Evening star., 1940-12-13
Arqirocasfro Taken
With No Trouble,
Reporter Says
Not One Italian Within
Firing Distance When
Greeks Marched In
By JAMES ALDRIDGE.

BY JAMES ALDRIDGE.
ARGIROCASTRO. Albania, Dec.
(by wireless-delayeO N.AN.A).-
I have just returned from an ad-
vanced front sector where the
Greeks are still pushing forward to
contact retreating italians. A week
ago I was on artillery post, waiting
for the Italian artillery to be cleared
from the ridge.
-Four days ago they were cleared
from that ridge. They retreated to
another ridge, and were driven from
it one day by the Greek artillery
They retreated again. always draw
ing back to Argirocastro, always
setting up their guns on heights
commanding the road to Argiro-
castro, while below, on the road
their infantry and motorized and
mechanical units retreated steadily
I moved from ridge to ridge with
the Greek artillery, until yesterday
when, after long artillery duel be-
tween the Greeks on one side OF
Argirocastro and the Italians on the
other, with shells passing right over
Argirocastro itself the Italians began
to retreat.
No Italians in Town.
Finally early yesterday Greek
scouts entered Argirocastro. Nc
Italians were there. Their guns were
silent. The retreat was complete
and the Greeks simply walked into
Argirocastro, which is key town on
this front.
The Italians were retreating sc
fast the Greeks still were havine
difficulty in contracting them.
There was not one Italian within
firing distance when the Greeks en-.
tered the village. This spreading AL.
banlan town could have been well
defended. Instead the Italians Just
up and left. From the village
retching miles north to the
blown-up bridge, there is a column
of Italian equipment that makes
this a second Guadalajara. The
Greeks trapped this material by
blowing up the Narros Gorge Bridge
and picking of any Italians who
tried to mend it.
Sorry-Looking Prisoners.
When the Greek artillery turned
on the column two days ago the
italian soldiers either ran into the
woods and retreated beside the road
or gave themselves up. And there
is a haul of prisoners that is one
of the biggest in this war so far.
When walked along this road the
ground was still warm with battle.
The italian Bersaglieri and Alpini
troops were being marched in. They
are the sorriest-looking prisoners
have yet seen. They had to march
past their own dead.
The column itself is q sorry sight.
A wheeled tractor at its head is
stuck in black Albanian mud. Be-
hind, on each side of the road, is a
typical trapped column. A big trans
port Lancia and the Fiat Diesel-en-
gined cars are excellent material.
I looked inside two of these ma
chimes and saw dead men in the
rear. They had been used as tenn
porary shelters for the wounded.
Farther along were five tanks which
had not even been put to use lately.
The Italians had harried the Greeks
earlier with these tanks by making
quick attacks along the road as the
Greeks advanced. But even this
action had ceased.
Greeks Shooting Excellent.
Lining both sides of the road
were at least 40 shell holes in
miles stretch. The Greeks Shoot
ing here is excellent. All the roads
were covered with mass of churned-
up leaves, sticks of metal in the
mud and water holes which had been
filled by rain.
Trees were stripped bare and
blasted. Then there are trees and
buses burned out. A shell must
have hit them direct. There are
cases of small arms, machine gun
and Is cannon ammunition still
neatly stacked on either side of the
road. One store of ammunition was
hit direct and there is a mess of
blown-out small arms and shells,
black f1ecks against the snow.
There were dead troops along the
entire column-uniformed men,
close-packed in some places. Some
had been hit by shells and machine
gun fire. And there are those who
were killed by rifles and exploding
hand grenades.
Not much hand-to-hand fighting
took place, but the Greek raiding
parties crept in at night and shot up
the italians. The Greeks already are
burying the italian dead. They have
walked along the column and taken
papers from mems pockets for the
intelligence division.
Pictures Put on Graves.
They keep a picture of a man, If
found, and put it on cross over his
grave. Half way up the column, at
the side Of the road, there already
are white-stoned mounds of the
Romans last remains in Albania.
I saw cooked hat and a sword on
top of one Of these crosses. I asked
the reason for this. The Greeks ex-
planned that this had been an Italian
policeman from Argirocastro who