In extreme cases, where the ter- rain or the desperate character of the battle demands, the second gro- up may have to join the first, but if so, only long enough to stop the enemy in his tracks. It then takes the initiative, although not by from. tal attack, for there again would be the danger of a deadlock should the enemy succeed in making a firm stand. The counte1uattaek must be made at a tangent, forcing the en- emy out of position and giving the battle the necessary character of mobility to permit a definite decisi- It needs no military expert to re. alize that a highly trained and high- ly specialized soldier is needed for this type of warfare. Gone are the days when a clerk or a farmer could be enrolled one month and thrown into the front lines next. Gone, even, are the days when compulsory mili- tary service of a year or eighteen months could prepare a nation for Your troops are still, and always, in their tripartite formation. The first group absorbs the shock of the attack. If it can hold and then throw back the enemy, that is the end of the action until your forces are re- ady to launch a counter-attack in the usual formation. Should the first group be unequal to the task, the second force is thrown into action-- but there again, not to join the first force, in a passive defense, but to) attack the enemy on his flank in an' encircling movement. _ an eventual war. In order to carry out the "guerra manovrata" a mili.. tarized nation, whose youth has been brought up to war, is necessary. So much for a typical attack. What of a defensive action? Sup- pose you go out to meet an enemy attack (as the Italians did in the Tembien at the end of January when the forces of Ras Kassa and Ras Seyoum launched a drive against their communications), or suppose the enemy effects a surprise attack (as the Negus's army did north of Lake Ashanghi on March 31). In Marshal Badoglio, Italy has a great exponent of the "guerra ma.. novrata." His brilliant campaign here is a tribute to its efficacy, and it is hardly open to doubt that mili- tary students the world over will be studying this campaign for many years to come. The battle which was fought just north of Lake Ashanghi, beginning on March 31, was a brilliant exam, ple of the new tactics. It was initi- ated by the Emperor's forces which made a surprise attack at dawn aga- inst the First Army Corps positi- ans at Mai Ceu on the northern slope of the Valley of the Mecan. The first of the traditional three groups was able to hold its own without assistance from the second group or the reserves. Marshal Ba. During this time the third of the groups stays back., It is the good, old-fashioned reserve, which no mo- demization in principle can do with- out, and it plays the part that reser- ves have always played-to streng- then a crumbling line, to fill in gaps, to turn the tide of battle when vie- tory hangs in the balance, or to co.. ver a retreat. Neither the second nor third groups, it is important to note, are to be used unless absolute- 1y necessary-the second only when its use will almost certainly bring victory, the third only when defeat is threatened. Should the shook troops success. fully engage the enemy and rout him, so much the better; but that is a result which must not be depen- ded upon. That is where the second of the three groups enters. Under ordinary circumstances it will have to be thrown into the battle, but it is not thrown forward as reinforce. ments for the shock troops; it is swung in an are to left or right, as the terrain requires, in an encircling flank attack against the enemy, while the first force is either holding him or gradually pressing him back. (Continued from page 5) forms what may be called the shock troops. This force is the first to clash with the enemy, and, if pos- sible, defeats and disperses him without the aid of the other two forces. Each shock trooper is as lightly equipped as possible. He' car- ries nothing with him but his arm, whatever that may be, and enough food, water and ammunition to last him two days. This is a distinct in- novation, for in the American and other armies during the World War the individual soldier carried only sufficient materials for one day's fighting. , ll. .0me xwwwm Science of War Rewritten by Italy There were the usual three groups --the first being divided this time into two parts, one of the Alpini Di.. vision and the other of the Sabauda. The second group was an Eritrean (Division which made the encircling ,movement, and there was the cus- lternary reserve. Then there has been the adaptati- on of motorized warfare-an applic- ation not as great as might have been expected, because of the dif- ficult terrain of Ethiopia, and the lack of roads, except where the Ita- The part airplanes have played in this campaign is truly overwhelming. Not only have they performed the "natural" functions of bombing and strafting with ma- chine guns, but they have played a remarkable role in the pursuit of the defeated enemy, in reconnoitring, in conveying information of enemy movcnents before and during bat. tles, and in dropping food and water to stranded troops. Aviation, in a sense, has taken the place of cavalry in the old-fashioned 'warfare which, incidentally, was also a "war of ma. noeuvre." ( The attack was launched at day- break on April 2. It was the job of the Alpini to make a frontal attack, inflieting the utmost possible dama.. ge, and, of course, if possible, dis.. lodging the Imperial Guard. Mean.. while, the Sabauda Division, in true "manoeuvring" style, struck to the side of the Ethiopian force and then turned on it in a flank attack, which quickly forced a withdrawal. The Italians pursued, and under their pressure, and the desperate menace of being outflanked by the rapidly approaching Eritrean Corps, the en- emy broke and fled. H. E. Fulvio Suvich, Underseere- tary for Foreign Affairs, telegraph- ed the Secretary General of the Le. ag'ue of Nations as follows: I make the following declaration on my honour as an officer: In the month of January, during the Italian offensive at Kolmaye, on the Soma.. lian front, as military advisor to Ras Desta, I was present at a feast of Abyssinian soldiers in honour of Ras Desta, of three decapitated heads of Italian soldiers who were also emas- culated. By right of retrospective informa.. tion to state members of the League of Nations, I bag to inform your lordship that the Belgian lieutenant, Armand Frére, passing through Gi- buti, on April 22 last, left with three Italian journalists the following dee- laration, written and signed by his doglio sought nothing more that day than a repulse of the enemy, reserv- "mg the greater part of his strength ' a future counter-attack. He was not ready for his major attack, in the first place, and the Negus had thrown only 20,000 of his 50,000-odd soldiers into the battle. The Italian commander was angling for bigger fish; his turn came two days later. On that day the Emperor's Guard had entrenched itself on a hill called Chessad Ezba, and his reserve was four miles back on an eminence na- med Addi Assel Gherti, which do- minated the Pass of Agumberta, le.. ading to Lake Ashanghi and the town of Quoram. As always, the Italian objectives were far more complicated than a simple frontal attack to dislodge the Ethiopians. The idea was to manoeuvre in such a way as to make their positions un- tenable, forcing a retreat which co- uld be turned into a rout and a sla- ughter. Private Ciro Parise, son of Pietro Parise, born at Resina, district of Nola, class 1911 - Tansoca' (Tembien) - December 27th, 1935. Top of skull blown off by a dum -dum bullet discharged at point-blank range. The Uncivilized Abyssinians #P'wwifififl" '// k'fiwwivggxrms: Statement by Three Members of the Egyptian Medical Mission. AFFIDAVIT. On February 15th, 1936---Year XIV of the Fascist Epoeh--Abdel Mohsein El Wishy, an Egyptian ci-l tizen living at Cairo, formerly at.l tached to the Egyptian Medical 'f/td sion in Abyssinia as assistant dis- penser, came of his own accord to, the editorial offices of the 'Giornalei d'Oriente' and made the following statements to me, Dr. Filippo Zam_lr boni, son of Albino, deceased, in thet presence of four witnesses, Cav Ing. Latino Tozzi, Prof. Arduino Albane. Se, Prof. Pier Luigi Malesei, and Subhi Wehedah, those statements being confirmed categorically by the other members of the Mission, MM. Kamel Ahmed and Labib Salamah,l i A whole chapter could be written about the enormous effectiveness of artillery in all the battles. Another interesting chapter eould be devot- As regards the munitions found at Wadare in the Swiss Red Cross trucks, Ras Desta alone gave the or.. der to load these munitions in the above mentioned trucks. To stimulate this disgusting feast they pretended to break the corpse and eat the flesh; knives and swords cutting the cold and stiff corpses. By order of this strenuous war, daily I saw his soldiers occupied in transforming their bullets into dum- dum missiles. Twelv'e Eritrean soldiers captured by Ras Desta's soldiers were decapi- tated and emasculated before my impotent presence. I can assure you that Ras Desta gave the order not to take any pri- soners and a gift of 10 thallers awa- ited the arrival of each proof of emasculation . lians have built them. However, trucks have been used enormously for supplies and artillery, and in one case, at lease-that of the occupati- on of Gondar-the operation was ef- fected by a great motorized column. lh/lPEfRATOfRE TORTURE AND DECAPITA TIGN of Airman Minniti l "On December 24th, at about 4 p. im., coming out of the Egyptian am- bulance tent at Bolali, I saw a group inf Abyssinian levies going by under the command of Sergeant Manghes. itu, dragging along a man in avi- ator's uniform, the man's hand being ltied behind his back'. As I had, to go ito fetch water in the neighbourhood, at Bit, 1 set out following the same road as the Abyssinians. A little further on they stopped and, after taking off the airman's overalls, placed shackles on his legs as well land bound him to a tree. "Having been called up by Ser- geant Manghestu, who asked me for a cigarette, I approached, and, out of curiosity, stopped to look on, tho.. ugh I certainly did not foresee the horror of the spectacle I was to wit. mess. "While the sergeant sat on the ground smoking the cigarette I had given him, the soldiers unbound the prisoner's hand and, holding him fast, cut off his fingers. Manghestu, having finished his cigarette, appro- ached the unfortunate prisoner, who was shrieking with pain, replaced the iron shackles on his bloody wrists, took off his coat and shirt, and spat in his face. One of the sol- diers cut off a. tuft of hair from the back of his head, as the Abyssinians do to malefactors, and handed it to Manghestu. Thereupon the airman's feet were unshtutlcled and bistro. users were taken off. Being narrow at the bottom, they were slit with a. knife. He was thus left completely naked. A soldier replaced the irons on the man's feet, and, kneeling, pressing his head against the wretch's belly to hold him fast, cut off his genital organs. "But a still more horrible scene awaited us. The poor wretch, now a corpse, had been unbound and set on the ground, where he lay bathed in a pool of blood, while the sergeant was busy flaying the skin off the vie- tim's chest. Aghast, but overcoming the fear which the Ethiopian levies Abdel Mohsein Wishy made the following declaration on oath: who have heard corroboratory state.. ments from reliable persons in Ethi- opia. "The airman gave a heartrending shriek, while the blood gushed out from the horrible wound. "At this point I, who had been glued to the spot by horror, began to run towards the ambulance tent. There I met the dresser Mohammed Hassan, to whom, as soon as I was fit to do so, I described, my voice hoarse with emotion, the appalling spectacle I had witnessed. We both returned to the spot to fetch the Its. ather bottle which I had left behind me in my flight. ed to the military mapping done by the Italians-a truly amazing per- formance, far beyond anything pre- viously accomplished. And then there is the "logistical" and of the eampaign--the work that has been done, and extremely well done, by the services which correspond, in the American Army, to the Quartermas- ter and Ordnance Corps. In another field there are the hospital ships--' the last word in their department of war. But there will be books written about the African campaign, and the public will, in time, learn all there is to learn about it. l "My companion Mohamed Has. 'san also told the story to Dr. Mah- mud Izzet, who ordered him in fistu, are to keep within hospital bounds. l "'Three days later, Manghestu re- turned to Bolali. He said that he 'had had most wonderful receptions at Diredawa and Harrar when he 'had arrived with the Italian airman's head and genitals. He added that at Harrar a great procession had been formed and had proceeded to the 'palace of the Provincial Governor to :show him the ghastly trophies. "The horrible operation completed, the body was cut into pieces. The head and feet were stuck on bays. nets, while an attempt was made to burn the other wretched remains with petrol taken from a camp of Somali camel-drivers nearby. Then the levies, one of whom carried stuck on his bayonet the airman's head, inspired in us, we asked Manghestu why he was still hacking at a corpse. He replied that with the dead man's skin he intended to make a cigaret- teacase which he would use only on great occasions. Italy must wage war 2,500 miles from home. She must send out by ship, via the Suez canal, all the pro- visions, arms, motors, timber, ce.. ment, necessary for her campaign. two others the feet from which the shoes had been filched, another the clothes, and Manghestu finally the genital organs, got into a lorry that was leaving for Daggah Bur, Jiiiga and Harrar. "On the following day, when I took the medical reports to Wehib Pasha, I recounted the horrible scene I had witnessed. He, it must be ad- mitted,' showed great annoyance, but advised me to hold my tongue. "It was on the fourth day, if I am not mistaken, that Italian aeropla. nes made an incursion and dropped With eighty thousand tons of Bri- tish fighting ships on their way to Malta, it may not yet be too late for the nations that want peace to make it plain to Signor Mussolini that they are prepared to make it extremely unpleasant for the man who brings war upon them. Before Italy can be trusted with a "eivilizing" mission in Abyssinisi, she ought to be required to undergo at test to determine whether her own civilization is sufficient for the task. STAR, July 27 '35. R. Halliburton. MAIL, June 28, '35. Editorial. The heat in the desert of Basa is so terrific that no white man can stand it for any length of time. Through that blistering inferno, in which there isn't a single oasis, not the smallest waterholes, not an inch of shade and nothing resembling a human habitation, the Italian expe- ditionary force will have to advance if it is to invade Abyssinia. After that awesome wilderness comes a range of savage mountains, another stretch of godforsaken desert-land, ghoulish in its nakedness and aridity, and then comes the Abyssinian ar- ought to" be required to -undeiiiro ai Fresh information re.tehiny Le.. test to determine whether her own ague of Nations authorities to-day civilization is sufficient for the task. IS that dysentery IS playing havoc .with the Italian troops massed in GLOBE, July 24, 'M: Editorial. [East Africa. The number of cases to "IN-L. "h-Lt... tn,.,,,,.,.; Ln-.. " 13.: JAL_ l, ,,-u ' . . , .,,,.,' The Italian army will shrivel up like dry leaves. _ STAR, Mar. 22, 1935. Van Paassen. (AMENITI,.ES OF THE Head chopped to bits i 37,000 Italian soldiers have so far been shipped back from Africa suf. fering from enteric fever, malaria. scurry, scrofula and other tropical ldiseases. This figure represents fur.. :ly 13% of the total strength of the Italian armed forces in East Africa, estimated at 280.000 men. We, the undersigned, Kamel Ah- med and Labib Salamah, members of the Egyptian Mission, fully confirm on oath the statements made by Ab.. del Mohsein Wishy. Concerning the facts of which he was an eye-wit- mess, we have collected eorroborato- ry evidence from trustworthy per- sons in Ethiopia. leaflets signed by General Graziani which were worded roughly as fol- lows: 'You have murdered an Italian airman, violating the principles of humanity according to which prism. hers are sacred. You shall be pu- nished.' "I then learnt that the airman's name was Minniti. Harrar. In the latter town we met Dr. Abdel Hamid Said, the repre- sentative of the Egyptian Committee for the Defence of Abyssinia." "Shortly afterwards the Italian aeroplanes did, in fact, bomb the re- gion. The ambulance, however, did not suffer any damage. The nearest bomb fell at a distance of 3 km. from our tent. "A few days later, at the request of Dr. Saklrawi-as the zone was dangerous, owing to the ',':,'eeimtill of Abyssinian levies, who were t object of the Italian air attacks-the ambulance left Bolali for Jijiga and We, the undersigned, Cav. Engi- neer Latino Tozzi Condivi, Prof. Ar- duino Albanese, Prof. Pier Luigi Malesci, Subhi Wehedah, state that we have heard the evidence of Abdel Mohsein Wishy given in our presen- ce. "Tanks are useless in the moun- tains and only pick animals can get over the passes. Water, as in Ogada, is scarce and the Italians must lug it along for man and animal. There is a blazing heat in valley and plain, and the desert stretch facing the so- uthern part of Eritrea is a furnace. "Mussolini," Dr. Lambie told The Star, "will never conquer Ethiopia." STAR, Aug. 15, 'M. Rev. Dr. Lambie date is said to total 15,000 STAR, Aug. I, 'M. Pierre J. Huss. Her seaport at Massawa in Eritrea is so ill-favored that it takes a week to get a ship unloaded. And then the cargo piles up on shore for more weeks before it can be removed to the interior. But she has another enormous ad- vantage, too-the morale of her sol- diers compared to the morale of the Italians. " The nature of the country, then, is Abyssinia's best ally. STAR, July 31, 'M. Van Paassen. VENOM (Signed) Abdel Mohsein El Wishy (Signed) Latino Tozzi Condivi Arduino Albanese. Pier Luigi Malesci. Subhi Wehedah. (Signed) Filippo Zamboni. (Signed) Kamel Ahmed Labib Salamah. 22 Maggio 1936