Evening star., 1940-12-30
.Counterattacks
Are Beaten Off,
Greeks Report
Fresh Italian Troops
Declared RepuIsed
In Two Sectors
2, the Associated Press.

Py the ASsocia ted Press.
ATHENS, Dec. 30.-Greek forces
have repulsed especially strong
counterattacked by fresh Italian
troops In two sectors OF the Albanian
battlefront, reports from the front
lines said today.
North of Chimara, where the
Greeks are aiming at the key coastal
base OF Valona, they were reported
to have scored further local gains"
after beating off strong, desperate
counterattacks launched with new
ly-arrived forces"
In the region north of KliSura
the Italians suffered heavy losses,
another dispatch said.
The Greeks were reported con-
tinuing heavy shelling of Italian
last stand" defense lines in the
Tepeleni-Klisura sector from newly
captured heights commanding roads
north to the ports of Valona and
Durazzo.
Lines Pushed Forward.
A government spokesman said the
Greeks have again attacked forti-
fed positions which the Italians
held and defended stubbornly," and
finally hurled the Fascists back.
I'VE have been able to push our
lines forward appreciab bly," he de-
clared in a review of operations up
to late last night
Three more small villages along
the line of the Greek advance were
reported occupied. Operations were
restricted, however, because of
new spell of intense cold and
heavy snow which piled in drifts
six feet deep in the mountains.
Road Machine Gunned.
Italians were said to be clinging
to some heights in the vicinity of
Tepeleni, road junction town on
the way north to Valona. but the
Greeks said the road beyond Tepe-
leni was under their machine-gun
fire.
At Klisura, which commands
parallel road II to Is miles east of
Tepeleni. the Italians were reported
driven from important hilltop de-
fenses and thrust back to a last line
of trenches. Even those trenches
were said to be under heavy fire by
Greek mountain batteries.
The spokesman said counter-a at
tacks by the Italians at Klisura and
on the snoW-clogged northern front
near the Yugoslav frontier failed
to halt Greek advances.
ValOna Attacked Again.
Royal Air Force warplanes op-
Grating with the Greek forces sub
jected Valona to its 21st and 22d
raids of the war yesterday, the
R. A. F. reported.
pilots saw bombs exploding
among transports and troops NOV
ing on road near a jetty where
building was hit and large fire
started, communique said in
describing the first of the two at
tackS.
In the second. the R. A. F. said,
Various hits were registered on
road leading to the northern jetty,
buildings were hit and a number of
bombs were observed to burst in
motor transport park and military
stores"
In addition, the communique said
two cargo vessels, merchant ship
and cruiser were machine-gunned
One British plane was reported
lost in the first raid. The two crew
members descended by parachute
the British said
The Greek Ministry of Home Sc
curify said italian bombers' at
tackled the Islands of Corfu and
Levkas and the port of Preveza
yesterday.
The ministry's summary of air
raid casualties during the second
month of the war with italy showed
great decrease from the figures
Of the first month.
During the second month, from
(See GREEK Page A-12)