ROME, Oct. 4, 1935 (UP) -- "Tactical" airplane raids over an area 50 miles to the south of Aduwa in Ethiopia were admitted today in an official communiqué.
A general advance of the army in the north was resumed at dawn, it was announced, and the morale of the invading troops was reported excellent.
For the first time, the bombing raids of yesterday on Aduwa and Adigrat were officially admitted. The communiqué said:
"Bombing squadrons, received with violent rifle and artillery fire, bombed Ethiopian armed forces gathered around Aduwa and Adigrat."
(Unconfirmed reports said 1,700 persons were killed or wounded by the bombing planes, including women and children.)
The communiqué said also:
"Aviation (department) performed tactical raids and arrived beyond Makale and beyond the River Takkaze."
These points are far south of Aduwa and Adigrat, on a line roughly paralleling the Italian front.
As for general operations the communiqué said:
"Yesterday at 5 a.m. six divisions of the army. Blackshirts and natives, in order to repel imminent Ethiopian menace, crossed the boundary between Barrachit and Meghec (on the northern front). "To push back the defense forces, which had not retired as was announced at Geneva, the Italian columns advanced in a hard, difficult field along a front to a depth of about 20 kilometers (12.42 miles) on an average from the frontier.
"The resistance of the Ethiopian forces was feeble, while the population awaited the entry of Italian troops into their villages waving white cloths. The quartermaster immediately ordered distribution of food to the natives who were in a state of extreme misery.
'During the night the troops halted in the positions they had reached.
"This morning at dawn the advance was resumed all over the line.
"Gen. Emilio De Bono, commander-in-chief wires:
"The morale of the troops is most high."
The United Press learned on good authority that the army has two objectives. The capture of Aduwa.
Union of the Italian forces concentrated near French Somalilands and on the east front with those near Ualual to the south on the Italian Somalilands frontier in order to encircle French and British Somalilands on the Ethiopian side and thus cut off Ethiopia from all direct contact with the sea.
Aduwa is expected to fall within a few days. But to complete the movement the lengthier operation of joining forces to the west of the French and British Somalilands is necessary.
The encircling forces are expected to meet in the Bodede mountain district near French Somaliland. It was reported that the northern drive on Aduwa was being made by eight separate converging columns.
The government has hope it was learned of winning the aid of Germany, Poland, Austria and Hungary in its crisis and exchanges with those countries are said to have been promising.
