The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-09-01
WRITER PAINTS
GRIM PICTURE
OF REVOLT
Whites RepuIse Reds
In Armored Train,
Says Knickerbocker
CONTINUED from Page II

o the point where the war is be.
ing won.
High atop the towers of the TOO
year-old castle of the Counts Of
Oropesa, we stood beside the heavy
machine guns Of the legion and
watched the whites beat back a
red armored train.
Through the kindness Of Gen.
Francisco Franco we had The op-
portunity of being the first and
so far the only correspondent to
reach the firing line on this front
which will decide the war, because
it is this column which intends
to take Madrid while Gen. Emilio
Mola holds the northern passes.
First Advance
We spent two days watching
the famed fighters of Spain ad-
vance for the first time into the
province of Toledo.
We following the line of Frances
push from Caceres through Tru-
jillo, Navalmoral and La Calzada
into Oropesa, where, accompanied
by the legion, they occupied sur
rounding villages.
It was a trip no tourist would
enjoy. Each step has been severely
contested and as only a few hours
had elapsed since the reds eVacu-
ated the territory there had been
no time to clear off the track of
war.
Just beyond Navalmoral we
passed large farmhouse utterly
plundered. In the courtyard facing
the road two farmers knelt as
though praying in Mor1ammedan
fashion with their faces down to
The ground.
Two days later as we returned
tie farmers were still praying.
Vu3tures squatting upon them
failed to disturb their devotions.
Woman Mutilated
Farther on a well,dressed man
was sleeping eternally in a ditch.
Next was a man horribly mutt
lated, as though by axes, sprawl
ing naked.
From La Calzada to Oropesa no
living beings were to be seen ex-
cepting now and then the out
landish figure of a legionnaire or
a red-fezed Moorish soldier STEP
ping fr ON behind a machine gun
nest to demand our papers.
Outside Oropesa we passed a
wood which breathed the abomina-
BILE odor of death. A little later
we stood at the window of the
castle Oropesa, where Lieut.. Col.
He'll de leila, commanding the
legion, explained that in that wood
had died 300 of the reds famous
phantom column, which the
colonePS men surrounded, cut off
and destroyed.
Count 80 Dead
Pointing out an olive grove be-
low us, the colonel said:
I'VE counted 80 red dead
there. They must still be there.
"Of course in this terrific
heat they quickly become often
sive, but you understand we
just reached here. a few hours
ago after an all-night march.
and haven't slept in more than.
S6 hours. Our first job is to
care for the living"
The living legionnaires were
caring very well for themselves
at lunch below the window. We
joined them in our own first
meal in "a hours. It was a feast
of cold fruit cup. hot Spanish
beans, and a brown mixture of
stewed turkey. chicken and NUT
ton accompanied by wine and
topped off with coffee.
This is a real fairy.tale castle
in Spain, the sort you dream
about.
"HOw our Red brothers could
have given up such q place
beats me-"
This was mumbled by Lud-
wig Straet, German legionnaire
from Hamburg, between bites Of
chicken. He continued:
"LOOk at those towers. Only
16inch shells could crack them"
GENERAL RAN AWAY
The four towers Of the castle
rose 100 feet high from walls
four feet thick. Straet continued:
General Riquelme, the red
cOmmander-in-chief command.
ing here, ran like a rabbit"
At that moment a machine
gun began to fire. First there
was one and then another, and
then every gun the legion owned.
We ran for the towers with the