Evening star., 1939-01-24

r'utCO UIOTS tHGn nOnLn ago
began offensive to conquer Bar
celona and rest OF Catalonia and
0r1ng ctUtl iD1r to quick end.
Loyalist forces haze been pushed
back steadily before aduance of
rebel armies from south, south
Uest and West.
By the Associated Press
HENDAYE, France cat the Span
lsh Frontier), Jan. 24.-Spanish in
surgent forces today announced the
encirclement of the town of Gava.
only Z miles from Barcelona proper.
Barcelona was being evacuated by
government ministries and the civil
ian population. The government
armies, however, remained before
the city, defending it to the last.
10 reach Gava the insurgent
forces surged up the Mediterranean
coast from the conquered port of
Tarragona through numerous towns
dotting the shore. Gava is the site
OF an'American Radiator Co. factory
taken over by the Spanish govern
ment early in the war.
1nsurgent bombers flying ahead of
the land forces raided Barcelona
repeatedly in a campaign evidently
designed to break resistance of the
government troops.
Bombs Rained on City.
Before noon today the city had
been bombed six times.
Air raiders flew above the capital
while anti-aircraft batteries thun-
dered almost without ceasing.
A hail of bombs, particularly on
the thickly populated lower quar-
ter OF Barcelona around the port,
crumbled entire blocks of buildings
and took many victims, but the
capital remained calm, dispatches
said.
Frances big guns began hurting
shells into Barcelona a month and
day after the insurgent chieftain
launched his great win the war"
offensive from lines roughly 80 miles
west OF the government capital and
largest city of Spain.
MorOccans Lead Drive,
Todays sharpest advance on
| Barcelona was that from the south
west, where insurgents surrounded
Gava after passing the seashore
! heights of Garraf. Gen. Juan
Yague's Moroccan Army Corps led
the drive in this sector.
| West of Porco1oro {re,,roo,+
dispatches said Navarrese troops
crossed the Llobregat River. These
reports declared government troops
had retreated from the river beyond
the Montserrat mountains west of
Barcelona.
The Navarrese were reported to
have swung around Manresa, 80
miles northwest of Barcelona, and
to have driven forward without oc-
cupying that stubborn center of
| government resistance
Earlier today border dispatches
said the insurgents coastal column
had halted about IL miles from
Barcelona, while that approaching
from the west still was 10 miles from
the capital.
Government officials in Barcelona
were counting on their forces to hold
of the insurgents until the capitals
defenses could be organized under
the new martial law orders issued
yesterday.
Seek to Close Roads.
Meanwhile, the insurgents pressed
the drive to sever highways leading
from Barcelona to the French
border.
Three infantry divisions and
cavalry brigade from Gen. Garcia
Valino's corps were driving on
Manresa, about 80 miles northwest
OF Barcelona, in the hope Of sever
ing supply lines and threatening the
capital from the north.
The start of the second month
of the Catalonian offensive saw the
insurgents with their principal OBJ
Observation-Disclosures cannon
shot and almost within sight. In
surgent statisticians reviewing the
campaign cited the week ending
Saturday as the most victorious" of
the drive so far. During that period
they said Frances troops had:
Completely liberated" Taragona
province.
Conquered 284 villages, towns and
cities, including the highly i'm
portant provincial capital Of Tar
ragona and three of the four key
points in the governments Span
ish Maginot ne"-Villafranca del
Panades. Villanueva y Geltru and
Igualada.
Smashed through the govern
ment's Pyrenees defenses with the
capture of Pons and assumed con-
troll of the lifeline" highway lead
ing to the French border.
Captured an estimated 10000
prisoners and seized enormous
quantities of war materials.