The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-11-20
Austrians Drowned Killed,
or Captured In Large
Numbers
DEAD RESEMBLED
SEAWEED IN RIVER
Eyewitnesses Describe Car
mage, Saying Bank was
Strewn with Dead
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Italian Headquarters in Italy, Sun
day, Nov. 18-(Delayed)- Aus
trians who forced their way across
the Piave river above Zenson have
been thrown into the river, drowned
bayonetted, killed or captured, until
now not an enemy remains on the
west bank at that most threatened
point The fight was one of the most
fearful chapters of the war and most
glorious.
Details of the fight have been gath
cred from eyewitnesses who saw the
fearful carnage through Friday night
and yesterday, and who stayed until
the whole west bank was cleared ex-
cept for the corpses on the shore and
in the foreground.
The wounded were so numerous
that many have not yet received sue
cor. The enemy had staked every
thing on getting to the west bank
everything on keeping him on the
eastern bank The Austrians made
the first move Friday in two separate
crossings of the short distance above
Zenson, first at the village of Fagare
and then an old mill called the Zega
mill near Follina.
Several circumstances enabled them
to pass. They chose place where
a sand bar ran in midstream giving
them a landing and dividing the main
stream into two small shallow cur
rents. Also there was a heavy mist
screening their movements. This was
about 5 o'clock in the morning and
in the mist at that early hour they
got across the second narrow channel
to the west bank.
In their first surprise rush, they
swept past four Italian machine gun
batteries, capturing the guns and
driving the Italians back into the
village of Fagare. Here the real fight
began as the Italians had now recov-
cred from the surprise. 1t was a
hand to- hand fight through the
streets with no place for artillery or
machine guns and the Italians used
bayonets, hand grenades, knives and
gelatine torpedoes. The Austrians
held part of the town near the bank
with the Italians on the land SIDE
The Austrians tried to throw a
line around the town and succeeded
in part on one side until the Italian
batteries on the north got the range
of the line outside the shelter of the
streets. This line was the first to be
demolished and then the Italians
pushed into the town back TO the
river. Some plunged into the water
and sought to get to the sand bar.
All the machine guns were abandon
ed. Most of the enemy fell along the
waters edge and an observer says
the bodies on the river bank and in
the water reminded him of heaps of
seaweed after the tide had gone out.
Further up the river at Zega mill
the other crossing had brought on
another bloody fight which lasted un-
til late yesterday when the whole
shore was cleared of living Austrians
But it was lined with dead. The
movement here being late on Friday
night, and reached its elimination
about IL clock Sunday morning.
Friday night several Austrian bat
tallons got across under the cover of
darkness. They took position near
the town cemetery and opened on the
Italians during the night with ma
chine guns. 1t wcs only by the flashes
of the Austrian machine guns that
the Italians could direct their fire.
At daylight yesterday the enemy
still held his position at the cemetery.
The situation began to look serious
and for time it appeared as though
the Italians would have to fall back.
But now the famous Bersaplieri
{Coptinuad op popo TbraaN