THE ITALIANS AT BAY ON THE PIAVE

Ever since Udine had fallen into the hands of the Central Powers, there had, of course, been much speculation as to what the real German objective was and how and where the Italians were finally going to make a stand against the Austro-German onslaught. For some time it seemed as if the Central Powers were going to try to capture Venice and as if the Italians were going to attempt to prevent it by making a stand at the Tagliamento River. When, however, the fighting along that river, as described in the latter part of the last chapter, gradually but definitely went against the Italians, it soon became clear that the Tagliamento line could not be held for any length of time.

This assumption was proved to be correct very soon. On November 4, 1917, German and Austro-Hungarian divisions succeeded in crossing the middle course of the river and immediately began to press the advantage gained. General Cadorna's line now was broken again and a continued resistance in its present position had become too dangerous to be feasible. It was, therefore, not much of a surprise when news came that the Italians had begun a new retreat on November 5, 1917, especially in view of the fact that Austro-German pressure in the northern, mountainous section of the line had also become so strong that it resulted in evacuation of territory on the part of the Italians.

However, the few days' resistance offered on the Tagliamento had served its purpose. It enabled the Italians to rearrange their shattered armies to a certain extent, so that their withdrawal had been changed from a rout to an orderly retreat. It was made in the direction of the Livenza River, some fifteen miles west of the Tagliamento. The Livenza, however, did not offer the necessary natural defenses to make a determined and extended defense possible, and its only purpose was to delay the enemy sufficiently long to make it possible for the Italians to withdraw in good order behind the next line of defense, the Piave. The Livenza line was reached on November 6, 1917. But so close were the Austro-Germans that the Italians immediately proceeded to cross the Livenza. Indeed, by November 7, 1917, some Austro-German forces, too, had forced their way across the river at some points.

In spite of this, however, the Italians succeeded in extricating themselves from their dangerous position and in withdrawing the great bulk of their forces behind the next line of defense, the Piave River. There it had been determined to face the foe. The Italians, it is true, continued to lose a considerable number of men as prisoners. But compared with their losses of the two preceding weeks, the present losses were slight and showed a decided revival of the Italian resistance and a slowing up of the Austro-German advance.

It also became known now that General Cadorna, who had been in command of the Italian armies since the beginning of the war, had been relieved of this command and had been appointed as the chief military representative of Italy on the permanent interallied military committee. His successor in chief command of the Italian armies was General Diaz, and under him were to be Generals Badoglio and Giardino. The new commander in chief was fifty-six years old, eleven years the junior of General Cadorna. At the outbreak of the war, in 1914, he was a colonel. The second in command was only forty-six years old and had risen since the beginning of the war to his present rank from that of a major of artillery.

By November 9, 1917, the Italians had reached their more or less prepared positions on the lower Piave and frantically began digging themselves in. In the north, however, matters did not go well with the Italians. Austro-Hungarian troops succeeded in pressing forward in the Sugana Valley and in the upper Piave valley. After desperate fighting in the streets Asiago was captured by them. This town is some twenty miles west of the Piave and only a few miles across the Austro-Italian border. On the lower Piave the Italians crossed to the west bank, blowing up behind them all bridges and established themselves fairly firm behind the river from Susegana, in the foothills of the Alps, to the Adriatic, a line of some forty miles.

The Austrians extended their gains in the north on November 10, 1917. Belluno, on the upper Piave, was taken by them, and so was Vidor and its bridgehead, some twenty-five miles downstream, not, however, until the bridge itself had been blown up by the Italians. Fighting on the lower Piave was restricted to artillery and machine-gun firing.

As a result of their gains in the Belluno sector, the Austro-Germans claimed on November 12, 1917, to have captured about 14,000 prisoners and numerous guns and to have reached Feltre, a small town at a bend of the middle Piave.

Heavy fighting occurred on November 12, 1917, on the Asiago plateau. But the Italian line, established there from Monte Gallio-Longara-Meletta di Gallio, held. Between the Brenta and the Piave the Austro-Germans occupied territory previously evacuated by the Italians and reached contact with the Italian lines. On the lower Piave the Italian line held, except at one point, about twelve miles northwest of the mouth of the Piave. There, near Monte San Dona di Piave, about twenty-three miles northeast of Venice, enemy groups succeeded, with the aid of large boats, in crossing to the west bank of the Piave. Italian counterattacks, however, promptly drove them back and the Italian lines were reestablished without a break.

On November 13, 1917, the Central Powers again registered successes. They took Primolano on the upper Brenta and Feltre on the middle Piave. Near the Adriatic they crossed the lower Piave and gained a slight foothold on its western bank, which, however, they were unable to extend in width in spite of determined efforts. A surprise attack against the Italian rear from the north in the region of Lake Garda failed.

New attempts on the part of the Austro-German forces to cross the lower Piave, made repeatedly during November 14, 1917, were promptly repulsed by the Italians, whose power of resistance gradually seemed to stiffen. The same fate met renewed Teuton attacks along the entire front from Asiago to the Piave River, attempted on November 15, 1917. In this the Italians were assisted by opening the floodgates of the Piave River.

The following day, November 16, 1917, the forces of the Central Powers succeeded at two points in crossing the Piave, but were unable to maintain their gains against the fierce counterattacks of the Italians, though they captured Prassolan.

Again on November 17, 1917, the enemy attempted to get across the Piave. Everywhere however, the Italian line held like a wall of steel. Between the Brenta and the Piave the Austro-Germans were even forced to withdraw slightly.

The heaviest kind of fighting raged for the next four weeks in the Alps between Asiago and the Piave. From day to day the fortune of battle wavered. With admirable tenacity the Italians held every position to the very limit of their power and gave up only against overpowering strength, giving way occasionally almost foot by foot, only to come back with strong counterattacks as soon as they regained their breath. The difficulties under which this fighting was done beggars description. For not only were there the natural difficulties of the mountainous terrain, comparatively bare of means of communication, except the wonderful Italian mountain roads, but it must also be remembered that winter had set in long ago and that snow and gales added their share of hardships.

To recite in detail this tremendous struggle would cover page after page and, in a way, would involve much repetition. The complete story would read more like an ancient epic poem than the description of a modern battle. We must be satisfied with an outline of events as they happened day by day.

On November 18, 1917, the Austro-Germans captured Quero, a little town on the Piave, south of Feltre, Monte Cornelle and Monte Tomba. Four times they tried to storm Mt. Monfenera on the 19th, and four times the Italians drove them back. The following day, November 20, 1917, they were no more successful in their attacks against Monte Pertica, and again on November 21, 1917, they failed in their attempts, both against Monte Pertica and Monte Monfenera. However, on that day they succeeded in wresting from the Italians Monte Fontana Secca and Monte Spinoucia, farther to the north and east.

An encircling movement against Monte Meletta, northeast of Asiago, attempted by the Austrians on November 22, 1917, was thwarted by the Italians and numerous attacks against various points between the Brenta and Piave Rivers also failed.

The Italians did not restrict themselves to defending their positions. Whenever the chance offered they undertook offensive movements and as a result of one of these they recaptured, on November 23, 1917, both Monte Tomba and Monte Pertica. They also made some slight gains in the region of Monte Meletta during November 24, 1917. Between that date and December 3, 1917, the Austro-Germans made many attacks along the entire Asiago-Quero front. None of them succeeded in gaining their objectives.

On December 4 and 5, 1917, the Italians were driven from strong positions which they held between Monte Tondarecar and Monte Badenecche, some miles east of Monte Meletta. But when the enemy attempted to extend his operations still farther west he was checked. However, as a result of his success, he was able, on December 6, 1917, to take Monte Sisemol, farther south. Still farther south the Italian line held in spite of repeated attempts to break it.

For the next few days the fighting in the hills slowed down considerably. But on December 11, 1917, the Austro-Germans again began to pound away against the Italian positions. Attacks were launched that day against Col di Beretta and Col dell'Orso, and once more Monte Spinoucia was stormed. Three days later, December 14, 1917, Col Caprille, just southwest of Col di Beretta, was reached by the Austrians.

In the latter part or December, 1917, we hear from time to time of separate actions of the English and French forces which had been rushed to the assistance of the Italian armies. Thus an English attack was launched on December 16, 1917, against Monte Fontana Secca, but failed to accomplish the desired result. The French, supported by British and Italian artillery and airplanes, were more successful on December 30, 1917, when they took by storm some important positions on Monte Tomba.

In the meantime the Italians had continued their struggle to keep the Austro-Hungarians from breaking into the plains from the north, with varying success. On December 18, 1917, they lost their positions on Monte Asolone, south of Col Caprille. Strong counterattacks during December 20 and 21, 1917, promptly regained them. On December 23, 1917, the Teutons made some gains near Monte Valbella, and on the following day they took the hills as well as Col de Rosso. On December 25, 1917, the Italians recaptured both, but eventually had to give them up again and permit the enemy to pass even slightly farther toward the south.

During the first two weeks of January, 1918, the Italians at all times held their lines in the Asiago sector. On January 14 and 15, 1918, they registered some gains in the region of Monte Asolone. On January 23, 1918, the Austro-Germans were forced to evacuate positions in the Monte Tomba region and to move back to Monte Spinoucia. During the last week of January, 1918, the Italians succeeded in pushing back the enemy at many points between the Piave and Asiago and thus establish beyond all doubt that, for the time being at least, the way into the Italian plains was closed to the invaders from the north.

Things had been going even better for the Italians on the lower Piave, between November 15, 1917, and January 31, 1918. Some isolated attempts of the Austro-Germans to gain the west bank, it is true, were successful. But at no time did these successes last. Almost as soon as a position had been taken by them, the Italians threw themselves against it and drove the invaders back to the east bank. From all sides thus Venice and the Italian plains were held safely against all Austro-German attacks at the end of January, 1918, and confidence regained by the Italians through their success in stopping the Teutonic onslaught promised that the future, too, would keep the balance of Italy free from the enemy, if not, indeed, he should be thrown back once more beyond his own frontier.