THRILLING ACHIEVEMENT

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21374, 19 March 1941, Page 5

THRILLING ACHIEVEMENT

THE RECAPTURE OF BERBERA LAND, AIR AND SEA ATTACKS ITALIANS’ RETREAT JUBILATION OF POPULATION (Official Wireless) (Received March 19, 11.40 a.m.) RUGBY, March 18 Ihe recapture of Berbera by means of combined land, sea and air operations is described today in a cable from Aden. , At about midnight on March 15 the liberating fleet ciept darkly and silently towards the Somaliland coast. The night was calm and the moon, sometimes obscured by clouds, dimly showed a long, low line of foreshore, with a mass ol mountains beyond. The convoys of troops were protected by warships. < 1 reviously British aircraft iiad photographed the whole position, revealing the Italian plan of defence. The assault was skilfully planned, therefore, to force the Italians to di\ide their already depleted and demoralised forces. As a result of this the plan was most successful. Two landings were to he made at places most unfavourable for the defenders. The western one was entrusted to picked Indian regiments, supported by engineers and artillery, while the eastern one was to he carried out by a force of Somalis and Arabs specially raised for the purpose at Aden and directed by English officers. The loyalty of the Aden Arabs was well known, hut nothing during the past seven months has more deeply impressed those in contact with the Somalis in Aden—many °f whom were exiles—than their implicit faith in Britain's power to liberate their land from Fascist usurpation. So they eagerly enlisted in this special force, whose completely successful attack is iioav known.

Thunder Of Naval Gunfire Just before zero hour one of the British warships crept in as near to the coast as possible and lowered tiny skiffs. In each skiff were three men, under the command of a lieutenant. Their task was to mark the landing beach without being detected by the enemy. A signal flashed the success of this operation, and expectation grew tense. Suddenly, at zero hour, the dim peace of land and water was ripped and shattered by the flash and thunder of naval gunfire. The west wing of the force went into the assault and the way had been paved for the Somali force to laud and advance along the shore toward Berbera about two miles distant. It was learned later that the greater part of the Italian forces had left the town under cover of darkness just before the British approach, but they left large enough numbers to make it necessary for us to crush them with force. Machine-guns and field guns tried to hold up the advance of the Somali forces, but the accuracy of the British naval gunners in the murky light and with only an occasional flash to give them their aim was amazing. Italians’ Headlong Retreat Later it was discovered how accurate that gunnery had been. The enemy positions and guns were all abandoned headlong before the searching destruction by the Somali and Arab force. Then came news of the success of the major attack on the west wing. By 9.20 the operation was completely successful and it was all over. Berbera was once more in British hands. Our casualties were negligible, and we had taken more than 100 prisoners. Even during the bombardment the inhabitants of Berbera came running out to meet our forces. They came waving Union Jacks and Somaliland flags, which they had hidden from the Italian authorities against this great day. On To Addis Ababa With the re-capture of Berbera, the capital of British Somaliland, Imperial troops are steadily closing on Addis Ababa from 13 points. Troops from Berbdra are moving towards Jijiga from the east, and South Africans are attacking from the south. Berbera had been in Italian hands since the British forces were evacuaated from British Somaliland on August 18 last. The re-capture of Berbera, states a Royal Air Force communique issued in Cairo, was preceded by violent raids by the British on Italian aerodromes on Saturday night. The land attack on Sunday was supported by bombers and fighters.

The success in British Somaliland opens up a new line of attack against the Italians in East Africa and Abyssinia. One main road leads along the coast from Berbera to Zeila. and from there it is only about 60 miles to the important Addis Ababa-Jibuti railway. New Weapon at Keren The Daily Mail’s Khartoum correspondent says a new weapon is being used in the siege of Keren, namely, a powerful broadcasting apparatus installed at the foot of the mountains. Through six huge megaphones, a constant stream of propaganda, which can be heard a mile away, is addressed to the enemy troops clinging to the cliffs. The propaganda comes from a battery ol gramopnone records, some of which have been specially made, including proclamations made in Am* haric by Haille Selassie, and speeches in Amharic by trained Abyssinian orators.

GREEK SUCCESSES ITALIANS REPULSED VIOLENT ARTILLERY FIRE ENEMY’S BIG LOSSES (United Pre»* A sen—Elec. Tel. Copyright) LONDON, March 18 Preceded by violent artillery preparation, the Italians at dawn on Monday launched a powerful new offensive in the northern sector of Albania, coinciding with very heavy fighting in the central sector. All the attacks in the north were beaten off Severe fighting occurred around Tepeleni all day, and a large Italian force is stated to be threatened with encirclement in this sector. There is great air activity on both sides; There is now little doubt, says the Times’ correspondent, that the Italian casualties in the recent fighting averaged in killed and wounded 40 per cent, of the total effectives involved, namely, 4C.C00 out of 120,000. King George of Greece, thanking the army for dealing the Italian army a smashing blow in last week’s offensive, added: “You gave the enemy a proper answer, and taught him yet another lesson in Greek gallantry.” / BRITISH WARNING THREAT TO BOMB ROME IF AXIS ATTACKS ATHENS (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) NEW YORK, March 17 It is confirmed that Britain has warned Italy and Germany through the Vatican, that the Royal Air Force will bomb Rome if the Axis bombs Athens, says the Associated Press of America. GREEK COMMANDER HONOURED BY BRITAIN (United Press Assn.—Flee. Tel. Copyright) LONDON, March 17 The King has conferred an honorary G.B.E. oh General Papagos, the Greek Commander-in-Chief. EIRE’S NEUTRALITY WILL OF IRISH PEOPLE MR DE VALERA’S SPEECH (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyrlrht) LONDON, March 18 The Prime Minister of Eire, Mr de Valera, in a speech broadcast to America, said: “We are determined that no belligerent shall use our territory as a base for attack upon another. To permit such a thing would involve us in the war.” Neutrality, said Mr de Valera, represented the determined will of the Irish people. SECRET DEVICE DEFEATING NIGHT BOMBERS GOOD RESULTS ACHIEVED (United Tress Assn.—Eler. Tel Copyright) OTTAWA, March 17 The Canadian Air Minister. Mr C G. Power, told the House of Commons that Britain’s secret dev ice for defeating night bombers was developed and expanded by American and Canadian scientists, although u originated in Britain. Many Canadian radio mechanics had been sent overseas to help operate the device, which was one oi the greatest war secrets and was beating the mght raiders.