KEREN AND HARRAR CAPTURED
Italy's Last Stronghold In Africa Falls Two Dramatic
NAMTAU SEVERE RAID
Successes Herald REPORTED ATTACKSON End Of Campaign
TWO TREMENDOUS NEW SUCCESSES BY THE BRITISH AND IMPERIAL ARMIES IN AFRICA WERE ANNOUNCED OFFICIALLY IN CAIRO LAST NIGHT.
The first is the capture of the mountain fortress of Keren, in Eritrea, which has beei beleaguered for the past seven weeks and the fall of which no doubt seals the fate of Eritrea, if not also Abys sinia.
Hotfooted on this news comes second-
news the capture of Harrar, second largest WOUNDING town in Abyssinia.
While part of the Imperial army was sweeping up to grab Mussolini's eagle nest in Eritrea, another force was rushing forward with typical Wavell blitz speed into the heart of Abyssinia.
Only a few days ago fighting The defeat might well lead WAS still taking place at Marela to n general crumbling of The Pass, which burred the route to forces at the disposal of the Duke Harrar. Tu-day this town is in of Austa, Viceroy of Abyssima. British hands.
One more
be
prize remains to taken before ti Duoc
dis.
Tremendous Blow
The fall of Keren, the spokes- appears from East Africa for man added, would be a tremen- good-Addis Ababa, on which douts blow to Talian morale and
British columns are advancing prestige. from all directiona
Tough Obstacle
It would be possible to de- fend equally formidable peaks overy Tive miles between Keren and Addis Ababa, but this was unlikely
Keren since
had been **Entrem --
Italy's military show- place.
The capture of Keren and! Harrar was
azinounced
Cornmunique saying:
ai
after heavy fighting for nearly u. fortnight under the most difficult |
HOPES ARE NOW RUNNING
physical conditions of climate and country, British and Indian | HIGH IN CAIRO THAT MUSSO- troops, admirably supported by LINTS BATTERED ARMIES
a
the R.A.F., again defented numerically superior enemy force and occupied Keren.
"Abyssinia Harrar is 1 Our hands."
With the fall of Keren the headquarters of Mussolini's oldest colony is in British hands.
The British forces have found this mountain fortress one of the toughest obstacles in the whole campaign against Italy's; East African Empire.
It was the last barrier to the key base of Asmara, the Eritrean
capital, 75 miles along the rail-
way to the east, and of Massawa, valuable Eritrean port.
Only Stand
It has been the only vital Ita- lian position to make any pro- longed stand against the swift hammer-like blows of the Bri- tish and Imperial forces in Africa,
For weeks the armies of the Sudan have prepared, waiting оп the last stretch of the Eri- trean plain with an apparently unsurmountable obstacle be- fore them.
A ridge of solid rock 1,000 feet high confronted them-a ridge whose sheer-faced precipices offered magnificent defence posi- tions and were crowned by #t series of arrow-head peaks.
WILL BE UNABLE OUT UNTIL THE REUTER.
TO HOLD RAINS
Brigade H.Q. Taken
Before the fall of Keren, our troops beat off several counter- attacks and captured a number
of prisoners, including a complete
Brigade Headquarters.
CHARGE
A WOUNDING WITH INTENT
KARIM. 26. PCB432.
WAS
CHARGE AGAINST ABDUL AMENDED TO WOUNDING BY
INSPECTOR A. E. CAREY AT KOWLOON THIS MORNING WHEN ACCUSED APPEARED ON REMAND,
Accused is alleged to have wounded Sher Afzal, PCB436, on March 13 in the Argyle Street Interment Camp.
The case was fixed for hearing on April 25 at 2.30 p.m.
Mr. M. A. da Silva will appear for the accused, who is on $100 bail.
A DARING CHINESE RAID ON THE JAPANESE AIRFIELD AT HOUHOL NEAR NAMTAU, ON TUESDAY NIGHT., RESULT- ING IN A NUMBER OF NEWLY- BUILT HOUSES BEING BURNT
DOWN, IS REVEALED BY AN
ARRIVAL FROM NAMTAU.
RAILWAY
out
An R.A.F. Middle East communique states: "In East Africa, formations of The raid, the informant said, R.A.F. and South African was staged by Chinese guerillas taking advantage of a dispute Air Force Bomber aircraft. between the puppet Po On hien continued to carry magistrate, Sun Cheng-wu. and the puppet chief of the Third Ad- severe attacks on the ministrative Destrict Chang Wei-Addis Ababa-Jibuti Rail- way, causing heavy dam- age to the track, rolling stock and bridges.
tung
Sun, backed by the Japanese, recently detained Chang for the appearance of certain placards denouncing him.
defected
Chang's subordinates. and supported the Chinese in their raid.
The Chinese retired safely after the raid. Central News.
FATHER GRANELLI
ROBBED
-r St
A burglary at the residence of Rev. Fr A. Granell: Teresa's Church, on Wednesday night,
before Mr. Kowloon
D. J. N.
was revealed
Anderson at
was remanded
011 a charge of
this morning when Lau Ming 34. breaking in and stealing a wallet, two fountain pens, a wrist watch and $19.
ITALY'S AFRICAN
EMPIRE NOW AT
WAVELL'S MERCY
(By Reuter's Military Commentator)
ITALY'S AFRICAN EMPIRE is now in the hands of General Waveil, and with the fall of Enemy casualties during the last Keren, General Wavell is a free man forty-eight hours were heavier to fight another enemy.
than before.
In Abyssinia, African and Bel- gian troops, in cooperation, have captured Gambela, thus cearing
the Baro salient (Western Abys- sinia) of enemy forces.
In Southern Abyssinia, our pur-
suit of the retreating Italian forces continuing in all sectors. — British Wireless.
AIRMEN
HARRYING ITALIANS
British and South Afri- can warplanes are con- IT IS AGAINST THIS tinuing to harry the Ita- FORMIDABLE FASHIONED BUTTRESS OF ROCK THAT lians in East Africa. THE EMPIRE FORCES HAVE STRUCK ONE OF THEIR MOST RESOUNDING BLOWS AS MILI- TARY EXPERTS RECOGNISED THE PLACE AS ONE OF THE MOST NATURALLY IMPREGN- ABLE FORTRESSES OF THE WAR. REUTER.
Every Summit
Italy's most formidable ordnance guarded every summit, machine- gun nests abounded and strong points wore cunningly arranged.
R.A.F. and South African bom-
bers severely attacked the Addis- Ababa-Djibouti railway again on Wednesday, says an RAF, com- munique in Catro, causing heavy damage to the track, rolling stock and bridges.
free
|
Between Miesso and Awash, ve trains were bombed and ma- chine-gunned and Trucks were set on fire by one formation which also attacked and severely dam- aged a large number of
enemy motor transport vehicles.
A train in the station at Bicket was dive-bombed and hit repeat- edly, and a train in a cutting was machine-gunned.
Hits were observed on the sta- tion building and on a railway bridge fifteen miles west of Gota. South African bomber aircraft at three trains heavily bombed
the
Awash and another west of
town. Direct hits
were obtained damage while the station also suf- on them. causing considerable
Tered severely from the attack.
On the night of March 25/26, R.A.F. fighters machine-gunned and badly damaged a number of vehicles enemy motor transport near Gondar. From all operation our aircraft returned safely. British Wireless,
JUMP FROM SECOND FLOOR
ed
A 33-year-old Chinese, describ- as a workman in the Hong
Kong Telephone Company, was taken to Queen Mary Hospital, about 7.45 a.m. to-day, suffering from injuries to his head, arms and legs, after he had jumped from the second floor of No. 220, Hollywood Road.
The Italians fought at Keren as they have never fought before in the history of their race. They fought superbly and now they his usual self, his mind was un- have been beaten only because of the out standingly brilliant tactics of General Wavell;
General Wavell did an astonish- Ing thing. After his capture ol Sidi Barrani, on the Egyptian-
Libyan border, he diverted the two forces which had captured this place, one of which was en- tirely Indian, southwards to the Sudan.
Their task was to undertake operations from Kassala, on the Eritrean border, whence the at- tack on Keren really began, te Gallabat.
Few commanders have ever risked such an operation with a
According to the man's wife, Wong Yee, the man was not in
balanced, and she had guarded him for the last few days. He escaped from her while she was sleeping.
PROMINENT ROLE OF R.A.F. IN KEREN'S FALL
THE PROMINENT PART played by R.A.F. and
distance to traverse in between South African aircraft in the capture of Keren is of more than 1,000 miles over described in an R.A.F. communique issued in Cairo
desert country.
GENERAL WAVELL AND THE yesterday. MAJORITY OF HIS FORCES ARE NOW FREE. HE CAN
LEAVE AFRICA IF NECESSARY followed "some of the fiercest enemy opposition en- After remarking that the fall of the stronghold
AND APPLY HIS GENIUS ELSEWHERE. REUTER.
countered in the East African campaign," the com- munique says that during the past week enemy posi-
FIREWOOD DEALER tions in the hills around this Italian stronghold had
....
PROSECUTED
been heavily and persistently bombed.
Ove
day:
them engaged and destroyed two Flat fighters.
R.A.F. fighters machine-gun- ned and badly damaged enemy motor transport near Gondar.
Nearly 40 tons of bombs were Enemy positions in the hills Charged, with selling firewood dropped in this area during th around Keren, were again heavily at the price higher than that fived last four days and more thar The Air Force's contribution to and frequently bombed.
by the Store Controller, Ng Chi-120 in the last 12 days.
the successful operations against South African fighters shot | kim, '30, master of a firewood Our aircraft have been
Keren is remarkable in view of The military spokesman In down two Fiat fighters in this shop at No. 23, Boundary Street, the target most of these the difficult flying conditions. The Cairo sald last night that one.
was fined, $40 by Mt. H. C. Mac- from morning, till night.
town itself is surrounded by. third of the forces in Musso- Another communique states that namara at Kowloon this morning. Fighter aircraft of the South tiers of mountains between 0,000 Jin's East African Empire con-
120 tons of bombs have been} A Chinese detective who made Áfrican · Air Force have also and 7,000 feet high and it was slating of some 60,000 to 70,000 dropped on Keren by the R.A.F. a purchase of $2 worth of fire- been active in the area, and on amongst these that our alveraft troopt--were estimated to be and the South African Air Force wood from accused's shop, was Wednesday, not many hours had to seek out and destroy defending ́ Koran,
during the past 12 days.-Reuter. given 00 cattles,
before the town fell, two. of enemy positions –
aroa.
૬.
1