Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-09-05


might hope to close the door to pos
S1ble Austro-German invasion later.
This was a purely defensive ehslFe,
| for even if the whole Trentine sailent
were taken she would be no nearer any
Austrian objective.
Confronted by Strong Forts.
| Secondly, Italy was bound to follow
the first advances by a serious and sus-
tanned operation, directed at reducing
the forts about Trent and thus abolish
ing the dangerous enemy citadel within
her natural frontiers. By bringing up
her heavy artillery she could hope
slowly but surely to repeat the tri-
| umphs won easily by the Germans
at Liege and Antwerp, unless the Aus
| TRANS were able. initiating the French
! at Verdun. to hold her off by trenches.
Thirdly, Italy was bound to endeavor
to push north over the AmpeZZo ana
Monte Croce passes into the Pusterthal
and thence west against FranZenfeste
| in the endeavor to isolate the Trentine
salient and thus completely encircle it
and insure it's ultimate surrender to
| famine and exhaustion of ammunition.
This again was a defensive move, de-
signed to abolish an enemy threat, but
without meaning extensively, even when
accomplished
Fourthly, there was the Isonzo prob
! lem. Unlike Napoleon. Cadorna had no
to Vienna. Trieste was his objective.
| and therefore his main thrust was to
be made not at Malborgetto, not even at
Tolmino, but at Gorilla, although sub
| Sidiary operations against those points
would contribute to the main operation
! by aiding in isolating it. But to win
Trieste he must push across the lsonzo.
take Gorilla, sweep the crest of the
Carso plateau. following the Gorilla
Trieste railway until he arrived in the
rear of the latter city and cut the main
Trieste-Vienna line, when Trieste would
fall automatically.
What Has Been ACCOMPLISHED
OF this fourfold task what has Italy
accomplished? First of all, in the open
ing of the war there was a sudden dash
forward. All around the Trentine barb
from the Stelvio to the Ampezzo Italian
Alpine troops made rapid advances. Ala,
at the point of the hook, the first Austrian
town, was taken. Cortina. on the 1tal-
ian side of the Ampezzo, was occupied.
| Midway between these points a force
| pushed up the Val Sugana and occupied
Borgo. Along this whole sector the
work of seizing the first positions, the
plain, was accomplished with aIacrity.
| But the approach to the permanent
| Notifications was less successful. Pat
| emily the Austrians had digested the
|
| Italian siege guns been able to drop
shells in Trent. Nowhere in this region
have the Italians made an appreciate
progress against the first line of Aus
| trian trenches. far outside the line of
| the permanent forts. Nor have they
been any more successful in their drive
| toward the Pusterthal. In the opening
hours of the war they took Cortina,
and advanced up. the Ampezzo and
Monte Croce pass, but eight miles from
Toblach and the VillahTre
railroad they have been halted. have
been stationary, or nearly so. for three
months.
Forcing the Isonzo Line.
AS to the fourth task, that of forcing
| the Isonzo line, the situation is only
different in a degree. Fort Malborgetto
still holds out, although it has frequent
ly been demolished in Milan reports.
The Pontebba road to Villach, which
Napoleon forced, remains closed. To
the south early progress about Toll
mino has not been sufficiently great to
threaten the Gorilla position. The
storming of Monte Nero near Tolmino
has been described by Italian and de-
MED by Austrian bulletins. The Triest
Nillach railroad seems to have been
cut here. but Enthusiastically the Aus
TRANS are maintaining their position
and the Italians have been unable to
the opening dash.
1t remains now to discuss the opera
tons Immediately about Gorilla. which
have been the most considerable and
costly of the whole campaign.
The length of the Gorilla battle front
bay be estimated at about twenty-five
| miles. 1t extends. roughly speaking,
from PLAYA, where the Isonzo APP
| proaches the italian plain. to the Carso
| plateau. just north of the Adriatic and
a little east of Monfalcone. Gorilla is
| about in the center. Except at the hill
| of Podgora. the Austrian line is on the
commanding the bridge heads and the
town itself. which lies in the plain is
the key to the whole position and is
west of the river.
South of Gorilla the Isonzo makes a
wide bend to the west and then to the
east. entering the Adriatic near Mon
1alcone. But here the Austrian line
crosses the Carso plateau, making the
string to the bow, which is the curve
OF the river The main Austrian posi-
ton is near the town of Doberdo, which
has figured frequently in the bulletins
of Vienna and Rome.
Trench War the Result.
In the opening days of the war the
Italians rushed forward from their ter
ritory. few miles west of the Isonzo.
to the river towns of Gradisca and
MonlalcOne, captured both and crossed
the river They also forced a crossing
of the river to the north about PLAYA
But here and to the south they quickly
encountered the Austrians in prepared
! positions, and the familiar trench war
resulted.
Early in August both Vienna and
Rome agreed that the Italians made a
series of attacks. preceded by artillery
These attacks were desperate efforts to
force the lines still held by relatively
small Austrian forces before German
from the east Rome reports substan-
event Gorilla did not fall. The attacks
presently ceased, in consequence of APP
palling losses. the Austrians claim. The
Italian explanation tends to confirm
| that of their enemy. They allege that
they have halted to rest, consolidate
positions gained and bring up artillery.
But there is little reason to doubt the
Austrian assertion that the effort to
force the Gorizia position has been
heavily checked, and Italy has gone
back to trench work. An odd detail of
this campaign is the fact that much of
the Austrian position is open to naval
bombardment, but effective has the
threat of the Austrian submarine been
that no naval help has been sent to this
corner of the Adriatic.
Summary of the Campaign.
| Summarizing briefly, it may be said