The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-08-10
AUSTRIAN ARMY
Continued from Page one.)

CONTINUED from Page One.)
ing the king. the Italian commanders
and the army.
The public accepts the capture of
Goritz as only the beginning of a great
move southwark which they believe
will eliminate in the taking of Trieste.
It is believed that the whole Austrian
Isonzo front from ToImino southwark
eventually will be broken.
Swarm Thru Tunnel.
Correspondents report that the cap
ture of one height surrounding Goritz
was effected by a daring attack. The
Italians dug long underground tun-
nels to the Austrian lines. After a
heavy bombardment several hundred
Italians suddenly swarmed from the
mouths of these tunnels and fell upon
! the AustrianS who were taken COM
pletely by surprise.
| How Victory Was Won.
The operations which led up to the
capture of Goritz by the Italians are
| described in the following narrative
| given out here last night:
| s"The attack began August 4, in the
! Monfalcone section against Hills IS
a very powerful enemy works there,
! taking 143 prisoners. But the adver-
sary had placed in abandoned trenches
quantities of bombs which exploded,
| giving off clouds of poisonous gases
as our troops entered the captured
| lines. Heavy masses of the enemy
I then made counter attacks and our
troops, stupefied by the gas, were
forced to fall back to their own
| trenches.
august 5, the artillery sounded the
| enemy's whole front with the object of
distracting his attention and fixing
| the ranges accurately. On tie morn
ing of August 6, our batteries opened
| fire simultaneously on the rocky bar
rier which defends the Isonzo and
Goritz. The artillery action, long and
carefully worked out, represented
| perfect example of concentrated fire
against fortified lines
Thanks to Aviators.
Thanks to our aviators and tc the
| observations of battery officers. the
| positions of the enemy had been
marked off clearly on target maps and
ranges for the extension and lergth-
ening of fire had been calculated with
! the greatest nicely. Thus, at the APP
/ pointed time a veritable tempest of
| shells fell wholly unexpectedly on the
| positions of the enemy, demolishing
| everything systematically.
THE infantry columns then ad-
vanced with their customary dash,
well supported by curtain of fire and
carried the entire formidable Sabotino
rampant, which forms the base of the
I DTlUBenedQ. On the heights
! which cover the city to the west they
stormed the defenses of Oslavia and
| of the summit of Hill 206, which COM
mand Graffenburg. On the plain, they
drove in a defensive line between the
southern border of Podgora and the
Isonzo. They also attacked on the
right bank of the river as far as Saint
Andrea.
ION the southern border of the
Carso, lillian troops captured strong
fl1r. Of Co IL
and the entertainments running into
the San MARITIME zone. Finally In the
Monfalcone section, battalion of
Bersaglieri cyclists from the Third,
stormed Hill IS and held out there
against violent artillery fire and flu
rious counter attacks by Austrian in
fantry. Possession of the pivcts of
the Goritz bridgehead being assured,
It remained to take the imposing bar
rier formed by the heights west of the
city. The battle ebbed and flowed in
cessantly for three days. The ground
was fortified strongly and supported
by great number of lines of defense
4 thrown up close to Goritz which rem
dered it easy to offer stubborn resi1s-
ance.
Duke of Aosta in Command.
Inch by inch and with generous
of our artillery conquered first the
crest and then the southeastern slopes
of their heights and stormed innum-
cradle trenches, gradually driving the
defenders before them, despite repeat
ed counter attacks.
LAS a result of these continuous eff
forts the heights on the right bank OF
the Isonzo, forming the bridgehead OF
Goritz and Monte San Michele, on the
left bank, were captured and are Sc
curely held by the Italians. The ar
tillery dominating Goritz drove OK the
enemy lurking among the ruins.
This uninterrupted three-day fight
covers with glory the troops of the
Third army commanded by Duke OF
Aosta."
City Not Destroyed.
Notwithstanding the desperate
fighting around Goritz, the city Itself
was not burned by the Austrians OF
destroyed by the Italian artillery fire;
| nor were the inhabitants injured. these
to the number of 200 having pre-
viously evacuated the city. 1t was the
desire of the Italian commander, Gen
! eral Cadorna, to save Goritz from de-