Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1917-12-01
joint COUNCIL
TO Save ITALY
allies Remove CadOrna as
Leader In Field and Sub.
Stitute General Diaz.
ANGLO-FRENCH TO RESCUE
Rearrangement Made BY Prcmiers at
Rome-Retreat on Piave Contin.
ues, With Austro. Germans In
Flooding Pursuit.

London.-The allies have taken q
directing hand in the destinies of It.
oily. Cadorna is no longer generals
simo. Three Italian commanders have
been placed in direct charge Of the
operations in the field.
The supreme direction of the cam
paign, however, has been assumed by
O. "war board" composed of General
Cadorna, General Foch, chief of STAFF
of the French war ministry, and Gen
eral Wilson, chief of the British gen.
eral staff.
The new heads Of the Italian ar
mics in the field are: First in COM
mand, General Diaz; second in COM
mand, General Badoglio; third in
command, General Grandma.
This Encouragement, decided upon
at conferences In Rome between tho
premiers of England, France and It.
ally and some of the best military
brains Of the three countries, comes
at moment when the Venetian cam
paign Is approaching its final crisis.
A further retreat, to the Brenta,
would mean the abandonment Of Ven
ice.
A dozen bridges were blown up Oh
the LivenZa to delay the advance Of
the Austro-Germans toward the Piave.
The Livenza Is a smaller stream
than the Tagliamento, and its cross
ing offers fewer difficulties to the in
vading army, but the retiring Italian
army Is better organized than 1t was
on the banks Of the Tagliamento and
is capable of greater resistance.
Indeed, some of tho Italian contin-
gents are animated by such ardor to
fight the enemy that they are losing
contact with the main body and risk
being surrounded by the Austro-Ger-
mans, who bn.--s~ advanced either
err or lower on the river than the
~ ,sltion occupied by the Italians.
I Meanwhile the italian retreat has
realty shortened the lighting line,
t%ducing 1t to scarcely thirty miles in
g lgth. This favors the conccntra-
IN Of Italian forces for defense.
"Our troops" reported Cadorna In
his last bulletin as commander in
chief, continue TO arrive and estab.
lish themselves on the positions
which have been chosen for the re-
sistance."
He added word Of praise for tho
bravery OF the Italian rear guards and
covering units which are impeding the
Teuton pursuit.
Berlin reported the crossing Of the
LivenZa and said the Italian rear
guard resistance was being overcome.
-, Not move had been made up to
date by the Teuton Trentino army.
The Tcuton strategy now appears to
be to keep this army, the greatest
menace to Italy, since 1t was likely to
dash southwark to take the Italians
in the rear, immobile as CLUB" to
force a further retirement.
The names Of the new Italian com
home. General Diaz won fame in the
Lybian war. General Badoglio com
manded brigade Of Bersaglieri, ut.
alys Cossacks," whose heroic valoI
Is proverbial and who did much to
prevent q cavein of the Italian front
after the Isonzo was forced. General
Grandma was war minister in the
Boselli cabinet.
Two German attacks, one at Yer
dun, near Chaume wood, and the 9th
or in Lorraine, were repulsed with
severe losses to the attackers, the
French war office announces. A sue
cessful raid was made by tho French
into tho German lines in upper AL
SAGE.