KASSALA TAKEN

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIX, Issue 21867, 21 January 1941, Page 5

KASSALA TAKEN

IMPORTANT BRITISH VICTORY

Italians In Full Retreat

By Telegraph— Preu Aaaoclatlon— Copyright LONDON, January 19. British forces have won another important victory over the Italians, this time at Kassala, according to reports from Khartoum. The communique states that British troops are now in Kassala and that the Italians are in full retreat, harassed by British mobile units. The enemy suffered heavy casualties. The Italians had strongly fortified Kassala, which is a position of great importance. Its capture opens the road to Eritrea. Patrol activity is continuing round Metcmma, just inside the Abysginian border from Kenya. These activities are probably timed to coincide vith attacks being made Inside Abyssinia by trained Abyssinian troops. A communique issued by British headquarters in Cairo states: “In Libya there is no change in the situation. In the Sudan our troops have re-occupled Kassala. By intensive patrol activity over a period of weeks our troops, at low cost to themselves, have inflicted casualties upon the enemy, who have now been forced to evacuate their strongly-defended positions in and around Assial. The Italian troops along this front are retreating, pursued and harassed by mobile detachments. Active patrolling continues in the Metema region, east of Gallabat. In Kenya there Is nothing of importance to report.’’ Mission in Abyssinia It Is now revealed that a British military mission has been working in the heart of Abyssinia since July training and arming thousands of tribesmen. The mission consists of a handful of British staff officers and non-commis-sioned officers and instructors, specially picked for their knowledge of the country and the dialects. They trekked 500 miles In the rainy season to the interior and established a camp on the jungle-clad mountainous region of Lake Tsana among the tribes who are most strongly opposed to the Italians. The Italians have absolutely no authority over this territory and the mission rapidly trained a native army which will soon total thousands, and for which regular consignments of arms have been sent in from Khartoum. The Italians repeatedly but vainly attempted to find the British camp, but hostile tribesmen b. rred the troops and spotting from the air was virtually Impossible. These "Abyssinian patriots” have been attacking the Italians for weeks. Italian control is virtually confined to the large towns and some of the main roads. Other Ab’ssinlans have escaped across the border, gaining the Sudan. As the result of the mission's work there is now in Abyssinia a large and well-trained native army, fully equipped with the latest rifles and light guns. The tribesmen are now active against the Italians. They are harassing supply columns, ambusing patrols, and attacking amps and aerodromes. According to a message from Khartoum it is revealed that members of the British military mission in Abyssinia operated singly, accompanied by a couple of Sudanese soldiers. They used little-known mountain paths to reach the headquarters of key tribes. They mostly operated in north Abyssinia, but one got close to Addis Abbaba. One member of the mission was missing for weeks. A later message from Cairo states that British mobile forces advanced some miles into Eritrea. The Italians are believed to be planning resistance in the hills, which are at the end of the frontier plain. The Italians abandoned Kassala presumably in view of the increasing native resistance in Eritrea and Abyssinia and frequent losses of Irreplaceable men and material from supply convoys necessary to maintain the Kassala garrison. The capture of Kassala is regarded as extremely satisfactory, especially as it removed a source of trouble to railway transport.