GREEK PROGRESS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 February 1941, Page 5

GREEK PROGRESS

IN MOUNTAIN REGIONS & ON COAST j — ITALIANS SUFFER HEAVY DEFEATS. MORE REPORTS OF WITHDRAWAL FROM TEPELENE. '.British Official Wireless.) RUGBY. February 1. According to agency inesi sages from Athens the recent Italian counter-attacks on the Albanian Front were not only a disastrous failure in themselves bin have greatly facili- ■ . tated the difficult Greek eni terprise of capturing strategic j : mountain defence positions modestly referred to as ‘'important points of terrain" in i > the last news communique. An agency message points out that i those positions in fact consisted of, lines which wore first begun by the j | Albanian army during King Zog's reign and were organised by the | I Italians into a strong defensive sys-1 I tern by installing permanent batteries.! machine-gun nests, trenches and; triple-barbed wire. A Greek communique states: "Dur-j mg yesterday encounters of our troops | with the enemy were crowned with! success in the fighting on the mountain heights. At some points ground of great importance which was in enemy. hands was taken and nearly 150 prisoners were captured. At another point efforts by the enemy to attack with tanks wore smashed before they developed." An official commentator in Athens said the Greeks now held a new coastal sector. The Italians were pushed back and sustained such losses that they retired in confusion and were unable to reform their lines. The commentator added that new mountain heights had been captured at Audila. I ui ther north the Greeks had smash-i ed the Italian resistance and inflicted! heavy losses. They occupied further' mountain heights there, too. The Press gives prominence to per-j sistent but unconfirmed reports that I the Italians have withdrawn from! Tepelene.

SURPRISE ATTACK R.A.F. RAIDS ENEMY CAMP. CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE CAUSED. ATHENS. February 1. A communique states that the R.A.F. successfully attacked important military camp buildings to the south-west of Tepelene yesterday. The enemy was taken completely by surprise. Considerable damage was caused, all the bombs falling in the target area. Direct hits set fire to a large building' Enemy troops emerging from their tents were machine-gunned from a low level and the casualties must have been heavy. All the planes returned. VALONA BOMBED LOW-LEVEL ONSLAUGHT ON BATTERIES. STOREHOUSES AND DEPOTS DAMAGED. The R.A.F. has followed up its raid on a military camp near Tepelene by a bombing attack on Valona, the 8.8. C, reports. As the bombers approached their target they were met by he,ivy antiaircraft fire, but they machinegunned the batteries from a low level and storehouses, ammunition dumps and a timber depot were bombed. All our planes returned safely. When enemy aircraft flew over Malm on Saturday, two C.R. 42’s were destroyed by British fighters. The Greek forces have gained further successes against the Italians in Albania Ihe Greek High Command reports that in local attacks important positions were taken, with material and another 270 prisoners. THE RAH) ON VALONA 'Received This Day, 10.55 a.tn.» RUGBY, February 2. It is officially announced in Athens! that Valona was again attacked yes-, terday by bombers of the R.A.F, the, raid being carried out in bad weather; condition!* Warehouses, a munition! dump and a timber depot were among [ the targets elfectively bombed, directl hits on buildings being registered. The anti-aircraft fire was intense, but the formation machine-gunned a battery; from a low level. Al! the aircraft returned safely.