SPLENDID PROGRESS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 December 1940, Page 5

SPLENDID PROGRESS

GREEKS SWEEPING ROUND ON WIDE FRONT WITH COAST AS OBJECTIVE. DRIVE TOWARDS ELBASAN. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON. December 8. The Greeks, waging their offensive along the entire front, have added to their, recent highly important successes. In the southern sector they have captured Delvine, north-west of the port of Santi Quaranta. Over a large part of the front it is now extremely difficult for the enemy to transport troops from one point to another, the communications having been cut and disrupted. In the north the Greeks have entered valleys in the zone beyond Pogradec and are reported to be. sweeping round on a wide front with the coast as their objective.

An earlier message stated that the Greeks have occupied all the remaining important heights in the Mokra mountains, and to the north-west of Pogradec they captured two villages with an artillery battery and a whole battalion of the enemy. The latest reports from Struga even say that the most advanced Greeks are within 13 miles of Elbasan. x Shock troops in the Ostrovitze mountains silenced further Italian batteries, captured the positions and turned the guns on the retreating Italians. These guns and others which the Greeks have brought up now dominate the road from Premet to Berat, protecting the main Greek movement to Klisura, which means that the closed “door” in an important pass linking a number of other important routes through the’ mountains (including roads to Valona, Berat and Klisura) which hitherto has been regarded as impregnable, is now under Greek fire. JOYOUS WELCOME. The Greeks in the occupied villages are receiving a joyous welcome from the inhabitants. It is reported from Athens that the Greeks are in complete occupation of Santi Quaranta which has been solemnly rechristened with the Greek name, Aghissaranda (“Forty Saints”). Thus the former anti Greek base is now an anti-Mussolini base. The roads to Fort Palermo are choked with the fleeing troops. The latest advances give the Greeks command of the Ostrovitse massif and also the Hamna massif on the north bank of the Devoli River, which, together dominate the Devoli Valley road from Korea to Elbasan. These advances are beginning to threaten the oilfield between Devoli and Shkumba, which is Italy’s only source of natural oil. The material captured from the Italians is estimated to exceed £2,500,000 So many motor-vehicles have been abandoned in perfect condition that there is likely soon to be a shortage of Greek drivers.

ITALIAN REPORT . ROME, December 7. A communique states: “The enemy continued pressure on our extreme left wing and in a group of mountains to the west of Pogradec, and limited himself in the rest of the front to local attacks. In the Argyrokastron zone our troops retook several positions as a result of counter-attacks. “The air force, in spite of decidedly adverse weather and strong anti-air-craft fire, carried out numerous attacks from low altitudes. They ma-chine-gunned enemy troops and mechanised supply columns and interrupted roads and centres of concentration and also heavily bombed military objectives at Zante and Arta. At Ereeke, Italian bombs hit and exploded a munition depot.” Provincial

Such of the cable news on this page as is t',o headed has appeared in “The Times,’’ and is cabled to Australia and New Zealand by special permission. It should be understood that the opinions are not those of “The Times” unless expressly stated to be so-