Salt Lake Telegram | 1940-09-16 | Page 2 | Rome Reports Egypt Advance

ROME REPORTS EGYPT ADVANCE ROME Sept 16 oo W Italian forces have broken through the first important line of permanent British fortifications facing the Libyan frontier in their advance through Salum the newspaper II dItalia d'Italia reported Monday It said the Italian forces also had captured many British arms and desert trucks The high command com corn S mand earlier had reported Marshal Mar Mar- Marshal aha 1 Rudolfo Graziani's army still advancing after destroying 50 tanks and armored cars and Inflicting Inflicting In In- S heavy losses on British S troops II editor the authoritative authoritative authoritative S fascist spokesman Virginio Gayda said sald the fortified line r C stretched from the Mediterranean 7 r coast at Salum south to Alfaya and Sidi Omar He described it as asa asa asa a series of strong works with camps hospitals hospital lines of barbed wire entanglements artillery emplacements emplacements em em- placements machine guns and automatic au au- au arms Gayda declared the line was well equipped and reinforced The British in that zone he said were using columns of armored cars for mobile guerilla warfare conducted with the most modern mechanical equipment Much of this mobile armed material material ma ma- was supplied by Ford Gayda Gayda Gay- Gay da Ia declared and built for the particular particular particular par par- needs of the desert so- so called desert trucks which the British command equipped with obvious offensive aims alms against Italy beginning with the early months of 1939 British forces were heavily bombed by Italian planes which set fire to numerous supply dumps the said sald The Italian air force was reported report report- ed incessantly bombing British poS positions po po- po S in the Sudan and airdrome hangars in the Goz zone The high command said Italian dive dive bombers bombers attacked by British fliers after bombing the Halfar airfield in Malta shot down one defending plane A British submarine I was reported report report- ed d sunk by a motor torpedo boat boatIn boatIn boatin In the eastern Mediterranean and anda I a British cruiser hit by an air bomb an authoritative fascist source meanwhile declared that Italy was not at war with Egypt and that the Italian advance onto Egyptian tian territory was solely for the theS S purpose of attacking British troops concentrated there Italy has always maintained a sincere feeling of friendship forthe for forthe forthe the Egyptian people this source said Land of Pharaohs Sees Some Modern Fighting 5 i 7 S' S S li r E S SS S J S re f t oo 5 S 1 t s Vh t tj 5 v S j S S S 5 t v i ifill v 1 BRITISH LOAD LOAD DESERT DESERT RAm RAIDER FOR ATTACK ON IT ITALIAN ri FORCES I R. R A. A F. F Bombers Play nt Role in Battle for Egypt 4