Show I BRITISH BRITIS REPORT ENEMY TRAPPED CAIRO CAtRO Egypt Dec 19 1 P PI Italian HaHan rear guard forces left eft to defend defend defend de de- de- de fend Bardia Libya's principal base in the frontier region have been trapped and their own way of escape escape escape es es- es- es cape to is under aerial bombardment bombardment bom born British war ques declared Thursday J night Advanced elements of of our troops which have successfully contained contained con con- tamed numerically superior enemy forces in m Bardia are being steadily reinforced and the position of the remnants of the beaten Italian army in that area can now be regarded regarded regarded re re- re- re as precarious said a British British British Brit Brit- ish general headquarters The roya royal air force recounting raids and reconnaissance which took British planes over the western western west west- em ern desert battle zone and also over the frontiers with Italian East Africa ca reported The Bardia road was also bombed but little movement was seen British Patrols Patros Active I Linked with aerial operations against Italian occupied Ethiopia and Eritrea were British land patrol patrol pa pa- troi On the Sudan frontier our patrols patrols patrols pa pa- were again active in the Kas- Kas sala and areas facing Eritrea and Ethiopia respectively i inflicting a number of casualties on the enemy said the GHQ General Genera headquarters said Italian prisoners including 1626 officers officers officers of of- had been counted already as the haul of the Libyan offensive and that severa several thousand more Continued on Page Four i C Column Five BRITISH REPORT ENEMY TRAPPED Continued irons from Page One were being removed from battle I areas I An An admiralty is issued issued Js- Js sued in London Landon told of continuing naval bombardment of Italian positions positions po pa- po- po along the coast and Prime Minister Churchill in his commons commans address spoke of army anny operations Bardia less than 10 SO airline miles northwest of the junction of the Libyan-Egyptian Libyan frontiers was an important Italian supply base anc and port The normal nannal population is 2370 The R RAF A F fanned wide in its Offensive of of- It made a wave attack two night ago on Benina airdrome which its described as one of the heaviest raids of the war in the western desert de destroying destroying de- de straying 18 Italian planes and firing firing firing fir fir- ing the airdrome With the fall of Bardia apparently apparently apparently imminent there were indications indications indications indica indica- that the Italians also were making preparations to abandon 70 miles to ta the west |