ON ALL AFRICAN FRONTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 February 1941, Page 5

ON ALL AFRICAN FRONTS

Imperial Forces Thrusting Beyond Derna ROYAL AIR FORCE GIVING POWERFUL ASSISTANCE SUCCESSES IN ITALIAN SOMALILAND R.A.F. bombers are continuing- to attack in close co-opera-tion with the Imperial land forces on all African fronts, a 8.8. C. broadcast states. A R.A.F. communique gives particulars of heavy raids on an enemy aerodrome in Libya and on important objectives in Abyssinia. It states that British bombers on Thursday focussed thenactivities mainly on the enemy aerodrome.at Barce, on the main road between Derna and Benghazi. Barce was attacked seveia times and direct hits were made on several buildings round the aerodrome. An Italian plane, a C.R. 42 was shot down in flames by one of our fighter aircraft. A number of objectives were attacked successful.y in Abyssinia and elsewhere in East Africa. From the whole series of bombings and reconnaissance flights, all the British aircraft returned safely with the exception of one fighter reported missing. The latest communique from British General Headquarters in Cairo reads: “On all fronts operations continue to develop to our advantage.’’ In authoritative circles in London it is said that General Waveil’s troops are continuing their advance on Apollonia, 40 miles west of Derna. Barce (the aerodrome on which the R.A.F. is concentrating) is half-way between Apollonia and Benghazi. The Italian resistance at Derna was stronger than in earlier fighting in Libya. It is thought that this may have been due to the troops being fresh and not having been involved in earlier fighting. A successful raid on Italian Somaliland has been made by a Nigerian force, with the assistance of the Nigerian Navy, which consists of schooners, dhows, motor-boats and whaleboats. The force landed in a mangrove swamp on the coast, marched all night and surprised and captured an enemy village, which they destroyed, sparing only a mosque. A communique from Nairobi states that British patrols have reached positions 40 miles over the Italian Somaliland border. Many minor encounters have taken place with enemy forces and the British troops have inflicted casualties and taken prisoners. General de Gaulle has appealed to the French army in Africa to re-enter the war and help to complete the conquest of Libya.