Word: rebel
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...ancient Mediterranean city of Tarragona, famed in Roman days for its temples and wines and fortress, changed masters again last week. This time the city fell, with scarcely a shot fired, before the attacking legions of Spanish Rebel Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Actually a Roman ruler supplied guns, ammunition, warplanes and some of the warriors with which Tarragona again was taken, for Tarragona's capture was as much Dictator Benito Mussolini's triumph as Generalissimo Franco...
...southern Catalan front the Rebels thus came within 50 miles of Barcelona, while other columns to the west pressed beyond the stronghold of Cervera, to within 38 miles of the Loyalist capital. Barcelona Province, a month ago 40 miles from the front, became a theatre of War. The hitherto narrow Rebel corridor to the sea was widened to about 115 miles and contained the additional advantage of a good port at which Rebel supplies brought direct from Italy could be unloaded. And Loyalist Catalonia, jammed with 6,500,000 inhabitants and refugees, shrank to an area little bigger than that...
Generalissimo Franco's hour of final triumph seemed near at hand, while for the Spanish Republic the clock struck eleven. The Loyalists' attempt to divert the crushing offensive of superior Rebel equipment by offensives of their own, first in Extremadura, next at Brunete, finally near Toledo, petered out. For the first time, the Rebels refused to be diverted...
Refugees from southern Catalonia fleeing before the Franco advance clogged all roads as the Loyalist Army retreated. Hundreds of Rebel planes bombed and strafed roads and bridges. For the Loyalists there was one slight consolation in the battle for Catalonia: their retreat was orderly, they allowed no great number of their soldiers to be taken by the Rebels, few Loyalist supplies were left behind...
...this was very disturbing to tall, red-suspendered Gonzalo Queipo de Llano, military ruler of southern Rebel Spain. Long on radiorating ability but short on generalship, General Queipo de Llano was said to have incurred the ire of El Caudillo Franco for not defending his bailiwick better. It seemed likely that El Caudillo would be forced sooner or later to pay some attention to Extremadura, perhaps transfer some badly needed troops from Catalonia...