The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-12-23
FRANCO STARTED
 HIS GREAT DRIVE
Insurgent Armies Advance on Four Fronts Toward
 Barcelona

Hendaye, French-Spanish From tier, Dec. 23-(UP)-The Spanish inslrgent armies of Generalissimo Francisco Franco opened climatic Christmas offensive" today in an ef- fort to smash the heart of the Loyal ist governments defenses at Cata- lonia.
 The main drive centered in the Lerida sector.
 Under clear, cold skies, the insur- gent armies struck at four immedi- ate objectiveS, according to advices reaching the frontier.
 The ultimate objective appeared to be the crushing of mass Loyalist armies along the Catalonian front and the capture of the great indus trial city of Barcelona.
 Loyalists Lack Food
 A food and fuel shortage in Loyal ist Spain appeared to be as serious threat to the government as was the Franco military offensive. Ex- houstion behind the lines-as in Germany at the end of the World war-was a danger that the Barce- Iona authorities were taking drastic measures to try to overcome. The points of military attack ap- peared to be toward Cervera and Tarragona following 8 terrific aerial bombardment in the Segre valley.
 Reports of fighting in these sec- tors indicated that the Nationalist armies had been massed near Lerida on the rugged frontier of Catalonia where the Segre river runs almost parallel with the border until it joins the Ebro.
 Where Columns Smash
 From the Lerida sector one col- umn appeared to have struck north eastwar dalong the railroad line lead ing to Barcelona, with Cervera as its first big objective.
 Another column farther south headed along another railroad line toward Tarragona, on the Mediter- ranean coast, the fragmentary ad- vices indicated.
 Airplane and artillery lombard ments heralded the advance. The insurgents reported that they had shot down four Loyalist planes in a dog fight over the Segre valley.
 Nationalists said today that they had arrested most of the persons implicated in an eSponage plot as the result of the seizure of papers of military importance in the bag gage of 8 British consul on his way out of the country.
 (The papers were said to have been placed in the baggage without the knowledge of the vice consul.-- Ed.)
 Delayed by Floods
 The offensive by which Franco hopes to deal terrific blow to the LoyaliSts before British Prime Min ister Neville Chamberlain visits Rome in mid-January had been de- layed by floods, cold weather and deep snow.
 The Nationalist government has been seeking to persuade European powers - particularly Britain = to grant it belligerent rights so that 8 stronger blockade might be en- forced against the Loyalists. A grave fod shortage in Catalonia is con- sidered a powerful aid to the Na- tionalst cause, and some observers believe that military triumph now by the Franco armies would give Premier Benito Mussolini of Italy grounds to argue that Chamberlain should favor granting belligerent rights to the Spanish Nationalists. Snow Also Impeded The military reports from the front partly disgused the scene of opera tions but said that snow in the northern sectors lmpeded the Na- tionalists, while favorable conditions existed in the south.
 The Loyalists recently have surri- moned every available man to bear arms, in preparation for the otfen- sive. The Nationalists, with strong Italian units participating. had massed hundreds of thousands of troops, powerful tank corps and arr tillery for the offensive.
 In the las two weks Nationalist aerial bombers had carried out a systematic campaign of hombarding Catalonian cities and towns in an attempt to break the morale of cVilianS.