GREAT VICTORY

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21336, 6 February 1941, Page 7

GREAT VICTORY

BRITISH PRESSING ON MANY PRISONERS TAKEN GALLANTRY OF SOLDIERS (United Press Assn.—dec. Tei. Copyriffntj LONDON, Feb. 5 The British forces in Eritrea, now five miles west of Keren, which is half-way between Agordat and Asmara, the capital, are gathering, as they press on, great batches of prisoners, and also masses of guns, lorries |nd ammunition which the Italians jettisoned. British guns are harassing the tired Italian troops with tremendous barrages. Already the Italian rearguard is halved and nas lost 70 per cent, of its material. The captors of Barentu took prisoner 1500 Italians and killed 500. A large quantity of guns, ammunition and stores was captured.

British forces pushing on from Gallabat to Gondar, Abyssinia, are over 30 miles from the Sudanese frontier, in spite of the Italians’ determined obstructive tactics.

The magnitude ol‘ the victory at Agordat deserves emphasis. Agordat was the centre of Italian civilisation jn East Eritrea, and has been a big military and air base since the invasion of Abyssinia. Its defenders included the crack Second Italian Colonial Brigade, with light and medium artillery, under the command of Colonel Lorenzini, who is regarded as among Italy’s most brilliant soldiers. Inferno of Fire The British commander tried to push armoured cars eastward to cut off Agordat from Asmara, but was forced to admit that the ground was too difficult. A Scottish battalion, reinforced by Indian troops, was therefore sent to take Cochem Hill overlooking Agordat from the east. They endured a 48 hours’ inferno of lire, j fighting four and a-half Italian battalions. Heavy artillery fire made it most difficult to supply them, and the position looked bad when British armoured cars, supported by a famous British regiment made a successful attack against the prepared defences running out from Cochem Hill. Latex an Indian regiment, with orders to take their objectives and hold them to the last man, stormed lour smaller hills east of Agordat. Simultane- j ously, Roj r al Air' Force machines , spotted a strong Italian column com- j ing in from the east. British arm- I oured cars and infantry attacked and knocked out in a few minutes 11 j tanks, which were half the enemy’s force. The Italians then retired from the impregnable height of Laquetat, south from Agordat. A swift attempt was made to cut | off the retreat of the Italians from Agordat, but the enemy were too quick and slipped out in the darkness over a secondary road to Asmara. The British entered tne town without resistance. The Italians suffered very heavy losses, the total killed and taken prisoner exceeding 22,000. | 1 General Wavell Watches General Sir Archibald Wavell recently visited the Eritrean battle front and watched a phase of the battle for Barentu. Sudanese armoured units form the spearhead of the British drive in Eritrea, while heavier forces are mopping up isolated centres of opposition. The road from Agordat is thick with guns, armoured units and lorry-loads j of troops protected by British lighters , and anti-aircraft guns. . ! ■ 1 1 y