NEWS OF THE WEEK
THE military aspect of the conflict -in Spain continues to be less important than the diplomatic. Not that there is any lull in the fighting. The insurgents, it is true, decisively foiled in their first assaults on Madrid, appear undetermined in their strategy, but air raids on the capital are as frequent as ever, and the University City on the outskirts is the scene daily of fierce struggles at close quarters. The signs are that the tide is slowly turning in favour of the defence. A considerable part of the population has been evacuated, and those who remain bear both food shortage and the daily air-raids with fortitude. The Government has received from sources unspecified supplies of guns and aeroplanes and reinforcements of men. Not only is the defence much better shape, but Government forces are taking the offensive at various points in the north-west. Attacks on Oviedo have been resumed, and the beginning of an advance in the direction of the insurgent headquarters at Burgos is talked of. These operations may be of some importance in: diverting insurgent forces from the attack on Madrid. General. Franco's losses have been heavy, and he is suffering from a shortage of man-power. If Madrid had fallen to a swift assault that would have mattered little, but the insurgents can ill stand steady wastage in a protracted winter campaign.
