Arizona republican., 1917-10-31
,n!nINE 1T NJ NE IS CAPTURED BY THE .TEUlU(Si;S WHO PRESS ITALIAN FORCES TO THE WESTWARD
Republican A.P. Leased Wire1

The drive of the German and AustrO- Hungarian armies, begun week ago against the eastern and northeastern fronts of the Austro- Italian theater continues unabated, but with the Ital- ian cavalry fighting rear guard actions to cover the retreat of the Italians to positions chosen for stand and the .Teutonic allies also being impeded by the flooded condition of the Taslia- mento river.
 Udine, former headquarters of the Italian army in eastern Nenetia, has been captured by the invaders who also are pressing the Italians westward from the Isonzo front and inva ding Italian territory from the north through passes in the Carnic Alps.
 The invasion of Venetia from the east, with Udine' the apex of the drive, already is about twenty miles. but as yet no definite information is at hand as to the extent of the Teuton ad- vance in other districts. If the move ment from the north keeps pace with that from the northeast and the east, however, the predicament of General Cadornas forces will be a serious one, and it is not beyond the realms of pos sibility that unless the eastern armies are able to make a stand on the plains of Friuli a considerable number of the Italians will be captured.
 Nothing has been vouchsafed in either the Italian, German or Austrian official communications to indicate what the situation is in the Trentino sector which lies to the west and northwest of the present zone of actiV ity but it is not improbable that if, as unofficial advices have stated, the Austro- Swiss frontier has been closed endorsements both from Germany and Austria, are being hurried up for an offensive of great magnitude in this region. The driving back of the ltal- ians southward in this region might seriously affect the plans of the en- tente allies to send relief to General Cadorna if the route chosen for this purpose were across the Franco Italian border and eastward by rail.
 In thes retreat of the Italians, the British artillery units which early in the spring were sent to the lsonzo front to aid the Italians in their drive toward Triest saved all their guns but the men suffered severely from the in- clement weather and lack of food.
 Field Marshal Haig again has sent forward his forces in the NpreS sector on what apparently were intended as line e-straightening operations and has been successful in gaining the great portion of his objective. The attacks were delivered over small fronts in the regions of Passchendaele and Poelca- belle, where spurs of ridges and other points of vantage were taken.
 The Canadians, with their usual brilliancy of attack, early in the of fensive. gained their objectives includ- ing Crest farm, 400 yards from the heart of Passchendaele. Some of them even penetrated into the town itself and also were close to the village of Goeberg to the north. The German Of ficial communication admits that Passchendaele was captured but as serts that later the Canadians were driven out On the other battle fronts except for spirited artillery fighting in 1 the Aisne and Mouse sectors of France the operations have been of a minor character.