Rome, Apr. 5.
There is nothing left for you to do but to pray for me"—Emperor Halle Selassie is reported to have telegraphed this message to his wite after -his defeat at Lake Ashangt, according to an Mahan press report from Djibouti.
The Emperor's picked force of 40,- 900 men is described as no longer an army but a disorderly mass of fugitives as a result of the Italian vie~ tory aller a four-day battle, The Halians feel that their latest success eliminates the last. military obstacle to complete occupation of Ethiopia.
They are continuing the pursuit, and are reported not only, to have Teached the shores of Lake Tana but to have entered Quoram on the heels ofthe retreating Ethiopians.
The occupation of that elly gives the "invaders command of two. important caravan routes to Dessie and into the Danakil country.
The road to Dessie is now open to
country. the Talis along a comparatively Mat 'The view that the Negus lost the battle ut Lake Ashangi because his generals disobeyed kis commands, was. expressed to-day by an authoritative military observer attached to the. Mahan' headquarters.
Telephoning to Reuter's correspondent in Asmara, he pointed out that the Negus kad explicitly ordered his Rases to confine themselves guerilla tactics, but they refused to] Fetize and allowed themselves to be, overwhelmed by being drawn Into lose contact with the Tatians.
He added that thereafter the fate of the Negus was sealed. It was the same mistake os that whick the Ethioplans made in Tembien and Shire.
"According. to a message from Marshal Badoglio, Italian Commander-in" Chief in East Africa, the battle of Lake Tana concluded yesterday morning, "The Ethiopians, commanded by the Negus, are in desperate flight south= wards, while the entire Italian alr force in this sector are engaged bombing and machine-gunning the fleeing troops, the message odds.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.