A Critical Week in Spain The last week has been
one of intense military activity in Spain, and important operations have been carried out on the Levante front, on the Ebro river, and on the southern front, in-Estremadura. On the Levante front the Republicans were forced to retreat by the violence of an attack for which General Franco massed 600 guns and 50o aeroplanes, but outside Sagunto they have formed new lines which General Franco has unsuccessfully attacked, incurring extremely heavy losses. The struggle for Sagunto may prove to be one of the decisive battles of the war. In the rear of the insurgent front, the Republicans have brilliantly attacked across the Ebro river, capturing Corbera and encircling Gandesa, their final objective ; they are reported to have recaptured 200 square miles of insurgent territory in 48 hours. The attack is important, even more than for the local gains, for its effect in diverting enemy troops and material from the Levante front, where the insurgent forces appear to have been exhausted by the intense fighting and terrible casualties. Against this Republican success must be balanced the sudden and successful insurgent advance in Estremadura, on the southern front, which after a long interval awoke to renewed activity this week. But the Republicans have proved, on the offensive and the defensive, how far they are from defeat. It is reliably reported that new Italian divisions have landed in Spain.
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