ITALIAN BLUNDER

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21155, 3 July 1940, Page 7

ITALIAN BLUNDER

FIRED ON OWN TROOPS FIGHTING IN AFRICA SUCCESS OF THE BRITISH (Official Wireless) (Received July 3, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, July 2 An official statement by British headquarters in the Middle East says details have been receives of an Italian blunder on the Kenya-Abys-sinia frontier, which involved the Italians in considerable trouble. At a frontier village in a northern province of Kenya a concentration of Italian troops mistook a patrol of Banda—ltalian conscripted native levies—for British troops, and opened fire. Several unfortunate Banda were killed or wounded. Their comrades returned the Italians’ fire, causing several casualties. When the mistake was discovered, the Italians rallied and turned their artillery and machine-gun fire on British troops across the valley at Fort Harrington. The attack was a complete failure. There were no British casualties and no damage was reported. Operations in East Africa The latest official information regarding operations in East Africa is contained in communiques issued today at Cairo and Nairabi. The former says: Operations are continuing at Fort Capuzzo, in the Sili Azseiz area of the western desert, between our advanced troops and the enemy who has been reinforced. In Somaliland our patrols successfully raided Barumo. On other fronts there is nothing to report. The Nairobi communique says the Italians launched a third attack against Moyale, on the Kenya-Abys-sinian frontier, at 3 p.m. yesterday, but made no progress. The situation was quiet at 6 p.m. During the attack our aircraft again bombed military targets in the neighbourhood, of Italian Moyale, with good results, direct hits being obtained. The front is quiet. To Command in West Africa The King has approved of the appointment of Lieutenant-General G. J. Giffard as General Officer commanding in West Africa. This is a new appointment, and will embrace Gambia, the Gold Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Lieutenant-General Giffard had a long experience in West African conditions before being appointed In-spector-General of the Royal West African Frontier Force and the King’s African Rifles in 1936, an appointment he relinquished in 1938 to be - come Inspector-General of the African colonial forces. He was military secretary at the War Office in 1939. In February of this year he was appointed General Officer Commanding the British Forces in Palestine and Transjordania.