PROGRESS IN LIBYA

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 February 1941, Page 5

PROGRESS IN LIBYA

BRITISH FORCES CLOSING ON BARCE ITALIAN ROUT IN ERITREA. WILD STRUGGLE TO ESCAPE. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright i LONDON. February 6. The main groups of Marshal Graziani’s forces in Libya are 60 to 70 miles from Benghazi, and since the pace of their retreat is at present 20 to 30 miles a day it ap-

pears that the fate of Barce on the Banghazi railway will become clear in a day or two. Hundreds of Italian settlers are also fleeing to Banghazi.

The British battering-ram which is pounding into the foothills and uplands of Eritrea is four miles from Keren. The Italians are apparently planning delaying action and have already staged an encounter at the village of Sciabor. Since the battle of Barentu the Italian withdrawal has become a rout. Remnants of the Barentu garrison are fleeing to Adi Ugri, and British mechanised units and motorised infantryarc doing their utmost to keep up with them while the Royal Air Force heavily bombs the columns of troop-laden lorries. The Italian gum; are maintaining only th.e most desultory fire. The British near Biacundi are also making contact with Italian forces, which are believed to be remnants of the Umm Hagar <’Om Ager) garrison. Our troops, who have advanced 150 miles in Eritrea in a fortnight, have shown that they are capable of storming most formidable positions. The main advance has been along a smooth autostrada, and the Italian rearguard from Agordat is struggling to escape along a parallel secondary road and is being constantly harried by patrols, which are mowing them down with, machine-guns and taking many prisoners. The Royal Air Force is spotting for our arid!?ry there and is also

swooping down and machine-gunning the miserable columns.

Lining the path of our drive to the Red Sea are streams of prisoners, heaps of battered tanks and lorries, droves of mules and piles of guns, rifles and equipment. Like our forces in Libya General Platt's men are pressing into service all possible captured material to assist the advance. ABYSSINIA ABLAZE. A nttiiw evacuation «.f Italian garrisons and civil administration from 5000 square miles of Abyssinia Ims followed the British successes in Eritrea and the harrying by native patriots More and more Abyssinians, freed by the completion of harvesting, are taking up arm.-!, and the garrison-. are faced with the desperate choice <>f a retreat along ambush-infested road.; or surrender, The evacuated area comprises the districts of Walknit and Agadc, bordering the Sudan b-'weer; the Setit and Atbarii Rivers Haile Selassie's regular force chasing the Italian::. and an .Ar gi- -- ■ Ethiopian. civil admimstr.ha. idready been rdabltshed. The RA F dropping hundred-; •' thousand- .f h*;iflr’S fellint; ths the <• a:t: '/ c>f sooee. .r.f m, ■: coui'.lrv.'iH n .nd The eond.igr.dvi; • pm .•.,; ,'ir.d is spreading to the heart of Abv . .* inia Active patrolling contir.m--. in - -uth- ' west Abyssinia. In Italian Srmui!.kmd, strop;: native and Africa:; j •?{?•>’,. have i captured Bclesgugam, a <;-f.md-'! i Italian port -.5 tr.de'; inside the fr ■■ - tier and are pursuing gar.-;