Word: biscay
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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Generalissimo Francisco Franco's northern army pecked gingerly at the remnant of Asturian militiamen still holding out at Gijón on the Bay of Biscay last week, otherwise Spain was as quiet as the tomb it is rapidly becoming. From Madrid there was no word, on the Aragon front both sides seemed exhausted after the Leftist capture of Belchite. The war was going on, but the real scene of action had switched to a small sedate town on the shore of Lake Geneva-Nyon...
Early last week it seemed that the Caudillo Franco had almost earned his title of Victor. Santander had fallen. Free for use on other fronts were 50,000 troops. Next objective in the northwest was Gijon, and as Rightists pushed westward along the Bay of Biscay they claimed Asturian troops were in full flight before them, 5,000 surrendering at the port town of Lanes. The Vatican had recognized the Rightist State. Off the tables of Marshal Pietro Badoglio in Rome was generally expected a new plan of attack by which Madrid would be captured before cold weather...
...were digging in for a last siege in the mountains near Gijón. Gijón, a little cod-fishing port became the capital of what was left of the Leftist side of the Basque Republic-a narrow strip running 125 miles along the Bay of Biscay. In this strip there was no food, no trade. Jose Antonio de Aguirre, the fiery little Basque President who had retreated with his government from Bilbao to Santander, gave up the struggle as a bad job and boarded a boat for Bayonne, France...
Generalissimo Francisco Franco moved into the spotlight on the Spanish civil war stage last week, took personal command of the drive on Santander, last important Loyalist stronghold on the Biscay coast. Anxious to bolster his prestige, chubby Franco stood behind his lines, watching as his Rightists, Moors, Italian "volunteers" rolled down the sloping hills toward Santander...
...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, threw them out of windows. Many escaped by jumping the sea wall, swimming two miles to the eastern shore...