The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-03-19

 gum nests hidden among the bare brown rocks on the mountain sides and some concrete forts fitted with machine guns.
 During the night, units of a regi- ment from the English industrial Midlands, a Scots Highland regi- ment, and Sikh, Punjabi, Mahratt and Rajput infantrymen from India took up positions part way up the nnountainside.
 At 2 Q. m. British batteries of all calibers opened Q bsr-.6e on the massive ranges of jagged -toothed brown mountains in which the Ital- fans are making their last stand.
 As l watched, the Italian posi- tons were lost in clouds of earth and dust as shells crashed in and around them. For more than half an hour the entire scene was en- veloped.
 The moment the first shells burst, British and Indian soldiers, hugging the ground, crouching behind bould- CTS, rushed the first line Italian defenses with the bayonet. The Sikhs yelled blood curdlingly as they fell upon the Italians. We could not see because of the dust. The Bren guns cracked and trench mortars sent up clouds of white smoke as they fired in support of the infan- try.
 Get Brigadier's Peak
 The telephone bell tinkled inside the headquarters tent. heard an intelligence officer say to whoever was calling: "Righto!" He put down the receiver and coming out of the tent, said:.
 We have got the Brigadier's Peak"
 This is the highest peak in the range around Keren.
 The Highlanders had taken 1t after two hour fight. The battle ragged now around Mt. Sankil, second highest in the range. Tanks began rumbling up the mac adamized road toward Keren. Shelk from Italian mule-pack batteries fell around the road but the tanks got through unscathed.
 At 10:45 a. m. units Of a second Highland regiment started new uphill attack on Italian posts while other Scots were hammering at the defenses of Mt. Sankil.
 In coordination with this attack, British, Indian, Free French and Free Belgian troops were thrusting down from the north. We heard only that they had engaged the enemy" We had heard before that they were moving steadily up to the final assault position, fighting with the bayonet, moving up the moun- tain sides in face of direct fire, breaking through the barbed wire and bayonetlng the Italians in their trenches and nests.
 Under the bhstering sun British TomMies forced their way up a mountain peak called the Left Bump" crawling over or around the rocks, through the dust, toward the Middle Bump" second Of three "bunips" which had to be taken.
 Italians Block Highway An open railroad car, lowed by a motIr truck, crawled up the narrow gauge single track mountain rail- road with water and ammunition for the troops. The highway had been blocked by the Italians, who blew down part of the mountain side on 1t.
 The Royal Air Force bombing planes began to work at an increas- ed pace, unloading their bombs on the Italian positions, especially the artillery batteries which were she'll ing the Highlanders who crawled up the mountainside toward Italian forts.
 Fighter planes followed, roaring down among the jagged peaks, ma chine gunning troops and batteries. Not a single Italian plane has ap- peared.
 As write this dispatch, in a sand storm, the British planes continue to race back and forth. They un- load their bombs and their machine gun bullets and return to base to load up again. The battle continues as the enormous red sun begins to