The Wilmington morning star., 1941-01-06
BRITISH CAPTURE
BARDIA AND SEIZE
$4,000 ITALIANS
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artillery at times screened the
creeping figures from view.
I could see the flashes from
the Italian batteries, but the
British tanks and Australians
kept moving.
When they got near the bat.
|teries | saw the Italians leave
some in flight, some to sur.
render.
Those manning the italian
batteries near Bardia's rock
walls scaled the walls and rar
down the streets of the town.
They surrendered later -
under safer circumstances
as a British officer put it.
| entered the town only g
half hour after this twilight
assault-also in safety.
Prisoners Rounded Up 70
A brilliant sunset bathed t h c
ancient African town and thou.
sanrs of prisoners in long line!
marched to the rear as fast as
they were rounded up by the
Anzacs.
Here we're the same resigned
faces and grey-green uniformed
columns of men that I saw ir
Egypt three weeks ago. They have
become a familiar sight in the
desert since the British counter
offensive began less than a month
ago.
There was the usual precaution
Of n sentry to about 500 prison.
ers. None tried to escape.
Five hundred Italians we're root.
ed from one gulch redoubt. Some
had sought refuge in natura.
caves. I saw 1000 leave one cave,
ordered to march by a single
Australian officer armed with a
revolver and five infantrymen
armed with rifles and only one
bren gun.
A larger Italian garrison defend
ed this vital port city than was
thought. The original estimate was
20, 900, but that has been revised
upwards beyond 80, 900 now, most
of them prisoners.
Gen. Annabale Bergonzoli
known as Electric Whiskers" be.
cause of his fiery beard, and five
other Italian generals also were
taken prisoner.
Defended Perimeter
They defended a strongly forti.
fled perimeter that formed an arc
ten miles from end to end along
the seacoast and running inland
about four miles at the deepest
point.
This system of concrete and
steel cracked like an egg shell un.
der the 48-hoUr bombardment by
British warships operating of
shore.
The inner defenses were taken
in many cases by bitter hand-to,
hand fighting, but casualties were
not believed to be heavy on either
side.
The British say their casualties
r light, and those of the Italians
mot heavy" since the Italians al
most invariably surrendered rath.
er than resist to the end.
The first breach in the outer
Fascist defenses was made by
Australian engineers who cut
through the barbed wire before
dawn Friday. This was on tn e
southwest arc of the ring. il.
Local resistance was overpower-
cd with grenades and bayonet
combat.
Anti-tank traps were filled in by
explosions and mines were explod.
ed by thrown stones.
The full cry of artillery and Raj
explosions had preceded this dawr
foray, and then all was ready for
the curtain to lift.
Tanks Go In
At dawn British tanks whirled
into the breach. They famed out
along the southern rim of the Wadj
Girfani Notifications located in a
dried-up river bed and raced tc
the s%eacoast.
This drove a wedge between the
north and south parts of the sector,
Australian infantrymen raced in.
to the openings loaded with gren
AIDES and machine guns. They
quickly cleaned out nests of ter.
Irified Italians" as they said later,