Tom Spiller hadn't much faith in the proposed scheme for the withdrawal of "volunteer." "I feel sure there's no sincere motive behind the proposal as far as Germany and Italy are concerned," he said.

"It seems to me tha this talk of withdrawal is put up to blind the democracies while Hitler and Mussolini pile in more men and arms for a big spring offensive. Then when they're ready they'll say non-intervention is a failure and withdraw from the agreement."

The Spanish People's Army.

"The Loyalist army must have improved considerably since the beginning of the invasion," I suggested.

"Since it first went into action a little over twelve months ago (I mean the properly re-organised Spanish Army) It has never suffered a major defeat. Remember Brihuega and the storming of Brunete? Brunete had never been captured before by an invading force—even Napoleon couldn't do it. The equipment is there now, too. Barcelona is manufacturing guns, rifles, tanks (as many as 15 a day) and aeroplanes as well.

The Loyalist Strategists.

We agreed that all this meant much, but pointed out the importance of able leadership.

"The Loyalist strategists are as good as the others—in fact better." They find out first whether it's Italians or Moors in the opposite trenches and then play them suitable music to wake them up. If it's Moors they play Moorish folk songs; if it's Italians they play the latest dance hits from Rome. Make 'em properly home-sick. Then they ask them if they know why they are fighting, and tell them a few home truths, the Moors about Franco and the Italians about Mussolini. Then they urge them to desert—to shoot their officers if that's necessary to enable them to do so."

"Does it ever work?"

"I'll say. On Brunete two battalions shot their officers and deserted to the Government lines. D'you know there were 80,000 Italians advancing on Guadalahara in their biggest push so far? They were called 'Mussolini's Own.' 'The Black Arrows, "The Invincibles,' and other names like that. We pushed them back forty miles in one day, and they lost more men in that battle than they lost in the whole of the Abysslnian campaign. We took over 1,000 prisoners. Mass, was so disturbed that he cancelled his Libya trip and went back home."

Fate of Prisoners.

"What does the Government do with prisoners?" I enquired.

"They're treated very well. Those Italian prisoners, for instance, didn't have much idea of the situation in Spain so they were given several weeks to finish them off when a German officer came along. He spoke English and offered them the chance of standing up in front of a microphone and telling the world how well they were treated by Franco and what a 'lousy' time the Government had given them, or standing u against a wall and being shot. Needless to say they broadcast. American movie operators were brought up by the Fascists and Ted and the others were made to smile and look natural while they talked. What they said created quite a sensation in England. It was used by the Fascists all over the world—the Hearst movies in America and the Rothermere Press ("Daily Mall") in England especially, featured it. They never said a word later on though when those same chaps escaped from the Fascists and went back to join the Government."

Mr. Spiller told us of seven Basques who'd escaped from Franco's forces round Bilbao and had rowed in an open boat to the nearest French port. Their first question on landing, after tremendous hardships, was: "How soon can we get back to Spain?" Apparently they didn't like Franco.

We could have gone on for hours. Every question clearly answered: but time and space had reached their limits."

—A.H.S.