THE REBEL ARMY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23688, 21 December 1938, Page 11

THE REBEL ARMY

TOO SMALL c OR OFFENSIVE LOYALISTS BETTER EQUIPPED LULL IN THE FIGHTING (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) LISBON, Dec. 19. Information received from official military observers suggest that the Spanish war is at a standstill. There has been no real offensive for many months. It is stated that, as situated at present, neither army is capable of staging decisive action. The front line extends for at least 900 miles, which is twice the length of the western front in the Great War. It is believed that General Franco’s army is not big enough to permit the marshalling of troops necessary for an offensive without dangerously weakening his hold on the existing positions. The Loyalists’ equipment and defences are now stated to be better than General Franco’s, but the shortage of food remains their big weakness, hence the importance to General Franco of securing belliigerent rights, which would enable a blockade. SPANISH MOROCCO MUNITIONS FROM GERMANY LONDON, Dec. 20. (Received Dec. 20, at 11 p.m.) The Daily Herald’s Tangier correspondent says Germany is increasingly despatching arms and munitions to Spanish Morocco through Larache, where many Germans are installed. The German liner Sevilla discharged by night 1000 tons of war material last week. Germans loaded it into lorries and deposited it at a military camp, concealing the operations from the local population. Famine is reported to prevail throughout Spanish Morocco, and deserters from the Spanish rebel army are increasing.