The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-03-11
.ETHIOP|ANS ARE
 PUSHING AHEAD
Bitter Fights With Italians Are Raging; British Keep
 Up Invasion
BY J. H. YINDRICH United Press Staff Correspondent

United Press Staff Correspondent
 Khartoum, Anglo -Egypian Sudan, March Il - (UP0 - Ethiopian and Sudanese troops and Ethiopian irreg ulars have captured the town Of Dambacha in bitter fighting and are threatening Debra Marcos, the Italian general headquarters for northwest Ethiopia, dispatches from the front said today.
 Six thousand Italian troops, rout- ed from Dambacha after suffering heavy casualties, were reported flee ing toward Debra Marcos, 25 miles away, through gantlet of rife and machine gun fire, bombs and sticks of dynamite hurled by Ethiopian tribesmen in ambush in the hills which rise steeply from the winding road. Ethiopian irregulars were pur- suing them.
 A two day fight preceded the cap- ture of Dambacha. As they fled, the Italians hastily piled their wounded in trucks. Ethiopian army units, first to enter the town, found two wrecked Italian bombing planes, two field guns and quantities of war stores.
 May Join Others
 The Italian garrison was expected to join the 4000 men, including two battalions of Fascist black shirt militiamen. "Mussolinis pride, sta- toned at Debra Marcos
 At Dambacha, the allied forces were 190 miles by road from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
 Between them and Debra Marcos, their next big objective, was a diffi- cult river, spanned by an ancient bridge of Portuguese craftsmanship.
 Debra Marcos is struggling mar ket town of about 10000 persons, built largely of Tukuls or grass roofed. mud-walled huts. It is at an altitude of 5000 feet, the same as Addis Ababa. It is situated amidst trees and boasts native palace where the ruler of the old kingdom of Gojjam once gave banqucst for 30,000 persons. There is a church, the walls and ceiling of which are covered by Ethiopian painting de- picting biblical history.
 In taking Dambacha, the Allied forces had advanced about 300 miles since January 20 through formid- able mountains and jungle in which paths had to be cut.
 British In Ethiopia
 Cairo, March II - (UPD --, Brit ish Imperial forces have made a new invasion of Ethiopia from the Anglo Egyptian Sudan almost due west of Addis Ababa and after cap- turing the Afodu Escarpment are advancing on AsoSa, middle east headquarters said today.
 Prom Italian Somaliland the ad- vance into Ethiopia Is developing satisfactorily a communique said Many hundreds of additional pris- onerS have been taken, including q brigade commander, a resident com missioner and their staff"
 Italians retreating from ,Afodu were reported to have abandoned four guns and a quantity of other equipment, including an armoret car.
 Farther east, patriot forces cap. tured the town of Dambacha (21 miles from, the Gojjam provincial capital of Debra Markos) and are continuing in pursuit of Italian col umns retreating to Debra Markos, ' the communique said. TWO guns and quantities of other war mater ials have been captured"
 With the new British penetration of Ethiopia in the direction of Asosa at least five British and Ethiopian columns are striking in the direc- tion of AddiS Ababa.