WILD CELEBRATION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 December 1940, Page 5

WILD CELEBRATION

BELLS AND SIRENS SOUND IN ATHENS KING AND GENERAL METAXAS CHEERED. THE BATTLE FOR ELBASAN. LONDON, December 8. The wildest victory celebration of the war followed the announcement of the capture of Argyrokastron, capital of south-west Albania, the occupation of which has followed a week of rapid successes. The town was the Italian base for the attack on the Epirus sector of Greece. The sirens of all ships in the Piraeus

joined the ringing of church bells iri Athens tonight. Great crowds gathered in the streets of the capital cheering their King and also General Metaxas, who, making a brief speech, declared that the fleeing Italians were unable to maintain a unified front. Crowds, after spotting British bluejackets, carried them shoulder-high. The Italians had previously evacuated Argyrokastron after burning dumps of supplies, but the Greeks delayed the occupation, for tactical reasons while their forces pushed on among the mountains north-east of the city. Tlie battle for Elbasan was resumed this morning with undiminished violence in spite of a gale and snowstorms which are sweeping the Kamma and Mokra mountains. The Greeks advancing northward of Pogradec are now beyond Undinste, the Italian reinforcements’ efforts being unavailing. The Italians now hold only secondary roads in southern Albania, and one minor road in central Albania between Valona and Tepeline, says the Athens correspondent of “The Times.”

DAMAGE IM DURAZZO. A message from Struga (Yugoslavia) says that British and Greek planes are reported-to have destroyed one-third of the bulidings in Durazzo in a raid yesterday, and also to have hit petrol stores. It is stated, though without confirmation, that the Greek advance units have occupied the village of Gjinari, within nine miles of Elbasan. Refugees are crowding Tirana, capital of Albania, where the conditions are chaotic and there is grave danger of epidemics. Fifteen days after the Greek entry into Koritza thousands of tons of ammunition were found in a cache under the town, and at least half of this can be immediately used by the Greeks. The Athens correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” says that General Metaxas, who was the author of the whole Greek plan of operations, is also the directing master-mind.

All along the line in the Argyrokastron sector, the Italians are said to be setting fire to depots in a desperate effort to prevent material falling into Greek hands. The Italian retreat toward Valona is continuing by two roads —one along the coast and the other in the central sector from Premet toward Tepelenc.