SPANISH WAR

Grey River Argus, 14 December 1938, Page 2

SPANISH WAR

FRANCO’S Bi.OCKADE. RUGBY, December 12. In a Commons answer, Mr Butler said that since the outbreak of the Spanish civil war, 120 incidents, in which British ships suffered interference or damage by Spanish nationalist forces, had occurred. In nineteen of these cases, the ships concerned had been in territorial waters. The bulk of the damage had. been relative ly slight. The British' Government held Franco’s forces responsible for all these incidents. Forty&ight officers and men, also three non-inter-vention officers, had lost their lives in these attacks, and 64 officers and men were known to have been injured. Apart from the case of damage to H.M,S. Hunter,, no detailed ciaim had yet been presented to the Burgos authorities in- respect of these attacks, although the Government reserved the right to claim compensation in due course. Mr Butler reiterated that .as Franqp did not possess belligerent rights, and the right t 0 take ships or cargoes to’ any prize cqlirt, Franco’s prize court at Palma was illegal, and its-decisions illegal. LONDON, December 12. ' Murn MacDonald, of Dunedin, who arrived with members of the International .Brigade, said that one of the outstanding military lessons of the war was the efficacy of anti-tank

guns. Mounted oh rubber wheels, they could Warily be pushed into position’: -They were also capable of rapid fire' of one-pound shells. .A direct hit Would 1 hhlt ariy tank.- The ,sudden appearance of tanks was ter-

rifying but determined infantry could halt them. . Another efficacious method was to lie flat on the ground under a' tank’s line of fire, and throw grenades under the tank; where’ one usually found "a vulnerable spot.