THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, JULY 29, 1955,
Fresh from his triumph, the conqueror
the conqueror of Ethiopia plunges into the darkest episode of his career... the day when Satan sat on his shoulder' in a Cairo hotel
I
N the hot days of summer in Cairo in 1941 Satan sat
الله
Wingate's shoulder. His neighbours in the rooms on olther side of him at the Continental Hotel could hear him groaning and praying and singing pealms.
Freddie Hoffmuino, the Swiss manager of the hotel, tried to cheer him up when he passed through the hall, but was brusquely repulsed.
Aller his selvations in Ethiopia Wingate's physical stato was low. The only time jw chocred up was when ப message mrrived through
officer at G.I.Q. to say that hly Jewish everolary. Akavis, WES on his way, and would
arrive by flying-boat from Khartoum tha next day,
THE DELAY
יי
THE following afternoon Wingate went down to the flying-boat landing base on the Nile and waited for the pas sengers
They to disembark. esme ashore. Akavia was not among them. Wingate asked repeatedly for Akavin, but Ho one could tell him anything.
In fact, Akavia had delayed '24 hours.
been
to
Orde Wingate went back
Continental Hotel. The thu
Occupant of the next room heard him talking to
himself
be-
The
When the words of distress were followed by the thud of a
*
WINGATE TRIES
TO KILL HIMSELF
by
LEONARD MOSLEY
room, with a rusty Ethiopian knife clutched in his hand. He had cut his throat.
What had happened to reduce the conqueror of Ethiopia to this state of despair?
in
BRITAIN'S STRANGEST HERO-Chapter Five
The doom of a report Auchinleck talks to Wingate about his complaints on Ethiopia. G.H.G, ordered the memorandum to bo burned.
AN EMMWOOD DRAWING.
the
Moonwhile he sellled down to write his report on the Ethiopian campaign. Wavoll has referred 10 it vehement memorandum protest at the grievances
auffored by him tad his "officers,"
But the burden of Wingato's complaints whs of 1 much more serious character,
Ho had
some
devastating criticisms to make of the help
ho
was
given by IQ., Khartoum; and of the whole
nature of Regular Army reaction to irregular operationa He described the orms with which he
was
provided 49 "junk" and tha patriot
as "incom- potent and worth- legs, A little morą effort would haya made them
of real value." Ho accused the staffs at GHQ, of being hostile, He ended by calling those responsible for his dificulties “military apes." Wrote General Wavell "I would have been justlied In arresting him for insubordination."
immediately called in Edmund
The memorandum' exploded Wingate received a war
message Stevens,
American 20
General Cunningham
in G.H.Q., Middle East, Cairo, correspondent who spoke fluent from
with the effect of a stench Italian, and asked him to speak telling him that perhaps
to bomb thrown at the moment to the enemy operator down emperor would be allowed
May when members of the household the line. Ho did oo, and told return to his capital in him that a large army was on (it was
now April), but that were trying to cope with real its way; as a result of which even this was doubtful in view fire and flood; the devastations all the
Important forts along of the fact that the Ethioplans in Greece and Crete, the Nile were evacuated by the in the capital, intoxicated
General Wavell read Wingate's
by
The Wingate method worked Italians and captured without the sight of their emperor, report in between despatches
thousand re- used to say, "a solute and well-armed men can It was Wingate's contention
military headquarters driven by Reuler's war corres paralyse for an icefinite period that
hundred operations of a Anderson; the Khartoum
Kermeth Dent him too pandent
enough their intention being to blaze a thousand." many camels and not
through the rock, scrub feeding stuff to keep them alive. trail
Sudanosc camelcers and clephant grass for the Many insist that thousands of camels emperor's convoy. But the lorry died unnecessarily because almost ilterally fell to pieces 48 hours of oppalling Wingate insisted on overloading after
shaking and bumping.
Onco
which tho lorry in Haile Sclassic was travelling overturned. Wingate rode over to the semi-conscious body of the emperor and stared at it in as if to say: "After all fury,
work, I just dare you dic!"
This was the man who a few weeks curller rode triumphantly them,
while into Addis Ababa on a
restoring Hallo horse after Selassie to his throne.
border.
THEY LAY DOWN
my
10
fight. in Ethiopia with startling BUC-
Prince cess.
Mangasha, the
Sometincs
Wingate's moods polent Ethiopian leader mosL
B and his.trantie rages disturbed down of them all, came
the his subordinates; and they were mountainside to meet Wingate's apt to increase as his state of first column with all the pomp health grow lower. and circumstance of a medieval prince.
his IT
Haile Salassio struggled to his feet and said: "Let us get work to get the lorry upright again." He suffered incredible hardships, but he never com-
A FEAST
NO FIGHT
was a night of feasting and drinking, with both men secking to out-fox the other. Wingate stuffed himself to the full on roasted goats and sheep. Mangasha ate until the fat ran and he down his plump face
every was hiccuping between word
博
consider
might start a riot and mossbere the Italian enemy civilians, in the town.
UNFORGIVABLE
from the Mediterraneen, and was inclined to ignore it; and then, a thoughtful men, he got into touch with me..
sold.
"You
wero
talni
in the Ethiopian campaign," he "What did you about Wingate and his ment" I replied that I had already seen Д Halle Ber
draft of Wingate's memorandum and found it substantially accurate.
advised scfassle to disobey Cun- WINGATE
"I wish hu hadn't written It," said "It will make him many enemies here." Wavell,
sent Noxt by
Wingate.
*
day ho
for
The Interview was a long one, and they parted on bad terms,
At this time the battle in the Mediterranean was going against us... Wavell was repinerd and us
commander-in-chiet by General Auchinleck.
Once he walked in upon his second-in-command, Lieut.- Colonel Anthony Simonds, who I had been a fantastle cam- for a time, after which be
had just achieved a nign.. gan to shout and sing.
HALFWAY across the plain
able victory at no small cost to ningham's rulo; and, in fact, the singing and shouting became so
Wingate used 25,000 camels between the massif of Be-
the stamina of himself and his emperor did so, He moved upon loud that even in the Con- to take Halle Sclassic back into laya and the Gojjam Highlands,
staff, and berated him violently, 1941, followed by Wingate on a bis old capital and, on May 6, tinentul Hotel. which is sur- his kingdom. He loaded them the majority of Wingate's camels
for some trivial oversights,
white horse, by Wingate's Jewish rounded by a babel of babbling with
amununition, and decided to food
demonstrate their
and secretary, bootblacks, touts, taxi-drivers,
Jcadete at Um incapacity for heavy
Simonds' loads.
sergeant major, civilian and beggars, the note in propaganda
İddia, a ford on the Dinder They lay down on the Ethiopian
Grey, listened
tirade Sudanese and Ethiopian troops, to the Wingate's voice had a perfetrat- tiver near the Rhiopian plain. Wingate
ordered Ares
with growing distress, and then, he made his triumphal entry. was national rejoicing ing urgency to it.
bullt under their bellles to plained,
with a great groan, fell to the There
much celebration, but make them rise.
ground in a faint. When he and Most of the camels The last of the camels died
did not
was brought back to conscious- neither riot nor massacre, Addis rise, but
living on a hill overlooking
cremation.
preferred I
ress he had gone bind.
It would be too strong to say
Generals Platt Emperor Haile Selassie was
that both almost prodded back into his
Cunningham found this conduct kingdom by Wingate,
on the part of Wingate
They were forgivable. superior officers and, of course, they were looking at wide horizons; and that must be the explanation for the curious orders which reached Wingate.
UCHINLECK took one look He went On
to do battle
at Wingate's memorandum against the remaining Italian and sent for him. He had, no outposts, and was most success doubt, also read the confidential ful in spite of a succession of orders from Khartoum saying: port on Wingate's record. He had Blways been a sirletly "Break off engagement im- orthodox soldier with a keen·· mediately and proceed to Debra admiration for an honest face, Tabor minus details," Wingate
body on the floor the neighbour Ababa. The rest died en route, decided to call the manager, Hoffmann charged down the Their bones nake a series of signposts from the Sudan border to the heart f Ethiopia; and in they still argue Wingate
Sudan was threshing in the agony, on the floor of his bath whether they needed to die.
door.
At first Wingate rode shend on a mule, followeed by a truck
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there
TROOD consisted mainly of dried dates, onions, and was very little water, Wingate adopted his habit, as he did on all his campaigns of nelther washing nor shaving while the operation was in pro-, grüşü,
But there' were some remark- ablo military victories all due to the genius of Wingale,
He
know how to win cam- paigns with few men. He bad Ideas that were to revolutionise military tactics, and are still in the process of doing so.
Wingate was overcome with And he walled for the bribe ho believed he was going to remorse, and stayed at Simonds get; instead of which, Wigate beadquarters for three days, thanked him for his attendance nursing Grey unul he recovered at the banquet, saluted the partial sight. Ethiopian flog and retired sleep.
to
His military successes should have mado Wingate happy. But he was worried by the political intrigues which interfered with his campaign,
IGNORED
un- his
A
REPORT BURNED
It took Mangasta several days to realise that he was not going to be bribed at all, and several more before he realised that he had met his match both As and as a soldier; he offered to help after Wingate on Wingate's terms.
His successes were the result
and daring of bluff
his
tactics in en-trooga fighing in East In Ethiopla he proved all the couraging local help.
Africa were General Platt in the Akavia was acting as his signal theories of the science of He captured Debra Maskos,
pretended that the message war over which he had strug an importam fortress along the north, trying to break through officer, and for 24 hours they
discovered that the the Italian defensive position at gled! through his lifetime: Nile, and "Given a population favourably telephone connections to Addis Kren, and General Cunning- could not be understood. to penetration by a force of Ababa and other Italian strong ham in the south, trying to give highly
be trained soldiers," points were still connected. He his South African troops the special and peculiar honour at restoring a black, king to the throne of a black empire,
even THE commanders of the white in the middle of an action clear eye, a well-shaven chin,
more
World's Greatest Swindler
THE
Lisbon. THE world's greatest swindler, 65-year-old Virgilia Alvers dos Reis, died recently in Lisbon-and there wasn't even enough money to pay for his funeral.
The man behind the 1925 Portuguese banknote case spent the last months of his life on a straw mattress in a windowless room, still watched by a policeman from the narrow street outside Thirty years ago, Alvers dos Reis, using foreign contacts and credentials, had an English banknote firm print 200,000 Portuguese banknotes of 500 escudos-worth well over £1,000,000.
After smuggling the money into Portugal, Alvors dos Reis lived like a king. He indulged in fabulous deals, bought palaces and even founded his own bank.
The liberation of the black
wag
ON HIS MULE
an impeccable uniform and
smart salute,
a
The arrival of Wingate, In his famous topee and long- unlaundered
bush-shirt and shorts, must have given this wall-scrubbed military leader u considerable shock.
this Wingate returned from interview more depressed and enwrapped in gloom than His memorandum from Khartoum becamo
was not
accepted as an official and man's job. Wingate
could sent peremptory,
G.H.Q. ordered it ta no report. be misinterpreted. bo burned-and
only repeated messages saying that, longer
three with a few more supplies and a Wingate turned the funds of the coples exist today, none of little air support, ho could reach Ethiopian Mission over
to in official archives. He had few Addis Ababa well before the Akavia and told him to pay off friends in Cairo. Ho telephoned South African Army, but got the members. Then he mounted me at Shepheard's Hotel and
South lett a messed twice.
"Urgent, Colonel African Army Headquarters, Wingute
Please
man's empire was to be a whlie ER this the recall signals man balore.
no reply.
a mule and rode off to
It is only fair to say that where he was due to have an meet him at the Continental." with General But I was away in the Western Wingate did not answer signals Interview
Desert. either. He repeatedly ignored Cunningham. General Platt's requests for Information.
here within I will see you
Several times in his lifetime
а
a week, Wingate fold Akavia, Orde Wingate had suddenly He fought the last stages of Eut Wingate did not know been mentally agonised by the campaign before the libera- how much he was disliked, and feeling that Satan was tempting
on of Abyssinia in a physical ow
much his presence In him to destroy himself.
was resented by his know my moments of state bordering on malnutrition, Kihiopla
quillity," he once said to me, "when I can relic and be at and a mental state bordering on military superiors. breakdown.
His interview with General peace. But for most of my life When the patriot army under Cunningham is not for tho I walk on, the edge sepataung Wingate, with Emperor Huile records at the moment, but can good and evil. And when evil Selassic in his charge, came to at least be described as neither pozesses me, as it someiinien the outskirts of the capital, friendly nor the meeting of two docs, I know that the only When the fraud was discovered by three Portuguese reporters, Addis Ababa, they learned that like minds on the subject of answer is to destroy myself."
That was the mood Alvers dos Reis went to gaol for 28 years, and the Portuguese the South Africans, had entered W or Ethiopia. Wingate was
ordered to
without gripped him when he seized the Proceed Government was awarded $1,800,000 damages against the bank-
first. note company by an Engilah court,
Wingate immediately Wired In Calro he had thought that knife in his hotel bathroom, The swindler sorved 25 years of, his sentence and was re-
(WORLD COPYRIGHT) March this year when he was found guilty of swindling a coffee emperor
return to his capital.". For- discovered, Instead, that no one trader and was sentenced to another four years' imprisonment mission was refused. It was a knew anything about him.
the angled for a new job In vain. Too old to serve time he was confined to his home, a small white man's victory, and first storey apartment in Lisbon, and a police guard was posted emperor was to have no pari He was profoundly depressed outside day and night-London Express Service.
.
dolny to Cairo,
leased for good conduct, but he hit the front pages again in for permission to fly in the ho might possibly be welcomed for a triumphant, beck as a conquering hero, and
of it.
by his failure,
that
Ho
Next Saturday:
Wayell To The Rescue
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MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN
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