Word: taranto
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...brink, the Italians were now definitely on the run. For while it was forming new political alliances (TIME, Dec. 2), the Axis had run into its first big military reverses. These were serious indeed. Its sea power disgraced when half its battleship force was crippled at anchor in Taranto harbor, its armies now definitely stalemated in Egypt, its Greek offensive in reverse, Italy showed herself in her true aspect-Germany's supply-starved, dangerously inept southern flank. Crippled, Italy invited even more vicious blows from the British, and the British could be expected to deliver them full measure...
Elimination of Air Marshal Boyd probably meant little or no delay in Britain's follow-up of her great naval coup at Taranto last fortnight, when Fleet Air Arm fliers knocked holes in half of Italy's battle line, or in new British pressure on Marshal Graziani's time-marking expeditionary force in the western desert. Knowing that Graziani had completed an advance camp 15 miles east of Sidi Bārrani, had drilled new water wells and about finished a hard-surface supply road along the coast, British naval units last week hove up and shelled...
With Italy's oversea supply line to Africa more vulnerable than ever after Taranto, all these actions suggested the beginning of a British effort to smother Italy before Germany can help her out in Greece or anywhere else...
Italy tried to retrieve her shattered face by claiming, belatedly, that during Sir Andrew's sweep of the Mediterranean, an Italian submarine thrice torpedoed one of his battleships of the Ramillies class. Benito Mussolini blustered that only three ships had been hit at Taranto. only one badly damaged. London laughed. Her agents told her that a military court was sitting in Rome to discover who had let Taranto happen...
...toured gun emplacements. One of the huge guns was fired, and Cretans who stood around cheered and clapped as if an Italian ship had been sunk before their eyes. They talked exultingly of Suda Bay as "an eastern Gibraltar." Sir Archibald heard with satisfaction of the raid on Taranto (see p. 20), of R. A. F. cooperation in Greece, of the wonderful work of the Greeks themselves...