Burgos, Dec. 25. [ATIONALIST forces reached the Ebro River south of Almatret today, closing the pocket round the Republican forces, the Nationalis headquarters announced.
Advancing six miles in the Tromp sector, Nationalist forces cleaned up villages south of Lerida and Nationalist columns started advancing toward the north, east ana south.
Nationalist cavalry mopped up the Republican con-fingents south of Almatret on the Ebro River front, the Nationalists said.
'The Nationalists now claimed to be flanking the Republicans' rear fortifications, consequently avoiding frontal attacks and so upsetting the enemy's defence.
The Nationalists reported that they had captured the majority of thie Republican bases in the lower Segre River area and their prizes included munition dumps, artillery batteries and telephone material. The Nationalist High Command expressed satisfaction because of the "uncommon endurance shown by the hardy Navarese and Galician mountaineers who bore the brunt of the offensive the Tromp sector.
Crossing trackless Fountain plateaux according to the Nationalist plan, which is developing "highly satisfactorily, "the troops often were without communication for many hours."
An eyewitness said he "saw soldi-cere with their boots ripped by stones fand their uniforms in rags, Dut they continued their advance wrapped. in mountain capes. They appeared like idle snowden and when they met with resistance blood drenched the snow and they continued their ad~ vance" He also told of seeing a column Aghting near a precipice and "hurling "the enemy down. Their cerieg echoed in the clear mountain air"—United Press.
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