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Show FRANCO SPURS BIG OFFENSIVE H E N D A Y E, French Spanish Frontier. Jan. T (UP) The Spanish nationalists, determined to push their big offenslvs to a decisive finish, fin-ish, penetrated the Slerre de la Llena range today toward the heart of Catalonia and at the earns tims renewed their advance on the Ebro river sector toward tha Mediterranean. Mediter-ranean. While tha nationalists drovs ahead in tha east and north, the republicans were waging an offensive offen-sive of their own nearer the center of Spain In the Estremadura region, re-gion, apparently with considerable success. Break Iron Ring In tha Sierra de la Llena. the nationalists na-tionalists penetrated Catalonia by way of Solchagas after the Navarre army corps and a mixed legionary army of foreigners had broken the iron ring around Borjas Blancas. Tha republican position appeared to be extremely precarious and the Sokhaga drive thus initiatsd the second phass of ths offensive, which is bringing tha nationalists into important im-portant towns in contrast to ths first phase. That consisted of breaking the republican front lines and gatting astride the main roads. Advices from Barcelona said a masting of the unified socialist party of Catalonia demanded general gen-eral mobilisation and dispatch of all armed forces from tha rear guard to tha front, on tha ground that "th fight 1 to th death and tha hour of supreme effort haa arrived." ar-rived." . |