The Nationalists have occupied more than forty villages along the seventy-mile front inthe past 24 hours, sweeping through many deserted villages without stopping. Heavy artillery, which blasted the Republicans out of Igualada, was being moved toward Barcelona as rapid ly) as possible. Nationalist reports predicted the city would be under within 48 hours.
Meanwhile squadrons of Italian [built Nationalist planes bombed and strafed retreating Republican troops fand staged "numerous raids on all highways leading from Barcelona. 10 the front in an effort to cut off Republican supplies.
Among the towns occupied by the Nationalists today was Calat which menaces Manresa, the occupation of fencirclement—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.