"Madrid, Feb. 15.
Immediate assistance for Finland was demanded by the press here today, the papers expressing fear that the Finns might not be able to hold out long against the Soviet offensive.
"The Western states," writes the "Alcazar," "must remember that the defeat of Finland will be the first step towards a more extensive aggression against the moral and material interests of Europe and that there is now a magnificent Occasion to finish once and for all with Russia by granting serious assistance to the Finnish Government."—Havas. shot down. Two others were believed to have been brought down put this could not be confirmed.
Russian pressure yesterday was somewhat less, according to unofficial reports, possibly due to the weariness of the Red troops and possibly because of transport problems.
The weakening of the Russian offensive was believed to indicate that perhaps the attack was running down. According to Finnish figures roughly 40000 casualties, "300 tanks, dozens of planes and somewhere around 1,500,000 artillery shells have gone into the effort" to drive through the Mannerheim Line.
Some positions on the outer fringe of the Mannerheim have been taken,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.