Nationalist "Steel Ring"
Vicious Attack Begun with Air Force Barrage on Ebro Front; Passenger Train Bombed at Night Hendaye, Oct. 9.
Bycious Republican attacks, operating behind an aerial barrage, slashed through the Nationalist "wall of steel" along the Ebro valley front today, resulting in the capture of several important positions south of Venta and Camporines. The Republican air force led the attack, bombing and strafing the Nationalist second and third line trenches, reducing them to shambles and inflicting heavy losses. Immediately after, waves of Republican militia poured into the narrow valley fortifications, forcing the Nationalists to retreat along an extensive front.
Barcelona reports said the Republican bombers were attacked by squadrons of Nationalist pursuit planes.
In the brilliant aerial battle, four pursuit planes were shot down while the Republicans lost but one bomber. large quantities of war-material during the 24-hour battle.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.