Show Italy Claims G Great eat Victory In Big Battle on North Front By Associated Press Claims of a gre great t Italian victory in n northern Ethiopia were put forward orward in Rome today as the Italian government announced the most sweeping advance of troops troops in the north since the early days of the war with Ethiopia The Italians said they had captured captured cap cap- square miles of ot new territory territory territory ter ter- ter- ter in a six-day six battle which brought death to Ethiopians and wounds to more The total alleged Ethiopian casualties was exactly the same figure as was advanced by Ethiopian sources last week concerning the Italians The Italian casualties In the battle were said by the Italian government to have been 1500 of which fewer than were killed hilled The Italians said their front lines in the north now were within 20 miles of at Amba the famous ridge that their punitive expedition reached in 1896 before 1896 before the Ethiopians I plans pians cut the army to pieces in one I of the greatest defeats Italy ever suffered I Near 1935 1035 Outpost I IThe The claim o of victory with the distances and points given as captured captured captured cap cap- brings out that the Italian advance now has fas reached a point five miles behind which Antao-which which the Italians captured last year early in in the war Later the fascists withdrew from Antao announcing they hey were consolidating positions The Ethiopian government also announced a success It stated that Italian native nativo troops had de deserted deserted de de- from their commands on the southern fronts I and gone to the British colon colony of ot Kenya The Italians immediately denied that anything of at the sort had hap hap- The Ethiopian announcement announcement announce- announce ment nent recalls that James Henr Henry Thomas British minister of at colonies colonies colonies col col- col- col onies told the house of oC commons in n London last week that native Italian kalian troops had deserted into Kenya Ethiopian officials said an ItalIan Italian Ital- Ital ian an plane went down in inflames inflames inflames flames burning its six occupants to death in a bombardment o of the I Lake Halk Haik monastery last week |