1370 miles in 50 days. Five years ago the Italians took seven months to cover 420 miles with only Abyssinian tribesmen to oppose them. Lieutenant-General Cunningham recalled the Italian claim that large British forces had been tied up in Abyssinia. “In March we offered to send the South African units to the Mediterranean front,” he said. “The British forces throughout the campaign were never large. In the Battle of the Lakes a British brigade with 40 guns engaged 40,000 Italian rifles and 200 guns. The riskiest moment was when 40,000 Italians were threatening the Addis Ababa-Jibuti railway and this lifeline was defended by only two British battalions.”
Lieutenant-General Cunningham paid a tribute to the Italian commander, the Duke of Aosta. “He had an intense desire to fight clean, but in practice it was not always carried out,” he said.
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Southland Times, Issue 24536, 10 September 1941, Page 5
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179FINE ACHIEVEMENTS IN EAST AFRICA Southland Times, Issue 24536, 10 September 1941, Page 5
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