Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-09-04
ITALYS HUNDRED
DAYS IN THE WAR
The First Phase Of the Austro-
Italian Conflict on the "Fish-
hook" Frontier-A Clear De-
scription of the Present
Situation
By FRANK II. sIMoNDs


| ON SEPTEMBER the FIRST hundred days
| " Of Italy's war were ended and the period
supplies a useful measure of the first phase
OF the campaign OF the Italian troops. What
| then, have the soldiers OF the Peninsula
! accomplished In a span equal to that which
separated Napoeon's landing in France from
the collapse at waterloo7
As far back as the year of 1909. when
the Bosnian episode FIRST revived ancient
Austro- Italian bitterness. Austrian en-
gineers began the work Of throwing round
the great permanent fortresses OF the Tren-
tine Tyrol and the lower and upper Isonzo
lines of permanent trenches. lined with
cement Year after year this work has been
carried forward When Italy made war on
Turkey for Tripoli there was one political
faction in Austria which advocated an at
tack upon Italy. At that time more military
works were constructed.
Early in the present war, when italy at
last began to make insstent demands for
redrawing of her Venetian frontier, which
should abolish the triumphs Of the Aus
trian map-makers of 1866. Austrian mill
tary leaders took instant alarm. To diplo-
macy was left the task Of delaying the
Italian attack as long possible to the en-
gineers was assigned the task of completing
the fertilization. BY May 23, when Italy at
last declared war. diplomacy had done it's
work, the defenses were completed and Italy
faced a gigantic task.
The Great Fish-hook
Roughly speaking, the Austrian frontier
resembles a fish hook the barb is the Tren-
tino projection into the Po valley; the curve
the mountain wall south of the Pusterthal
valley from Cortina to Pontebba, and the
haft IeOn frop ha
through Tolmino to the Adriatic south Of
Gorilla. Following this frontier and behind
the mountain wall and the river is the first
line of Austrian railway connection from
Trieste to Trent, distance of between 15O
and 200 miles.
Trent itself lies just inside the barb; east
of 1t are the Dolomites rising TO a height
above 5000 feet: west the Critters, which
are crossed by the Stevio Pass at an ele-
walton of more than 5000 feet. Between these
two great masses of mountains is the mar
row valley of the Adige down which from
Brxen comes the railroad to Trent and
thence to Verona, 20 miles south Of the Aus
trian frontier. Leading from the plain to
the east and TO the west of this barblike
projection are a number of passes, all for
titled, and these Notifications constitute the
outer works of the great fortress of Trent,
one of the most considerable in Europe.
Now the first concern of the Italians must |
necessarily be TO take this whole Trentine
barb. In Austrian hands 1t was a constant
menace. 1t was a gateway through which |
could be brought by the Pusterthal and the
Brenner Pass great masses of German and |
Austrian troops, which would be protected
from attack until they reached the Italian
boundary. Thence they could be launched
AW,NN NERA ill.,
BY this road had come all the great in
vasions of the past. When Austria ruled in |
Venetia she protected the gateway by the
famous quadrllateral, Legnago, Verona,
Peschiera and Mantua.
successful invasion from this direction
would compel Italy to retire behind the Po
and the Mincio, venetia would be lost and
the armies operating far to the east along
the Isonzo might be enveloped and cap
tured, certainly would be in danger at all
times until the Trentine threat was re-
moved. This was problem number one for
the Italians
Vagaries of Map Making
The problem supplied by the curve of
the hsh-hook related mainly to that which
has been described. Here the Italian from
tier follows the crests of the mountains,
save about Cortina. A push of ten or a
dozen miles, the easiest possible thing, to
Judge by the map, would carry the Italians
into the Pusterthal, a great natural road
way leading from the upper valley Of the
Drave to that of the Adige. In this valley
is the railroad from Trieste by Gorilla to
Trent. To cut this would be to cut one
OF the two railroads by which Austria can
communicate with her Trentine fortresses.
The second lies north Of the Tauern Alps.
Having cut this the Italians could push
west along the Pusterthal toward Fran
zenfeste. This is the second great Aus
trian fortress, and it covers the railroad
which comes south across the Brenner and
Is the only other railway binding Austria
to the southern Tyrol. II Franzenfeste
were captured, then the Trentine proiec-
ton would be wholly cut off from Austria,
would become an invested fortress and no
longer a menace TO Italy, since Austrian en-
trance to II was interrupted at Franzen-
feste.
Similarly, II the railroad were cut south
Of Franzenfeste at any point, the effect
would be the same. But the mere cutting
Of the railroad in the Pusterthai would NOT
Isolate Trente because It would not AFFECT
the Brenner railroad.
But this operation is easy only on the
map Actually there are only two possible
roads open to the Italians that which goes
from cortina TO Toblach over the Ampezzo
Pass and second just to the east, which
crosses the Monte croce Pass and reaches
The PuSterthal at Innichen. Both these
roads are strongly defended both are dif-
ncut and both were carefully fortified long