LARGE REINFORCEMENT

Taranaki Daily News, 10 September 1940, Page 7

LARGE REINFORCEMENT

By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.

HUGE CONVOY ARRIVES

Received 11 p.m. London, beptemoer ». A HUGE convoy of ships, the largest to arrive in Egypt smce war began, has taken men and war materials from England, Rhodesia, India and Australia to strengthen the British forces in the Middle East. The convoy passed safely through the Mediterranean, where it either eluded the enemy, or the enemy avoided it. Several thousand soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force were aboard the ships. ) —

Large liners transported thousands of I technicians, infantrymen and hospital staffs. Tlie convoy was met by other | convoys with Royal Air Force personnel j from Australia and tea-planters from Ceylon. Trains laden with soldiers left, for Cairo, Palestinc and elsewhere soon | after the ships arrived. ] No submarines or enemy planes were ] sighted throughout the voyage. The troops from England are composed large- | ly of men who fought in France, and are a representative cross-section of the British Army. A formation of Italian bombing planes made a raid on Alexandria last night in an attempt to hit British warships, but did not succeed. A few bombs fell outside the city, and nine persons were injured by flying glass. "Three air raids were made on Mersa Matruh on Friday, causing some casualties," says a communique issued at- Cairo. "Two enemy aircraft are believed to have been damaged by anti-aircraft, fire. Enemy aircraft also raided Haifa_, but anti-aircraft defences came into actioh and drove off the enemy before he could effectively drop his bombs. There was no damage or casualties." British Bombing Raids. It is officially announced that the R.A.F. suecessfully bombed the DjiboutiAddis Ababa railway bridge, 90 miles from Addig, Ababa, and substantially damaged it. Bombs fell on a wireless statLn in the European quarter of Hargeisa and military buildings were damaged at Harmil Island, Eritrea. All of-. the British planes returned. R.A.F. fighters damaged two enemy oombers which raided Aden. A direct hit destroyed a grounded plane at Berbera. An official communique states: "On Saturday evening enemy aircraft raided Port Sudan, causing little damage and only one' casualty. There is nothing to report from the other fronts " "An Italian submarine sank a British naval patrolship in the approaches to the Straits of Gibraltar," says an Italian communique. "Bombers arid fighters attacked arsenals on Malta, causing great destruction and fires. They also hit a submarine in a fitting-out basin. Two British planes were shot down and probably a third. All of our planes returned. Some members 'of the crews were wounded. Another formation bombed Aden and shot down an enemy fighter. British planes bombed and machinegunned Buna, wounding a native."