Crack Italian Troops Rushed to Reinforce Post At Cheren; Retreat from Barentu Cut Off London, Feb. 7.
The toughest battle yet in Eritrea, and possibly in all Africa, today faced the British army outside Cheren.
Cheren lies to the rear of Barentu and Agordat—between those two strongholds and Massawa on the coast, and thus the retreating defenders of Barentu are cut off from all escape.
According to reports from the front, a captured Savoy Grenadier revealed that three battalions of Grenadiers, crack Italian regiment, were rushed to Cheren from Addis Ababa. This was interpreted to mean that the Italians intended to make a stubborn, end possibly a last, Nerce stand be-tore Asmara, 50 miles eastward.
Fierce fighting already had started at Cheren, it was reported, although British reports mentioned only heavy shelling from batteries hidden in hillsides, and RAF. bombing. Those factors, noteworthy, are usual preliminaries to a British assault.
Cheren geographically presents the most ticklish problem the British yet have encountered. It stands atop a 6,000 foot. escarpment which the British must climb in the face of Italian re. United Press New Delhi. Feb. 7.
Details of the fine work of Indian troops in Eritrea now available here show that Pu Garhwal, Baluch and frontier force regiments fought in the battle which resulted in the occupation of Barentu.
Occupation of the town followed a five-day battle fought by an Indian brigade in a narrow gorge and a 10- day battle along the Aicota-Barentu Road in which another Indian brigade participated.
The enemy was forced to retreat from mountain positions at bayonet point, despite numerically superiority. Indian troops are among those now advancing from Agordat towards Keren.—Reuter.
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