| Show British Close on n Base Bas ln in E Eritrea Second Army Nears Near CAIRO Egypt Feb 6 GP UPI UPI- British forces In Africa are closing dosing clos- clos ing ng in on Cheren Important railroad railroad rail- rail road oad town in Italy's Eritrea British headquarters announced Thursday In northern Africa the advance of f the Army of f the Nile on Ben Ben- gasi asi Libya progresses a said On both fronts separated d. d by some ome 2000 miles of desert and rough ough hills country the R Royal yal air T force or e carried on violent bomb- bomb I Inga Ings to to prepare th the way f for r the advancing land forces an R A F said Dive bombers made smashing attacks on pa the I Italian alian gun positions positions positions in the hills hilis around Cheren and on the road east of ot the town At At two Italian planes planes' were captured and one shot down Cheren lies lies lies' about 40 miles miles' northeast of which the British captured last Saturday and andis is about half way on the rall raIl Continued on Pace Pue Two Column Two British Armies Close Upon Key Italian Bases In Libya and Eritrea Miles Away Continued from Pat Pace One road line between and Massaua Eritrea's principal Red sea port The Italian positions about Cheren Cheren Cheren Che- Che ren are believed to be strongly fortified for for- fori i titled tilled and the country is wild and rugged making motorized advances advances advances ad ad- I vances difficult Farther south In Eritrea Entree the British said the fascist forces which had withdrawn eastward I from were vigorously pressed In the whole a area a. a The British pace in north Africa was expected to bring them to the gates of in about 48 43 hours Royal air force headquarters announced announced announced an an- that bombers had raided Benina airport and the town sown of Berka Bertea on the night of February 5 4 Two hangars were destroyed at Benina the R It RAF A F said and a large fire probably of oil was started Bombs also burst among 9 MILES t EL L b L I BY BYA A S EGYPT TIME TABLE MAP SHOWS snows BRITISH PROGRESS IN AFRICAN WAR Black line marks imperial advance through Libya toward motor transport vehicles and on the landing ground after which the British swept buildings with machine gun fire The barracks and airdrome at Berka and the railway station at Barce were given the same kind of treatment the said On the same night other R RAF A F planes attacked the Maritza airdrome airdrome airdrome air air- drome on the Island of Rhodes Pilots of royal air force bombers bomb bomb- ers blasting a path for the British advance told of seeing Italian trucks rolling southward out o of along the coastal road which offers the only overland line of retreat from the town There was no indication of the magnitude of this movement but bu east of the Italians were reported in full retreat toward the town with the British at their heels stricken Panic-stricken Italian settlers who emigrated to this fertile ferUle re region region re- re region gion in large numbers in recent years were said in British reports to be tangled with columns of of troops falling faIlIng back upon This would place the British close dose to the Italian air base at al Barce reported bombed repeatedly repeated repeated- ly in recent days A narrow- narrow gauge railway runs from Barce to In Itt Eritrea the Italians were said to be abandoning vehicles and supplies in a retreat tow toward rd Asmara the colonial capital Last reports from the front put the British within 40 miles mUes of that town In Ethiopia Italian troops who haye have been virtually cut off oU from their homeland for 18 months were reported withdrawing further further further fur fur- ther into the interior along roads little better than mule tracks harried by fierce tribesmen The British declared their colonial colonial colo cob nial troops operating from Kenya Colony had penetrated Italian So- So to a depth of 60 miles and fighting on this front was I Isaid I said to be increasing steadily in scope I |
