The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-02-03

the Cash river through unfriendly hills in which lurked strong oanoS of Ethiopian tribesmen from whom they could expect no mercy.
 Tn desperation, the Italians were reported to have blown up the last important bridge to the west ot Barentu. On a big ridge facing and dominating the town, British troops wer0 preparing for final attack. The capture of Agordat had cut oil the last communication line along which these Italians might have hoped for endorsements and sup plies.
 If they retreated toward the Cash river. the Italians would only come to the Umm Hagar-Bicundi region which the British have already taken.
 It was indicated that the British plan was to push on to ASmara and Massawa, thus in effect conquerlng Eritrea. and then sending fianking force southward from Asmara to push the Italian remnants down the roads into Ethiopia-the roads along which. in 1885, they had marched on their conquest of Ethl- opia.
 In Libya, the Italians were re- ported to be fighting a stubborn rear guard action as they fell back along the coastal road from Derna toward Benghazi. British motorized units were harassing them and seeking to disorganize them while the main British forces, including artillery, advanced for what was expected to be the final phase of the Libyan offensive.
 British Hit Sardinia
 London, Feb. 3-(UP)-British navy planes attacked Italy's big Island of Sardinia yesterday, the Admiralty announced today.
 A brief admiralty communique said:
 "On the morning of Sunday, Feb, 2 naval swordfish aircraft carried out a successful attack on one of the main sources of power supply in Sardinia. One of our aircraft is missing"
 Italian Report
 Rome, Feb. 3-CUP)-An air raid on Sardinia, Italy's air base island of the Italian peninsula, was ad- mitted today by the high command.
 The airplanes approached from the west, the direction of Spain and Gibraltar and in addition to drop ping bombs looSed two torpedoes in an attempt to smash dam, the high command said in communi- que, but failed to cause damage or casualties.
 (Airplanes approaching Sardinia from the west might have come from a British fleet. The British admiralty has made 1t known that its air arm IS specializing in the use Of terpedoes. Gibraltar is nearly 300 miles from Sardinia0
 It was asserted that one raiding plane had been shot down over Sar- dinia by anti-aircraft guns and it's crew made prisoner.
 Fierce fighting proceeded yester- day in the Agordat and Barentu regions of East Africa, the com- funique said, and in Libya Italian planes bombarded British mechan- ized columns.
 (The British announced that Agordat had been taken Saturday. Barentu seemed about to fallD
 Italian patrols and Greek artil- 1ery were active on the Albanian front, the communique said.
 Benito Mussolini yesterday re. ceived Achille Starace. chief of staff of the Fascist Black Shirt militia. Starace reported on the participa- ton of the militia's shock battal- ion" mountain troops and anti-air- craft batteries in cooperation with the regular army, It was made known.
 The high command communlque disclosed that the planes which Fnlded Sardinia struck at the Tlrso Nafn, the largest power dam in sar-
 nia. It is situated in the middle ' the lsland.
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