Evening star., 1940-12-14
R. A. F. Blasts
Italian Bases
And Troops
Retreoting Foscists
Strufed in British
Mopup in Egypt
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
CAIRO, Egypt, Dec. l4.-An un-
ceasing r. A. F. bombardment and
machine-gun strafing of Italian
landing fields, supply depots. trans
port and troops was reported today
by the British in their grand assault
to clear the Egyptian sands of the
Fascist invaders.
A military spokesman said he
could not confirm reports that the
pursuit of the italians already had
resulted in the recapture of Salum,
7 miles inside the Egyptian border,
or that Fort Capuzzo, in Libya itself,
had fallen.
Whether the British intend to
keep on chasing the Italians within
Libya was a question no authority
would discuss. Were such a course
pursued, the only objective, it was
learned, would be destruction of the
Italian main army.
,Derna, Italian base more than $50
miles within adjacent Libya, was
pounded by several tons" of bombs
last night, the r. A. F. communique
reported. They fell on barracks,
wireless stations and other military
buildings, it was said.
Bardia, Libya, also was attacked
again, direct hits were scored on
supply depots at Gubbi. Gambut,
Tmimi and Bomba, the r. A. F. re-
ported, and Gazala also was raided.
Fire Sprayed Into Troops.
British fighting planes, mounting
eight machine guns in their wings,
were said to have swooped down on
the Tobruk- -Bardia road. in Libya,
spraying fire into retreating troops.
The communique said the planes
took heavy toll of the enemy"
Land fighters, aided by this aerial
assault since the British surprise
offensive started FIVE days ago. were
reported today to be mopping up
Marshal Rodolfo Graziani's expedi-
tionary force as "a Christmas pres
ent for the folks back home"
The advanced British units al
ready may have driven a wedge into
Libya.
Yesterday. the British said, they
shot down IS Italian planes and lost
four Of their own Gladiator fighters.
The pilots of three of the latter
were saved.
Despite their job on the Egyptian
front, the British flyers also raided
several points in Italian East Africa.
including the Eritrean port of
Asmara. Direct hits were claimed
on Caproni workshops at Mai Adaga.
Reports from the sand-swept bat
tie zone said faSt-moving British
advance units were keeping on the
heels of retreating Italians. while
the main British force relayed truck
caravans of prisoners to the rear
and consolidated it's position against
any possible counter-attack.
Battlefield. Being Cleared.
A British communique said Clear
ance of the vast battlefield con-
tinues and the number Of prisoners
is steadily mounting" as desert forces
still pressed the Italians back.
The communique estimated 5000
Italians were prisoners, though un-
official estimates ran higher. since
The British have had difficulty count
ing the new ones.
A British spokesman declared.
that there could be very little"
fighting still proceeding on the
Egyptian side of the frontier. He
added that British advance forces
were going very we'll"
Reliable British sources said last
night that British casualties had
been very light. Even the Italian
casualties. it was said. were not
comparable to the 10000 or more
troops reported captured.
Prisoner Tally Mounts.
The tally of prisoners mounted
hourly, making accurate count still
impossible The number captured
was described as so great that the
British were confronted with
major problem in feeding them and
transporting them back into Egypt
Along with it's continuing job of
smashing at Italians fleeing along
the coastal road past Bardia and
pounding Fascist reserve and supply
bases important to any counter
thrust, the British Navy helped in
the transport of the prisoners.
British bombers kept at their work
behind the Italian lines, and a
correspondent for Reuters british
news agency quoted returning pilots
as saying that large fires were burn
ing in Salum and long columns Of
(see EGYPT, Page A-30