Evening star., 1917-10-29

of her war at the present time" and IF
Germany should succeed in crushing
Italy It would mean the defeat Of the
allies" were two statements Of an ex-
pert in Washington. who has followed
closely the Italian operations against
Austria
But there is no prospect of the second
contingency, 1t was stated by men in
formed upon the Italian situation. for
the third army and part OF the second
army Of Gen. Cadorna are seasoned
fighters. determined to Withstand the
that they will be able to do so with
the munitions being rushed to the Ital-
ian lines by Great Britain and France
Italy is In no need Of added man
power. according to all the oniciai state
cially suggested today that the pres
ence Of British and French troops might
improve the morale Of the italian army.
among whom, 1t Is no secret, there has
been dissatisfaction because the iron
allies has not been forthcoming.
q. s. Troops Not Wanted.
Troops from the United States are not
wanted. it was hinted, because only
seasoned fighters are considered efrec-
tive under the peculiar conditions on
the Italian front. It was stated today
men who gave way and permitted the
Austrians to drive their wedge between
Piezzo and Caporetto were territorials-
Italians. but not seasoned fghters-and
that the quick withdrawal OF other
portions Of the line was made necessary
by this movement Of the territorials.
There is no disposition on the part OF
Italians here today to minimize the
German advance. Though It was re-
called that the Italians have sought
to {vvon fc %Gn
of iron and coal II the Italian advance
was to be sustained. any official state
ment in this regard was withheld care
fully today because 1t might be re-
garded as criticism OF Italy's allies.
Thought Italians "Blufnng."
From the time the Italian mission ar
the representatives Of the Italian gov
ernment here. 1t is generally known,
have urged that the Italian front con-
stituted a strategic position upon which
cause might hang. In many quarters
this view gained little credence, and
1t Is known that within the past few
weeks the opinion has been expressed
IN Washington that the Italians are
coal and iron for their armies and
food for the Italian people.
The internal dissensions in Italy, 1t
was emphasized today. are due to the
food shortage. to the absolute lack of
coal: and to the knowledge that her
armies are not adequately supplied
with munitions. nor have her factories
the material to make them. But this
dtssa tisfaction in no way is to be con-
strued as pacifist sentiment, 1t was
declared. and Italy is in the war. and
right now Is fighting the battle of the
allies to a finish.
italian Ammunition Exhausted.
Further light was shed on the sudden
crumpling Of the extreme right wing
of the Italian army with the receipt Of
Information here that many of the guns
captured by Austrians and Germans
could not be fred by the Italians. On
some parts of the line ammunition was
entirely exhausted.
1t was admitted that the Austrians
have come into possession of some of
the most valuable Of the Italian guns,
but satisfaction was expressed at the
fact that the immense stores Of pro.
visions and ammunition at Cvidale
were destroyed by the italian troops
before that city was evacuated
One OF the discouraging facts about
the retreat. though. is the fact that the
Austrtans come into the possession of
roads and railroads. built In the
Udine. Palmanova and Torcento
regions, because the improvements
made IN this territory were largely of
a permanent as well as of a military
character, since the Italians hoped for
the annexation of part of this terri
tory upon the conclusion of the war.
Line Back to Original Point.
The establishment of the line along
1t was learned TODAY
brings the Italian line back to the point
where 1t was originally planned by Gen.
Polio, of the Italian general staff. to
take up the Italian defensive Under his
plans the northwest region was to be
abandoned. But under the aggressive
generalship of Cadorna the line was
pushed farther north until the Italian
operations became an offensive, which
was not contemplated by Italy at the
beginning OF the war.
The vigor and force Of the assault
upon Italy came as an entire surprise.
received within the last few
days tell of the withdrawal of large
numbers Of guns and ammunition stores
from the Russian front as wei, a- wen