Government Successes in Spain On the Estremadura front the Republicans
have continued to advance in the direction of Castuera, and the valuable mercury mines of Almaden are now reported to be out of danger of capture by the insurgent forces. On the Ebro front, the Army of Catalonia, after fighting a severe rearguard action, appears to be holding its ground. Even if forced to retreat further, the Catalonians should be able to ford the river during the coming month, and by now the objective of their offensive, to hold up General Franco's advance on Valencia, has been achieved. The Government's success during the last month is attributed to the good quality of its newly trained officers, and the supplies of arms that reached Catalonia at a critical moment this summer. It remains true that the fortunes of the war are decided, for both sides, by the degree of foreign intervention ; it is equally true that the fortunes of the war help to determine the degree of intervention. For that reason alone the prospects of the Anglo-Italian agreement are dark. General Franco cannot afford to surrender " volunteers " at this moment, and the last two months have fundamentally altered the position in Spain from what it was when the agreement was initialled. At that time there was at least a possibility the war might end in the immediate future ; at present there is none.
* * * *
Previous page
