The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-01-10
Desperate Plight Of
 Italians In Africa
(Continued from Page 1.)

least 3O,OO0 men and possibly total ing more than 10000, were throw1 today on the British ration list.
 For 100 miles, along the road tt the British rear, 8 great cloud o. dust marks the trail of thousand! of captured Italian trucks, burning captured Italian gasoline, which art racing up to Tobruk with troops munitions and food for the force: here.
 can hear British field guns fir. ing at Tobruk's double circle oi forts.
 The guns flash in the war bright desert sunshine and the light the cloudy night sky with warm glow as, every few minutes, batteries ot them open up and shatter the des- ert silence. The bombardment is increasing slowly but ceaselessly as fresh batteries arrive from Bardia
 In lulls between bursts of artil- lery fire I hear the rumble of light and cruiser tanks, tractors ano trucks hauling the new guns to the firing line.
 Troop and supply trucks are ar- irving in great conveys.
 Forts of Tobruk
 Tobruk'S forts are in 16 main groups with six block houses il each. The outer circle of them stretches in a Semi-circle 25 miles long about 71a miles outside the town. The inner line is between three and five miles from the town
 The Britihs guns have the range but as was shown in the cases od Bardia, whose easy capture still sur. prises the British command, it is diff. ficult even for the heaviest gun! to smash the defenses. Each case. mate is dug deep into the soil ane only theh tips of its cannot art visible.
 In their sweep through Libya tht British have captured dozens of new airdromes in perfect condition, iron which Royal Air Force planes al ready are operating only 8 shor distance from their objectives.
 I saw the wreckage of Italian planes at every airdrome passed between Bardia and Tobruk. At Fl Adem air field, 15 mile south of Tobruk, which I have jus visited, I found 68 abandoned Italian machines, Caproni bombers, S-79s and CRABS, most of them wrecked or burned out.
 Counting the planes destroyed O captured at Bardia and other sta tions along the line of advance alon' the line of advance Italy must hav lost well over a hundred planes.
 I arrived here with the Britisl Imperial Forces, outside Tobruk' chain of forts, after a thoruogh in spection of Bardia and observing the remarkably accurate results O British selling and bombing of tn towns grouped defense units, whicl Musso,ini and his generals had be lieved were impregnable.
 Bardia Suffered Badly
 The shining white town of Bardit proper, atop a. rocky promontor. putting out into the sea, had sui fered severely. Workshops, stores munitions dumps and truck depot at the mouth of the valley adjoin ing the harbor below the town hat been smashed and in some place pulverized by Royal Air Force bombs
 The navy had put a couple O heavy shells through the stone jet! roof, and wrecked barges and sunl three ships whose masts and fun nels were visible near the beach.
 I did not wonder that the Italian! were shocked and the British sur prised att he ease of Bardia's cap l ture. It was evident to tme tha the blockhouses had taken 8 long time, perhaps years, obuild. They are in 40 main groups with three ol four bastions in each group, bull of strong concrete with outer tanl obstanc.es, also of concrete, 10 fee in front of them. Within the circle | of bastions a series of concrete | firing posts are linked with eacf other by underground passages. A each principal fire post is & 2-incl Breda anti-tank gun, flanked or each side by fire post mounting 1 heavy machine guns. Intersperset with and in front of the principa posts are light machine guns, gren. ade throwing and sniping posts Barbed wire entanglementS and lanC mines surround each series of forts The field of fir efrom the forts i perfect, commanding level deser l terrain.
 Crews of Tanks Fled
 Alongside the forts found flams throwing tanks with trailers O hgihly inflammable oil. Their crew fled as the British approached, no even trying out their contraptions.
 The British destroyed 70 tanks a Bardia and captured 58.
 As the bastions resist the fire O even massed guns, it is difficult to realize the reason for the Speedy capture unless one has talked, as have, to the prisoners.
 I passed along the Bardia- -Tobrul road without seeing any Italians ex' cept groups of prisoners and strag glers, wandering along the tracks bewildered and eager to surrender. l Many stood at the roadside, ap pealing tot he empire forces to talk l them prisoner. The British anS Australian troops were too busy get ting on to Tobruk to pay them an! attention.
 i saw some Australian airmen camped along the road, try to sho' H 5