Word: bilbao
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...also greatly strengthened Leftist morale. The Basque lines again held firm, pushing back General Mola's men at several points. Then came a bit of news even more galling to the pride of Benito Mussolini than the rout at Brihuega. In an attempt to encircle Bilbao Italian troops pushed ahead. One Italian brigade reached the port of Bermeo eight miles from the capital on the Biscay coast, captured it. Here they were counterattacked by Basque militia, for the most part fishermen and their armed wives. When the Italians broke ranks, the bloodthirsty fishwives chased them into houses, beat them...
...civil war has there been anything on either side to match the complete rout of the Italian divisions at Brihuega, and Rightist General Franco and his German and Italian backers were bound to make that defeat good last week. More than prestige was at stake in the attack on Bilbao. Bilbao captured should give the Rightists control of the Biscay coast, remove serious military pressure on their rear, allow thousands of men to be transferred to the siege of Madrid. Most important of all it would bring Franco and his Nazi and Fascist backers the most valuable iron deposits...
...heavy were Leftist losses in the recent surprise offensive around Madrid that the Valencia Government could not spare a single division to help their Basque allies last week. They could spare some planes, 32 of them with Russian and French pilots arrived at Bilbao to help the defense...
Guernica, Rightist planes attacking Bilbao under General Emilio Mola were German Heinkel and Junkers bombers, proven inferior to the Russian planes called chato (snub-nosed) by the Loyalists. On the advice of German aviators and with the approval of Generalissimo Franco, General Mola ordered the stupidest move of his entire military career: a punitive air raid on Guernica, 12 miles northeast of Bilbao...
Espana. British freighters meanwhile were running General Franco's blockade of Bilbao with impunity, making preparations to evacuate as many women and children as possible to France, England and Scandinavia. Out of Bilbao harbor last week came the British freighter Knitsley, loaded with Basque iron ore for Welsh steel mills. Six miles offshore the Rightist destroyer Velasco and the Espana, only battleship in General Franco's navy, steamed up, the Velasco firing shots across the Knitsley's, bow. With helm hard alee the Knitsley started to run back to the shelter of nearby Santander, still held...