Franco's Answer

When Leftists attacked Teruel they took it by a surprise movement which encircled the town from both flanks. When General Franco counterattacked Teruel he poured his army into a frontal assault and did not take it. Last week Leftist generals used their heads again. Franco's army before Teruel is supplied by a single road running north to Saragossa, parallel to the main Aragon front. Instead of trying to repulse Franco by pouring men into the town, Leftists launched four attacks at four separate points in an attempt to cut this road. If any of the four had succeeded, Franco's attacks on Teruel would have had to cease. None did succeed, but Leftists proved that they still have offensive power left, that their staff work is now good enough to coordinate four attacks at once.

Meantime, fruitless air bombings continued. Rightist planes bombed Valencia, killed 125 people including Arnold Crone, captain of a British freighter loading oranges in the harbor. In retaliation, Leftist planes again bombed Salamanca, Valladolid, Talavera. To end this senseless waste of good munitions and useless murder of civilians the Leftist Government proposed a truce on the bombing of any objective not in the area of combat by planes of either side.

"The Government," wrote Defense Minister Indalecio Prieto, "is willing to consider any initiative tending to mutual agreement to cast aside such warfare, which beside shedding innocent blood, accelerates the ruin of Spain."

No answer at all came for twelve hours, then from Salamanca came a broadcast:

"We must continue to raid Loyalist areas because they have been heavily fortified."

Next day Rightist raids killed 600 noncombatants, mostly women and children in the residential districts of Barcelona.

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