REBELS ADVANCE ON BILBAO

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 85, 27 April 1937, Page 5

REBELS ADVANCE ON BILBAO

Telegraph— Presa Assn

Basques Driven From Mountains MANY PRISONERS TAKEN

(By

.— Copyright.)

(Received 27, 8.45 a.m.) LONDON, April 27. Correspondents of the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and The Times on the Bilbao front desciube the sue cess attending a rebel attaek launehed there. The third Navarre brigade took Mount Udala, giving the attaekers command of the whole Aramayona Valley. The troops of the rebel conimander, General Mola, deliverxng a double attack from the front and rear, aided by artillery and aerial barrages, smashed the main line of the Basques' eastern defence, and now threaten Marquina The rebels are now 33 miles from Bilbao, on the outskirts of Durongo, on which one column is advancing while another is striking north-eastward from E1 Orrio toward Marquina in order to cut off the Basque retreat. The rebels are closing in, having advanced 15 miles in 24 hours to Bilbao. They were able to penetrate the Aramayona Valley, seize E1 Orrio and capture 1000 prisoners and large quantities of war material. Saturday 's advance was on a 15-mile front between Ondragon and Vergara, among the highest eastern peaks, where they compelled the occupants of the supposedly impregnable trenches crowning the Basques' entire eastern line to abandon them without figliting, in order to avoid being cut off. The rebels are now able to continue downhill until faced with a strong line of artificial fortifications 12 miles from Bilbao.