RECAPTURE OF BERBERA

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21374, 19 March 1941, Page 4

RECAPTURE OF BERBERA

Again the Union Jack flies in British Somaliland. The period of its absence has seen a most remarkable change in the fortunes of war. Only a few months ago, when the collapse of France left the British positions in North and East Africa terribly exposed to the enemy, Italy in the first flush of her declaration of war dashed into the broken ranks of the Allies and seized British Somaliland as the small force of British troops evacuated it. Italy then could have had no inkling of the disaster that was to follow so swiftly. What progress the Allied forces have made in British Somaliland is not yet known, but the main town and port, Berbera, has been recaptured. If the attack is pressed from this territory the Italians in Abyssinia will be surrounded excepting for a part of the coast of Eritrea, which after all serves as only a boundary beyond which the Italians cannot retreat. For the purposes of supply the Eritrean ports are practically useless. Although some resistance was encountered at Berbera it is probable that the territory is not strongly garrisoned by the Italians. The country is poor and strategically it is not vital. Now it means only another facet of the attack against the Italians, who are gradually being driven in on the centre of Abyssinia—itself an extremely inhospitable country where the native patriots are growing stronger every day and into which the Allied forces are thrusting deeply. British troops are now operating on the coast and on both sides of French Somaliland, where the Addis Ababa railway reaches the sea at the port of Djibouti. One column is advancing in the direction of Harar, not far from the railway, and it may be intended to drive inwards from British Somaliland to the same point. In that case the railway could be cut, if it is not cut already, and in conjunction with the drives from the Lake Tana regions, central Abyssinia and tne capital Addis Ababa might be isolated from Eritrea and the coast. The distances are great and the rainy season is not far off, but rapid progress is being made and the Italians’ position is becoming extremely precarious.