Successful Diversion

The Barcelona Government, after nearly a month of yielding stubbornly-held ground on the south side of Generalissimo Franco's salient-to-the-sea, last week hurled a whacking good offensive across the Ebro into the north flank of that salient. Shock troops for the advance were chiefly five columns of foreign Leftists, forming the spearhead of Barcelona's drive, under command of up-&-coming General Vicente Rojo. Soon wounded in the back by a bomb fragment was James Lardner, son of late Funnywriter Ring. In Manhattan, portly Leftpundit Heywood Broun announced that Ring Lardner was the only genius he ever met, rejoiced that the wounding of Son James, who writes, may force him to return to the U. S., thus providing the cause of Leftist Spain with another martyr.

When 150 Rightist bombing planes did not stem the Leftist advance (United Pressman Leon Kay, with the Leftists on the Ebro, reported that within 24 hours they endured 85 Rightist air raids--one about every 29 minutes), Generalissimo Franco hastily shifted effectives from his south to his north front. Meanwhile, he opened the floodgates of all dams on the Noguera Pallaresa and Segre Rivers, northern tributaries of the Ebro. sent a wall of water tearing down into the river which raised it from three to five feet. Rightist Pilot Heraclio Gautier flew over the river to photograph the effects of the flood on Leftist pontoon bridges. His plane was winged by some 200 bullets. In the best Ratisbon tradition, he came back, managed to land in Rightist territory with photographs intact, died still at the controls.

The Leftist advance swept forward a dozen miles on a 20-mile front, reached the strategic city of Gandesa, taken by the Rightists last spring after some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. After a terrific struggle last week, the Leftists were thrown back from the gates of Gandesa. But they claimed 5,000 Rightist prisoners, and relieved Rightist pressure in the south.

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