Evening star., 1941-01-09
British Sweep Around Tobruk
To Seize Airport at Gozo|o;
Italians Flee Ethiopian Revolt
IS Planes Declared
Seized at Field in
Lightning Advance
By the Associated Press.

paced by one of the heaviest anc
most widespread aerial assaults
yet loosed by the R. A. F. in the
battle of Africa, have pushed tc
Gazala, 100 miles inside Libya
and 40 miles west of beSieged To-
bruk, the British announced Off
cially today.
Coupled with this announcement
the Middle East command reported
that native rebellion in Western
Ethiopia had forced Fascist forces to
flee an outpost in Western Ethiopia
The lightning advance to GaZala
was declared to have been made yes
terday by army units which swept
around Tobruk to deliver a smash
ing assault on the Italian base.
IS Planes Taken at GaZaIa.
This attack was reported in a r.
A. F. headquarters announcement
which said the army has just taken
40 aircraft at an abandoned air.
drome at Ell Adem, near Tobruk,
and IS aircraft at Gazala, all un-
serviceable from low dive attacks
made on airdromes last week"
The grounded Italian planes at
FL Adem. Is miles south of Tobruk,
were taken Tuesday when British
forces captured that base which
had served as Tobruk's airport.
Ground forces assaulting Gazala
apparently timed their blow with
an R. A. F. raid in which partici-
pating pilots told of wrecking
grounded planes with an intensive
bombardment.
The Gazala air attack was only
one of series spread out by the
r. A. F. along the Libyan coast all
miles from the Egyptian frontier.
Operate West of Town.
"While preparations for the reduc-
ton of Tobruk are proceeding, our
mechanical forces now are operating
west of the town." a communique
said on the fast-developing opera
tions in Libya.
In Ethiopia, the communique said,
patriots, encouraged by support
from the Royal Air Force. have COM
PEELED the italians to evacuate the
post Of Gubba; the patriots now are
closing round the fleeing Italian gar
riSon.
Gubba is in Western Ethiopia, 20
miles from the Anglo-Egyptian
Sudan border, on the Blue Nile
southwest of Lake Tana.
Another italian post, the COM
munique said, was abandoned by the
Italians northeast of Kassala and
occupied by British forces. Kassala
is in the Sudan, near the Eritrean
border.
100 Planes Bombed on Ground.
The R. A. F. continued to carry
the war deep into Italian territory
An r. A. F. communique said 100
italian airplanes on the ground at
Benina were heavily bombed yester-
day and that several we're destroyed
and others badly damaged.
Attacks we're also made on Tmini
and Martuba as we'll as Gazala, in
addition to raids on Bengasi and
Tobruk. In the Bengasi attack four
or five ships in the harbor were hit,
the communique said, and a num-
Der of fires we're started.
The British planes flew low over
Martuba, the communique said.
About Is planes were on the ground,
two of which were set on fire and
others badly damaged. Seven Ital-
ian planes at Tmimi were burned
italian conveys north of Giaraub
were attacked by bombers and fight
ing planes with considerable dam
age to the ships, the communique
said.
It added that on Monday and
Tuesday night Massaua, Eritrea,
was raided and high explosives
dropped on the submarine base.
Explanation of Weakness.
The r. A. F. announcement, which
reported the italian planes at Gazala
damaged by low-level dive-bombing
attacks, added:
This Is the explanation for the
weakness of the enemy opposition
during the first two days of the
battle" it added.
The statement said Fascist air
opposition on January 8 practically
was negligible, but increased on
January S, when 10 italian planes
were destroyed as against the loss
Of one British fighter and one
bomber.
The British offensive in North
Africa entered it's second month
today with the mechanical Army
of the Nile encircling Tobruk after
q 125-mile drive across the desert
marked by smashing victories over
the Italians at Sidi Barrani and
Bardia.
The Royal Air Force reported no
evidence of any Italian attempt to
reinforce Tobruk as British patrols
straddled the coastal road to the
west. Military circles here likened
the garrison defending the Libyan
port to sitting bird" awaiting the
hunters shot.
Following Previous Tactics.
The British apparently were fol-
lowing the same plan of action used
at Sidi Barrani and Bardia. In
both cases British land forces cut off
the Italians line of retreat with a
swift encircling movement and then
held the garrisons in ring of steel
while the Royal Navy and air force
reduced defenses to smoking rubble.
The British fleet already was re-
ported to have blockaded Tobruk,
and word was expected here at any
moment that an intense lombard
ment of the port had been launched
from the sea, air and land.
If Tobruk falls-and there is COM
plete confidence among British here
that it will-military analysts be-
lieve the Italian position at Bengasi,
the big Libyan base some 200 miles
to the west, soon will be untenable
The British acknowledge the pos
sibility that the Italians, taking ad-
( (See LIBYA, Page A-3D