Hendaye, Apr. 30, While heavy rains in north Republican Spain grounded Nationalist planes today and kept heavy artillery inactive, Republican forces. staged a series of scattered counter-attacks in fu effort to halt the crushing tonalist march toward the Mediterranean.
Hundreds of young Republican troops, sent to the front with very Hitle military training, were killed by Nationalist machine-guns, grenades. and rifles when they made heroic charges on well defended Nationalist trenches in five attempts to retake Tost ground in the Alcalade-Chisbert sector.
Each Republican attack was repulsed with heavy losses as Ni tionalist machine-gunners mowed down scores of young Republicans fas they charged across the no. man's land between the enemy trenches in the midst of exploding Nationalist [hand grenades.
"The final attack, one of the most vicious of the entire war, carried the Republicans to within a few yards of the Nationalist trenches where they showered the Nationalist troops with hundreds of grenades. JSeasoned Morocan Nationalist troops, however, swept the ground with the fire of hundreds of machine-guns, forcing the Republicans to retreat after both sides had suffered heavy' casualties. The final battle lasted a half hour and was fought at the} height of a severe thunder storm.—United Press.
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