The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-07-17

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in the MEDITERRANEAN, two British
pines were shot down, the comnu-
nique said. 1t admitted that loss of
one italian plane during a battle
over Malta.
According to the announcement,
issued from general headquarters
OF the Italian armed forces, Ital-
ian planes again bombed Marsa
Matruh and Sidi Barani, in Egypt.
not far from the Libyan border.
British Make Attack
British forces attacked Italian
positions north of Fort Capuzzo in
Cyrenaica, using SO tanks and a
smoke screen to cover their opera
tons, general headquarters said.
Capuzzo has been the. scene of
fighting since Italy entered the war.
The British drove the Italians from
their fort into entrenched positions
around it and have concentrated on
keeping supplies and reinforce
ments from reaching the Italian
garrison.
The Italian communique admit
ted that British planes had bombed
Agorsat, Asmara and Assab, all in
LATHAM East Africa, but said they
cused only slight damage. British
airplanes also made night attack
en- Tobruk, lillian base in North AZ
RIGA, but, according to the COM
munique, no damage resulted.
On the Kenya frontier the Ital-
ians consolidated their positions at
British Moyale-also known as Fort
Harrington-which they claim to
have occupied after British resis-
lance over period Of several days.
(The British admitted the loss of
Moyale where small garrison had
held out for some time against
overwhelming numbers of Italians.)
Many British Killed
italian newspapers published re-
ports today from Algeciras, Spain,
that 1913 British officers and men
were killed in italian air attacks on
British fleet units off the Balearic
Islands last week, and that the bat
tie cruiser Hood, largest warship in
the world, showed evidence of severe
damage.
Dispatches to the Messagero and
Popolo Di Roma said that despite
efforts to prevent natives of the
Spanish Islands from visiting the
port to- which the British vessels
after the battle, a number
of workmen saw 1913 dead and %
wounded carried from the British
warships. These workmen were
quoted also that all British naval
units anchored there bore signs of
the heavy bombardment, and that
the Hood listed badly.
Meantime, military circles here
said that Italy now was ready to
start an offensive against the Brit
ish in East Africa, possibly in con-
junction with the worlds most de-
structive offensive" about to be
loosed against the British Isles.
First Major Victory
Italy claimed its first major
African victory in the capture of
the Dolo Salient o the British
Kenya colony which juts approx
mtaely 10 miles into Ethiopia and
contains a modern highway from
the Ethiopian interior to the italian
Somaliland coast.
Black Shirt troops and native
units supported by camel corps and
units drove from the cap
tured British border fort at Moyale
acdoss the Dolo Salient, it was said.
Military circles said the new victory
protected the highway connecting
Neghelli, in western Ethiopia, and
the Ethiopian capital Adds Ababa
with the coast, and placed Italian
forces in position for an offensive.
The opera ton was carried out on
one of the hottest days of the ex-
tremely hot east African summer,
Special refrigerator trucks relieved
an official announcement said.
Italian soldiers from the heat.