War in the Air

Not East or West but up in the air moved the focus of Spain's war last week. General Mola's land attack on Bilbao was temporarily halted after a bloody hand-to-hand with rifle butts and knives. Comparatively quiet too were all the other fronts. But overhead hell was popping. The week started with the shooting down, by Rightists near Bilbao, of a French transport plane carrying passengers from Biarritz to the besieged city. France had little cause for complaint. The transport, owned by the Air Pyrenees Line, had been running the blockade for weeks trusting to its top speed of 230 m.p.h. and the pilot's ability to dive into clouds to get it past the Rightists, who had given official warning time & again.

Bleeding from a head wound Pilot Leopold Galli, onetime first-string pilot in the French Air Corps, described how five Rebel pursuit ships dived at him as he approached Bilbao along the coastline at about 600 ft. Their bullets halted his port engine, wounded pilot and a woman passenger. Not pausing to let down his wheels, he dove for a pancake landing in a field.

U. S. Socialist Norman Thomas, visiting Valencia, heard only one shot fired during several hours at the Teruel front trenches. But off the sea just before one dawn came a droning V of Rightist planes. Ninety bombs whistled down in Valencia's worst air raid to date. At least 200 people were killed, about 50 buildings destroyed. Uninjured but considerably ruffled, Socialist Thomas cried: "It was diabolical. I shall take a first-hand report of this to President Roosevelt." Lucky was the little British freighter Pinzon, at anchor in Valencia harbor. A bomb dropped full on her bridge but failed to explode.

Next it was Barcelona's turn. Scorning Catalan anti-aircraft batteries, seven Rightist planes circled over the city for 30 minutes, killed approximately 70 people then roared back toward Mallorca. Following Geneva's lead (see p. 18) Leftists promptly asserted that both raids had been made entirely by Italian planes.

Suddenly vitally important became Spain's Balearic Islands, strung out in the Mediterranean about 90 miles off the coastline from Valencia to Barcelona. Of the three largest Balearics, the two westerly ones, Iviza and Mallorca, have been held by the Rightists. Mallorca, with its deep harbor of Palma, has been a main base, especially for sir, of the Italian expeditionary forces. Minorca, the most easterly island, held by Leftists, momentarily expected to be raided last week after the bombing of Valencia and Barcelona.

Instead, retaliatory raids by Leftists from the mainland came first. A squadron had already bombed Palma, damaged an Italian ship, killing six officers. A new raid on Palma came in from a different angle, flying high over Iviza.

By agreement with the Non-intervention Committee, the portion of the Spanish coast that includes the Balearic Islands was to be patrolled by the French navy. By the same agreement all warships on patrol were to remain at least ten miles offshore, though there was no stipulation to prevent patrol ships of any country from entering any Spanish harbor when off duty. At anchor last week in Iviza harbor lay the pride of the German Navy, the 10,000-ton "pocket battleship" Deutschland.

According to Valencia: as the Palma-bound air-raiders passed overhead, the Deutschland suddenly opened fire with its 14 anti-aircraft guns. The Leftist planes circled, dove, dropped twelve bombs. Four scored direct hits.

According to Berlin: the attack was totally unprovoked. It occurred while the crew was at mess in the unarmored forecastle. No anti-aircraft guns were fired. Only two bombs struck the ship. One, on her heavily armored midships, caused no damage. The other, exploding in the forecastle, killed 23 men, wounded 70.

Certain was that for the first time an absolutely first-class warship had been struck directly by a modern bomber. The damage, though bloody, did not exceed that of a six-inch shell. The Deutschland was not disabled, easily made her way to Gibraltar whose harbor she entered with flag at half-staff. British vessels lowered their flags in sympathy, the crew of the U. S. S. Kane attended a memorial service for the dead before the Deutschland steamed off for repairs in Germany.

There, of course, the repercussions were violent. Leaves were reported canceled throughout the entire Nazi navy, all over the world. Hour after hour Adolf Hitler conferred with his army, navy and state officers. Urgent telephone calls went through to Rome and Forli where Benito Mussolini was vacationing. Depressed Pope Pius (on his 80th birthday) went into retirement, fainted, remained unconscious for 20 minutes.

With every Nazi newspaper deep-banded in black, Germany, followed by Italy, announced that they were withdrawing from the Non-intervention Agreement until Spain should guarantee that there would be no repetition of the Deutschland incident. Additional German and Italian warships hustled to Spanish waters.

Without explaining why the Deutschland had been in Iviza, Germany harped on the fact that the Deutschland'?, dead and wounded had not been at battle stations during the bombing, but at mess, obviously unprepared.

A night passed as the world waited to see what Germany might do. Monday noon the answer came, not from Berlin or Iviza, but from Almeria, a small grape and orange-shipping port of military importance on Spain's southeastern corner, now jammed with noncombatant refugees from Rightist-held Malaga. Almeria had nothing to do with the raids on Mallorca, but Almeria is on the section of Spanish coast that the German navy legally patrols. At dawn following the Deutschland bombing, five Nazi warships flying Swas tika battle flags from their main trucks drew up off the harbor entrance. Flagship was reported to be the Admiral Scheer, sister of the Deutschland. For over an hour this squadron proceeded to pour high explosive shells into the stucco & light brick houses of Almeria. Leftist shore batteries replied until they ran out of ammunition. Then under a smoke screen the Nazi fleet, honor satisfied, steamed off towards Melilla in Rightist Morocco.

Within a few hours the bodies of 36 men, women & children had been pulled from Almeria's wreckage. More than 100 were reported missing. An accident saved the lives of many. At 1 a.m. a false air raid alarm had been sounded, sent hundreds scurrying to the hills.

On the scene-within a few hours was United Press Correspondent Irving Pflaum, who wrote:

"Many of those who were victims of this horrible attack had narrowly escaped death at Malaga where they were machine-gunned and bombed by Italian airplanes as they fled along the coast road. . . .

"The explosions were so fast that it sounded like a giant machine gun. Many houses had no foundations, and they collapsed like cards under the big German shells. On one street every house was in ruins although only two shells struck there."

While her arm was being amputated in a first aid station a woman casualty of the German bombardment of Almeria gave birth to a child.

Italian and German ships had been accused many times of aiding Rightist bombardments. The bombardment of Almeria was the first that Germany has publicly admitted. With the international situation more acute than it had been in months, London, Paris, even Washington feared that the slaughter at Almeria might cause the Valencia Government openly to declare war on Germany. The Wilhelmstrasse, denying that any overt act of war had been committed, sneered: "One cannot declare war on a band of pirates!"

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