LOYALISTS USE TEAR-GAS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21865, 19 August 1936, Page 11

LOYALISTS USE TEAR-GAS

FEAR OF MOORISH TROOPS EVIDENCE OF FOREIGN HELP FOR REBELS PROMISES MADE TO ITALY AND GERMANY 'u»itid piucss association —<’optrigbt.) (Received August 19, 1.50 a.m.) LONDON, August 18. The Spanish Government is using tear gas on the Guararrama front, where desperate fighting is reported. The Government is anxious to gain a decisive victory before the dreaded Moors arrive. The situation in Majorca is still obscure. The Government is continuing to land troops.

Elsewhere the situation is little changed. Responsible Government leaders expect the war to last until the autumn. Senor Prieto advises the women to start making warm clothes for th- soldiers. He says women are not needed at the front, where there is abundance of manpower. The Government lacks a well organised rearguard to back up the militia with supplies and clothing for the cold weather. Fighting continues at Oviedo, where the rebels are showing surprising resistance. Well-paced artillery and machine-guns stopped the miners before they were able to make effective use of their dynamite. If Oviedo falls it will enable thousands of miners to reinforce the troops striving against the Moorish advance at Estremadura.

The diplomatic correspondent of the “Manchester Guardian” says the fall of Badajoz is not regarded in London as decisive. The impression here is that the conflict will not be decided by force of arms alone. Even a final victory by the rebels would not leave them master of Spain. Their military successes are due partly to the well-armed and well-trained Moroccan troops, and partly to the superiority of their aeroplanes, manned in many cases by Italian and German crews. Evidence is accumulating that Italian and German help was arranged before the rebellion. The Italians are principally interested In Ceuta and the Germans in Morocco and the Balearics islands. It appears that the rebels promised to allow Italy to use Ceuta as a naval base and to erect new fortifications. A similar arrangement was promised to Germany in respect of the Balearics. Both Italy and Germany promised economic concessions. The Spanish police have seized a large number of letters and other documents passing between Nazi organisations and Berlin. These show that the Spanish Nazis are supported by the Gerrnan,', Foreign, Office. Four thousand d* these docur ments were placed at the disposal of the diplomatic correspondent of the “Manchester Guardian.” They reveal extensive subversive activities, probably typical of Nazi organisations all over the world, and are closely linked up with German consulates and chambers of commerce.