HAS CHANGED NDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 July 1940, Page 5

HAS CHANGED NDS

J-TER BEING BLOWN UP BY BRITISH TROOPS. RENEWED ACTION AGAINST ITALIANS. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, July 1. A correspondent of the British United Press says that a second battle at Capuzzo began on Saturday after Italian forces had reoccupied the shattered shell of the fort, which the British had captured on June 1-1- and then evacuated with valuable plans and lorries and motor-cycles after blowing up the fort. The Italians moved in again last Thursday with 1000 non-native troops, 16 tanks and some field guns, and the British made their second attack the following clay, their field guns shelling the Italian batteries while a ring of tanks closed in on the fort. The Italian guns scored only one hit in 90 minutes, and the British shells made a huge gap in the walls of the fort. Tanks awaited in darkness to rush the fort, but the resistance stiffened. The battle continues. An R.A.F. communique states: “It is definitely established that in the raid on Tobruk on Friday we shot down three machines. One was an R.O. 37, the gunner of which was killed, the aircraft being forced down behind Sidi Azeiz. A CR 32 was forced down and another CR 32 shot down at Amseat. “It is now definitely established that our successes on the following day were two enemy aircraft. In yesterday's raids on Malta four enemy aircraft each dropped 42 bombs.” ITALIAN BLUNDER FIRE OPENED ON OWN TROOPS. CAPUZZO BATTLE CONTINUES. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.20 a.m.) RUGBY, July 2. An official statement by British headquarters in the Middle East says details have been received of an Italian blunder on the KenyaAbyssinia frontier, which involved the Italians in considerable losses. At a frontier village in the northern province of Kenya, a concentration of Italian troops mistook a patrol of Banda—ltalian conscriped native levies—for British troops and opened fire. Several unfortunate Banda were killed or wounded and their comrades returned the Italians’ fire, causing several casualties. When the mistake was discovered the Italians rallied and turned their artillery and machinegun fire on the British across the valley, at Fort Harrington, in an attempted attack, which was a complete failure. There were no British casualties or damage reported'. The latest official information regarding East African operations is contained in a communique, issued today at Cairo and Nairobi. The former says operations are continuing at Fort Capuzzo and Sidi Azseiz in the area of the Western Desert, between our advanced troops and the enemy, who have been reinforced. In Somaliland, our patrols successfully raided Barumo. On the other fronts there is nothing to report. The Nairobi communique states that the Italians launched a third attack against Moyale, on the Kenya-Abys-sinian frontier, at 3 p.m. yesterday, but made no progress and the situation was quiet at 6 p.m. During the attack our aircraft again bombed military targets in the neighbourhood of Italian Moyale. Good results, from direct hits, were obtained. During the night the front was quiet.