Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1917-11-23
ITALIANS SWEEP AUSTRIANS
FROM PAVE RIVER.


Italian Headquarters in Italy, Nov.
19.-Thc hustrianS who forced their
way across the Piavc river above
Zenson have been thrown into the riv
err drowned, bayoncttcd, killed or
captured, unit! now not an enemy re-
mains on the west bank ut that most
threatening point. The fight was one
of the most fearful chapters of the
war and most glorious.
Details of tn fight have been gath
cred from eye witnesses who saw the
fearful tragedy through Friday night
and yesterday and who stayed until
the whole west bank of the river was
cleared. except for the corpscs on the
shore and i'll the foreground
The wounded were so numerous
that many have not yet received sue
cor. The enemy had stakcd every
thing on getting to the west bank OF
the river and the Italians stnkcd ev-
erything ON keeping him on the east
ern bank The Austrians made the
first move Friday in two Separate
crossings short distance above
Icnson, first ut the village of Fagnrc
and then an old mill called the Zcga
Mill, near Follina.
Several circumstances enabled them
TO pass. They choose place where
n sand bar ran in mdstream giving
them landing and dividing the main
stream into two small shallow cur
rents. Also there was II heavy mist
screening their movements This was
about five O'Clock in the morning and
in the mist of 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 viii
lage of Fagare. Here the real fight
began as the Italians had now re-
covered from the surprise. 1t was n
hand-to-hand fight trough the streets
with 10 place for artillery or machine
guns and the Italians used baynets,
hand grcnades, knives and gclatinc
torpcdocs. The Austrians held part
of the town near the bank with the
Italians on the land side.
The Austrians tried to throw II line
around the town and succeeded in
part on one side until the Italian bat
terics to the north got the range of
the lineoutsidc the shelter of the
streets. This line was the first to be
demolished and then the Italians
pushed into the town back of the riv-
er. Some plunged into the water and
sought to get to the sand bar. All
the machine guns were abandoned
and 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 sea
weed after the tide had gone out
Further up the river at Zega Mill
the other crossing had brought on an
other bloody fight which lasted un-
til late yesterday, when the whole
shore was cleared of living Aus
| trians. But it was lined with dead
The movement here began late on
| Friday night and reached its culmi-
nation about II O'Clock Saturday
morning. Friday night several Aus
trian battallions got across under the
cover of darkness. They took posi-
ton near the town cemetery and when
dawn came they attempted to march
straight up the hill to the cemetery.
Against machine gun fire and guns
on the bank the Italians moved with
bayonets, grenades, and torpcdoes.
The enemy wavercd and broke past as
the Italian artillery on nearby
height got range of the cemetery But
the main fighting was han-to-hand
with the enemy being pressed back
steadily to the river. where they were
cut down, drowned, bayonettcd, or
captured. BY 10 o'clock yesterday all
had been swept away except few
struggling groups; by noon not one
of the enemy's forces was left on the
western bank.
In addition to some 1900 killed the
enemy lost 1900 prisoners. including
two colonels and some thirty officers
All the Austrian machine guns were
captured and now are being used by
the Italasn
, The fury of the fighting is shown
by the fact that the old Zega i'll or
, the rivers brink was taken and re
! taken six times during the ebb ant
, flow. The mill is full of bullet holes
but shows no evidence of shell fire