Evening star., 1938-04-27
Miaia's loyalist Legions
Hold Foe From Teruel
to Mediterranean.
INSURGENTS DIRECTING
OFFENSIVE ON COAST
Part of Government Success Is
Attributed to Occurrence
of Violent Rains.
BACKGROUND


Mediterranean Seacoast. Loy1list
territory divided by thrust of Gen.
Francisco Frances forces to sea-
coast. From Vinaroz rebels hare
struck nortAward towdrd Barce-
Iona and southUard toUdrd Valen-
ctd. Other armies hare been driv-
ing along French border tor flank
attack ON Barcelona.
By the Associated Press.
HENDAYE, France, April 81
Generalissino Francisco Frances war
fleet went to the aid of his stalled
land forces today md bombarded
Spanish government positions on the
heights about Alcala de Chivert with
its big guns.
Gen. Jose Miaja's strongly REIN
forced defense line from the Teruel
sector to the Mediterranean held the
insurgents virtually motionless for the
fourth day.
Barcelona dispatches said the sea-
port city of Castellon was bombed
four times yesterday by insurgent fly
ers and about so persons were killed
and 10 houses wrecked. Twenty in
surgent planes participated in each
raid
Fighting More Severe.
Fighting became more severe along
the Northern Catalonian front in the
mountains east of Tremp. Govern
ment reports acknowledged that new
insurgent attacks resulted in General
issimo Francisco Frances troops
pushing toward SEQ de Urgel.
Farther North, however, the gov
eminent said. insurgents were forced
to retire from positions around LA
vorsi, near the French frontier. After
blasting the insurgents with artillery
fire, the government drove the insur-
gents Westward in the direction Of
the Aran Valley. Heavy snow in the
mountains impeded operations.
The fighting east OF Tremp cen-
tered around San Roma de Ahella,
where government gunners laid down
a heavy barrage with mountain guns.
The insurgents attacked, breaking
through government lines, but gov
ernment counter-attacks were said to
have recovered the lost ground.
In the deadlocked conflict along the
Eastern seacoast the insurgents, fol-
lowing their usual tactics of shifting
attacks from flank to flank, directed
their main offensive along the coastal
road about Alcala de Chivert.
This town, 25 miles north Of the
seaport of Castellon, has been battle
field for week. 1t is noted for its
fine seventeenth and eighteenth CEN
tury building.
Fighting in Outskirts.
The fighting surged through the out
skirts. the government holding the
western edge of the town, insurgents
the southeastern corner.
Offsetting the insurgents capture
OF two key points, La loretta and
Palado point. the government seized
the dominant Apalaya de Alcala peak,
which stands west OF the town like
sentenel over the valley down which
extend the highway and railway.
Although the general outline Of the
zig-zag 100mile front from Teruel to
the Mediterranean was little changed
since the insurgents surprise attack
Saturday caught the government mill
tia unawares north of Teruel, military
observers considered the governments
success due in part to violent rain
storms.
Aviation Grounded.
The storms grounded insurgent
aviation and begged down their
superior motorized equipment.
To break the stalemate, General
issimo Franco ordered his fleets of
'warplanes from Mallorca Island to
mass at two new mainland bases,
Vinaroz and .Valderrobres. and to CO.
operate in Gen. Miguel Amanda S
southwark drive through Alcala de
Chivert toward Castellon and Valen.
cia. This move tripled the air force
in that sector.
On the Catalan front, also, the civil
war was at a stalemate. The govern.
ment claimed its defense line from
Tortosa to the French border, behind
such natural barriers as the Ebro,
Segre and Noguera Pallaresa Rivers
and in the Aran Valley in the Pyre-
nees. "far better than Madrid's forti-
fcations."
From Valencia came a delayed re.
port Of the insurgent bombing Of
government hospital train April
IA near Castellon. Ten persons were
killed in the moonlight raid. Six Of
the 80 Americans aboard the train
suffered fresh injuries. Passengers
said the train was marked with red
crosses.