Evening star., 1915-06-20
'MALBORGETHFORT
REDUCED TO RUINS
Fire of Austrian Defense Said
to Have Been Si|enced
by Italians.
ALPINISTS ACHIEVE
A BRILLIANT VICTORY
Gain Trenches at Monte Nero.
Enemy Retreats in Disorder on
Mount Kolsiak.

LONDON. June 19-tien. Cadorna re-
ported to the Italian war office today
that Italian shells tore great holes in
the outer works of Malborgeth and
sent part of the stone defenses tum-
bling in ruins. The bombardment con-
tinued for several days. the explosion
of ammunition magazines inside the
fortress adding to the work of de-
struction. Italian aviators have re-
ported that the guns have been COM
pletely silenced.
Alpinists Fight Brilliantly.
The Rome correspondent of the
Havas Agency. writing under today S
date, says that further details of the
fighting at Monte Nero bring out the
brilliant achievement of the Alpine
troops of the Italian army. The cor
respondent continues:
THE objective of the attack, the
northern side of Monte Nero, had been
strongly reinforced by the enemy. The
italian officers carefully surveyed the
ground and decided that the only way
presenting any chances of success was
to scale the almost perpendicular
rocks at night and take the enemy by
Slip Up on Enemy.
The Alpine soldiers took rifles with
fixed bayonets and grenades. They were
ordered not to fire if they possibly
could help 1T, so as to avoid giving an
alarm Some detachments took off
their shoes and wrapped their feet in
cloths.
Two columns, one operating on the
Vrata slope of Monte Nero, and the
other to the northwest Of Monte Potoce,
at dawn got within six feet of the
enemy's trenches without being OBJ
served They leaped in and after
brief hand-to-hand encounter became
masters of the first line OF trenches
Then they carried the line behlnd.
capturing two companies at the ad-
vance posts and two others in sup
port
Hungarians Fall Under Fire.
when success on the Monte Potoce
front seemed assured Hungarian bat
talon was seen advancing from Plan
tnapolia to counter attack. The Ital-
ians, skillfully posted. allowed them to
approach close and then poured in
fire which almost annihilated the bat
TALON They took prisoners the colonel
of a Honved regiment and thirty other
officers.
simultaneously with the attack on
the Monte Potoce side. another was de-
livered on the Mount Kolsiak front.
also by two columns. NBoth succeeded
in creeping up within 200 yards of the
enemy before they were discovered.
The Alpine troops without hesitation
dashed. forward. sprang into the
trenches and drove the Austrians out
after a terrible hand-to-hand encoun-
ter The Italians were ably supported
by the fire Of their mountain battery.
Retreat in Disorder.
The Austrians retreating in disorder
were taken in the rear by other de-
tachments of Alpine soldiers. Six hun
dred prisoners, two machine guns and
quantities Of rifles and munitions re-
warded the Alpine troops, whose losses
were slight. The prisoners expressed
for their captors, who. they
said, climbed like cats and attacked
them from a point least expected"
BRESCIA, Italy, via Chiasso and Paris,
June 19, 2:15 p.m.-Austrian soldiers
taken prisoners by the Italians show by
their age that the first-line men from
eighteen to twenty-eight years old have
been substituted for the middleaged re-
Servists along the Italian front Prison
ers report that the railways in southwest
ern Austria are crowded with troop trains
headed for the Italian front q