Evening star., 1940-11-18
Greeks Say Italians
Hammer in Vain al
Ring About Koritza
Athens Claims New Coins
130 Tanks, 500 Foseists
Reported Surrenderine
B, the Associated Press

B, the Associated Press.
ATHENS. Nov l6-Thc Italians
sent wave after wave of infantry
crashing against Greek mountain
positions today in an effort to
prevent the capture of KOritza,
Fascist invasion base but the Greeks
reported they repelled all attacks
and gained new ground as we'll
In their desperate attempt to
thwart the Greek ring of steel being
drawn around this most important
city in Albania, the Italians were
said also to have thrown large
force of dive -bomberS into the battle
The Greek air force, aided by
BritaIn's R. A. F. itself bombed
Italian positions heavily and pum-
meled troop iammed roads leading
out of Koritza, which is 10 miles
inside Albania.
l3O Tanks Surrender.
Greeks reported Italian mecha-
nized columns were hopelesSly
trapped north of Koritza and for
eign sources said one column of
100 Italian tanks had fed into
Yugoslavia.
"a Reuters British news
agency dispatch from the
Greek -Yugoslav frontier said 500
Italian troops and 1870 tanks
crossed the border and surren-
dered to Yugoslav authorities
last night
The hard-pressed italians were
reported falling back from Korltza
to a new defense line 25 miles deep
in Albania.
All along the border battlefront,
Greek military reports indicated, the
invasion of Greece which Italian
forces launched three weeks ago to-
day has turned into a desperate de-
fense of Albania from fierce Greek
counter drives.
A government spokesman declared
last night that Greek mountain
troops who seized new heights
commanding Koritza. springboard
for the Italian invasion toward
Phlorina and Salonika. had driven
to the very gates of the fortified city
The italians were reported fight
ing a rear-guard action there to
cover the withdrawal. under fire, Of
strong forces which barely escaped
being trapped.
Greeks Push Into Albania.
In the Pindus mountain sector,
north of the Greek town of Konitza,
the Greeks were said by a govern
ment spokesman to be pushing into
Albania.
Our guns dominate the Konitza-
ErSeke road in this area. the
spokesman declared, and our troops
are mopping up in the Konitza
region up to and beyond the frontier.
We also captured Italian booty on
the road from Konitza to Melis-
sCpatva."
He added we are mopping up
the terrain" farther southwest
along the Kalamas River front to
the Ionian Sea.
The Italians, mentioning the
fighting only in one paragraph
OI IlelT COHllllulllquc SCoICAo AooS'
said respectfully hard" attacks
and counter-attacks had broken
out along the front after a hull
and added that Italian planes
were bombing and machine-gun-
ming Greek advance position and
communications behind the lines.
They also reported bombing OBJ
jectives in Crete.
"a British communique said
r. A. F. planes. which have
dropped bombs repeatedly on
Italian communications with
forces in Albania, struck again
over the week end at Brindisi,
Italian port opposite Albania0
The Greek Ministry of Home Sc
curity said last night two Greek
villages were bombed and machine
gunned by Fascist flyers, but that
there were no casualties.
The Ministry of Home Security
CSee ATHENS, Page A-8)