The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-10-01
nv WEBB MULLER

BY WEBB MILLER
 TUnited Press Staff Correspondent (Copyright, 1886, by United Press.)
 Toledo, Oct. 1s-(UP)-Last Fri- day group of men. their hair and ragged boards matted, their uni forms and bodies caked with the dirt because of 69 days on a pint of water each, twirled the dial of their radio in a candle lit cellar of khe Alcazar and heard:
 Radio Lisbon-Gen. Jose Varela is advancing on Toledo"
 There was little time for rejoicing. Outside the leftist besieging force was hammering away at the ruins above ground with everything it had. At intervals men of the gar Fison almost staggered down to eat their mule meat meals and go to sleep-to be called again to climb up into the ruins and man the machine guns.
 On Sunday, the men in the ruins above ground saw the bursting of Che shells of their own artillery out side the city. tt. X They knew then that relief was near. But again they were too busy fighting to celebrate. Great dynamite mines again were eXplod- ed under tlU, cellars by the des- perate loyal.sts. From the narrow Street across from the Alcazar en- closure loyalist officer shouted: FSurrender! Come out four by four with your hands up." The men ct the machine guns jeered: We've been here 70 days and can stay 8 year."
 At 2 p. m. Sunday an army cap tian from the relieving army, ac- companied by his orderly, made his way through the city, still full of loyalists and reached the Alcazar,.
 q can not tell you what hap opened then" an officer told me to- day. 1T can not remember what we said or did except that we wept. That one moment repaid us for all we suffered"
 Like those of his comrades, the officers hair was matted with dust and his uniform was ragged. He thought for a moment and added Whsln I asked his name:
 "Qh, God! Don't print that. My children are in Madrid and they would shoot them. have given all I could for Spain and now I don't know whether I'll ever see my chil- drtGl," ',t
 All of the garrison were like that, weak, emaciated, semi-hysterical ,Etill.
 Here is the statistical story of the 70 day siege which really ended on Monday, as kept by the command ing staff of the Alcazar:
 CombatantS who entered the AL cazar, HOO; killed, 82; wounded, 430: slightly wounded, 150; disap- peared (probably destereO after mine explosions. 57: died of natural causes, five; suicides, three,
 Women who entered the Alcazar, l,1c0; killed 82; wounded, 430; slightly wounded, 150; disappeared (prObably deserteO after mine ex- plosions, 57; died of natural causes, five: suicides, three.
 Women who entered the Alcazar, S20; children SO; wounded, nine women; deaths two, natural causes, births two, boy and a girl.
 Survivors, 953 combatantS and 56S women and children, Total 1,5l3.
 Shells dropped in Alcazar enclo- sure, 5000 four inch, $500 three inch, 1000 two-inch; hand grenades thrown, 1000; dynamite bombs thrown. 2,000; frontal attacks, 8; air raids, 30; air bombs dropped, 300; air gas bomb attacks, 35; bot ties of inflammable liquids thrown into Alcazar, 200; fires started by ! artillery and air bombs, 10.
 Food available in addition to raw ( grain, 07, horses and 27 mules; left s when siege was raised, one horse and five mules.
 Sickness. none.
 Seven men, two cadets of the AL cAzar military school and five civil ' guardsmen, were killed in the first < loyalist attempt to mine the Alca- gar; none died in any other att tempt. t+ t,
 On three occasions volunteers ran out into the cellar galleries to which the loyalist miners drilled tunnels, aIld, pulled out the caps of mines so they could not be exploded. \ In the Alcazar when the civil war started were onlysa few cadets of the. school, the Spanish West X Point. The others were on vaca- tion. They were reinforced after z four days by more than 1000 civil t guards and fascists who took refuge z there after trying to seize Toledo. The men did sentry duty, manned \ the machine guns and did sniping ' duty with rifles. They made an occasional night sortie, and used old ]. movie films for flares when the ! 1cyalistS tried night attacks. \ Off duty, the men made bombs < Of tin cans which they filled with | gunpowder. nails, spikes and hand { grenades. m
 Surgeons operated on the wound- ed by light of the candles made from the fat of the horses and mules.
 They delivered one of the babies prematurely, its birth caused by the < cAplOSl0n or Snell near the mother.
 Cne bottle of chloroform and half a bottle of alcohol remained, of all { the medical supplies, at the end. Most of the women and children remained in the dark cellars until < yesterday, when we, the first group Of newspaper cCrrespo pondents to eil- ter Toledo since last week end when the loyalists left, reached the enclosure.
 They came out, unearthly pale, and basked in the bright sun, after n hungry, thirsty days in the black rock cellars. They still wore the clothes they had on when they en- tered the Alcazar July 2l. Their
 etks were sticky with dirt. Their 1S|t was snaried like tangled string.
 me mothers watched their chil- dfSn Ket their first exercise. The