Hendaye, Mar. 16.
EN. Francisco Franco announced to-day that under the leadership of Italian "Black Arrows" forces, the Spanish Nationalist Armies were steadily driving toward the Mediterranean coast in an offensive designed to split the Republi. ins forces.
"On the Aragon front," a communique issued at Salamanca said, "the Nationalists have reached the Guadalupe River on the right wing and the village of Chiprana on the left wing where the' enemy tried to resist. Late on Tuesday the Nationalists advanced beyond Caspe and occupied Riseula slope along the Alcaniz-Caspe road and then continued onward.
The right wing occupied Muella Segunda, La Coruna, La Zome and the village of Los Olmos Palomar de Arroyos:
Nationalist reports claimed the capture of thousands of Republicans JPrench Premier, and Mf. Joseph Paul as their three spear-heads pushed Ir-HBoncour, French Foreign Minister—esistibly toward the south-east and [United Press. the Catalonian coast. Advance guards Republics to-day were only approximately forty Steamer Sunk miles from the se: Barcelona, Mar, 13.
Reports from the front said the The 4,000 ton Republican Spanish Republican retreat from Aragon was steamer Isle de Minorca was attacked rumbling under the heavy Nationalist aerial and artillery" barrage, Hospitals in the rear were rapidly iting with wounded Republicans. by Nationalist planes and sunk off Tarragona yesterday, according to reports received where—Trans-Ocean. reelona Cabinet Stands Republicans hurriedly mobilized all available reserves some distance behind the lines for another attempt 0 stop the Nationalist advance. The Nationalist columns were so near to Barcelona that many citizens were fleeing to the French border to escape nationalist it raids and grtilery fre.
Rumours of; the imminent fall of the Spanish Republican Government wore angrily denied after an emer-Honey session of the Cabinet.
The Cabinet denied it had sued for fan armistice or that ig was about to evacuate, Republican reserves, a spokesman said, have stemmed" the Nationalist advance.
Republican claim their _counterdrive forced Gen, Franco's flanks to ralreat leaving the " spear-head of Ttalian, German and Nationalist troops' in an isolated serious] and position, The advance guard units wore said ¢o be on the southern bank of the Ebro River, nine miles cast of the historic Spanish town Caspe, The Republican: Government revealed that the Nationalist spear-sad included scores of German tanks aided by 400 planes. The off-lal report claimed that 90,000 German Storm Troopers had arrived to assist in the Nationalist drive.
"An Tallan aviator captured to-day, revealed that approximately 700 planes, mostly German and Ttatian, were taking pary in Gen. Franco's tremendous. drive.
Gen, Franco's Moroccan cavalry meanwhile were sweeping across the Catalan frontier from Caspe, driving. Republican defenders into' speedy. retreat, Barcelona in Turmoil M. Leon Blom, the French Premier, harassed by the Austrian crisis and new French financial problems, to-gay flatly rejected Republican Spain's plea for intervention in. the civil war. The Premier decided this [despite insistent Communist demands for immediate action to bolster the weakening Republican resistance.
'The Spanish Ambassador in Paris, Sr, Angel Ossorio ¥ Gallardo, twice! visited M. Blum to plead for' assist-Jance. On the second occasion M. Blum was absent and the Ambassador wag received by the Minister for the Premier's OMe, M. Vincent Auriol, whom the Ambassador is understood to have informed that the situation in Spain was critical unless modern equipment including heavy eld guns, were supplied to the Republicans. "He added that the Re-Publican Armies were unable to check their retreat, Reports reaching Paris stated that! the Barcelona authorities had asked Gen. Franco for peace terms, simultaneously requesting that the Nationalists place a warship at their disposal to remove 600 Catalonian leaders who feared execution if the extreme Leftists seized power bet the Nationalist troops reached Barcelona—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.