HEAVY GUNS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23273, 16 February 1939, Page 13

HEAVY GUNS

MADRID SHELLED CATALAN RETREAT FLIGHT TO FRANCE TEOOPS CROSS BORDER By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received February 15, 10.10 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 15 Spasmodic shelling of Madrid, with the biggest guns yet used, began at 9.40 p.m. yesterday and lasted for half an hour, says a message from that city. Most of the shells fell in the working class districts. A despatch from Perpignan states that to-day will see the last Republican troops from Catalonia across the frontier. The retreat is being executed in splendid order. Nationalists allege that the Republicans before evacuating Llcrs blew up a magazine, causing the death of nearly all the villagers. Ton wounded Republicans die daily in French refugee hospitals, owing to the rigours of the retreat, says a message from the Paris correspondent of the British United Press. From Bourg-Madame it is announced that all the men of the lost divisions of the Catalonian army have reached after blowing up ammunition dumps and pushing lorries over mountain sides in order to deprive the Nationalists of them. Nationalist airmen caused only minor damage in a raid on the naval base at Cartagena, but 100 people were killed and 200 injured in a raid on Jativa, near Valencia. The Nationalists have sentenced to death Senor Edouardo Barriobero, president of the People's Tribunal, who was accused of sending many innocent people to death.

The newspaper Midi asserts that Don Manuel Azana has resigned the Presi-

dency of Spain. Officials of the Spanish Embassy deny the report. It is impossible to make contact with Don Manuel «!b present. MINORCA ATTACK GENERAL FRANCO ANGRY ITALIAN AIRMEN'S ACT LONDON, Feb. 14 An unconfirmed report to the effect that General Franco forthrightly expressed anger to Italy for the bombardment of Minorca, during the visit to the island of the British cruiser Devonshire to allow negotiations to take place between the Nationalists and the Republicans for the peaceful surrender of the island, is cabled by Reuter's Burgos correspondent.