3 SEPTEMBER 1937, Page 2

The Spanish Campaign The official announcement in Madrid on Monday

of the fall of Santander to the insurgents was accompanied by news of Government victories both on the Aragon and the Granada fronts. In the Beichite sector, south of Saragossa, Govern- ment troops were stated to have taken all the insurgents' positions, but the impetus of the advance appears to have lessened. The objective is Saragossa itself ; there is a possi- bility that the Government troops, as at Brunete, may advance too far on too narrow a front, and expose themselves to a counter-offensive. On the Granada front the Government is reported to have taken several important positions. These attacks are explained alternatively as the result of the weaken- ing of the insurgents owing to the demands of the northern offensive, or as an attempt to force General Franco to withdraw some of his troops from Viscaya. If the second explanation is true the attempt seems to have come too late, but these advances appear to show at least that, as some compe- tent observers believe, the insurgents' concentration on Santander may involve serious disadvantages for them else- where. The Government's successes, though not of decisive importance, do something also to invalidate the rumours that the Government is being rendered ineffective by serious political dissensions.