Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-10-28
Though Cadorna Has Lost
Heavily, Crucial Hour Has !.
Not Yet Come. !
MORE THAN $4,000 men !
CAPTURED, SAYS BERLIN
Rome Rushes to Meet Great Emers
gency-Practically Whole Austrian
Army Is in Struggle Along Isonzo.

Italy's mettle is being critically test4
ed by the tremendous Teutonic drive
under command of Emperor Charles Of
Austria on the Isonzo front. with what
seems virtually the entire AustriaA
army and strong German forces.
| From the first blow Gen. Cadona'1
second army has suffered a serious
shock, and Berlin claims the defeat Of
this section of the Italian forces. FROM
which it announces the capture Of more
than 10000 men and 500 guns.
These grave losses seem to bear out
the German claim as to the fate Of this
Italian army, but apparently the crucial
hour has not yet come which will de-
| termine whether the Austro-German host
can be held at the moutnain passes and
prevented from overfowing into the fers
| tile plains of Venezia.
Semi-official utterances reveal tha3
all possible preparations have been
made in Rome to meet the great emsfs
gency. Each day, however, sees the
invading armies making additional
headway. Commanding Italian heights
along the border east and northeast Of
Tolmino are beginning to fall. while
Berlin claims that virtually the entire
Italian Isonzo front has been shaken.
Berlin Story Of Battle. 4
By the Associated Fress.
BERLIN. October II British admire
atty per Wireless Press).-The ofida1
communication Of today follows:
THE operation prepared under the
personal supreme leadership of his
apostolic majesty King Charles Of Aus-
tria, King Of Hungary. against the main
force of the Italian army. developing
with collaboration Of the incomparabio
thrusttng power OF the German troopss
der with their brave brothers In afs1e
to battle ON the Isonzo. has achieves
grAat successes. The second Italian
Amy Il defeated A7
Favored by good weather. Germs6
and dAustro-Hungarian divisions, break~
ing the resistance of the enemy many
times, pressed forward irresistibly over
heights and through the valleys. Tha
tured by the Royal and Imperial 12d
Rife Division. The strongly fortified
summit of Monte Matajur. 1,641 meters
high, fell Thursday morning. twenty
o
attack at Tolmino..
Thanks are due to the outstandinR
activity Of Lieut.. SCHNEIDER, who. with
four companies of the 53d Upper
strong italian points OF support. Tho
achievements in battle and marching Of
all troops which are pressing towara
the Italian plain through the spurs oz
'Inestimable quantities Of war mas
terials are yet to be salved from the
captured italian positions. Twenty-sfx
airplanes have been brought down il
the last two days.
The Italian front is shaking as far
as Wippach. On the Carso plateau the
enemy is holding his positions"
Austria's Greatest Drive.
ARMY HEADQUARTERS IN NoRTH>
ERN ITALY. Friday. October 26.-virS
tually the entire Austrian army, reins
forced by heavy German contingentst
conducted by the redoubtable Field
Marshal Won Mackensen. Is now facing
the Italian army in the greatest ofs
fensive since the beginning of the war;
with the evident purpose of invading
the Friuli region. the eastermost prove
ince of Venezia.
my's powerful thrust can now be QUITE
lined. The correspondent travelled too
day forty miles along the battle 'front.'
with the terrific roar of the bombafdS
ment showing the great. range OF the
movement
Planned Surprise Attack. =.
It is now clear that the Austriana
and Germans sought to make a surprise
attack at the least-fortified point on the
north Of the Julian front. The field o1
tha praoapt onerafiops cap he IflanaJR e.
a huge letter T From the left arm Of
the T to its foot is about twenty-tw0 :
miles On this left arm Won Mackensen
attempted to deliver his big blow. The
arm extends seven miles westward
from Tolmino. at the central point o3
the T. Tolmino and the nearby vils
lages Of Santa Lucia and Santa Marf4
have become of chief interest, as this
was the point Of the surprise attack.
The lower stroke of the 'T'' is thirty
miles long. from Monfolcone to the
sea. with Gorilla half way down. This
gave two main fighting lines. the
northern running horizontal. where the
greatest blow was struck. and the
southern running perpendicular, whore
a fierce bombardment seeks to prevent
the Italians from moving reinforceN
ments to the threatened region IN the
north.
The Julian Alps run back of the
northern line, and the Carso Alps back
distances stated are In a direct lima
The mountains give an irregular for1
nation. greatly extending the opposing
fronts.
Screens His Movement. ~
Field Marshal Won Mackensen's ole
iective evidently was to recross The
Isonzo, whence the Italians had driven
the Austrians back several miles into
Austrian territory. He screened the
movement by making feints toward the
south and also west of Tolmino but Af&
main army struck straight for the IsonS
.o- at Santa Lucia and Santa Maria.
The Italian forces were comparatively
mall at these outermost limits Of tAOia
ines and the advancing wave succeeds
Id in crossing the Isonzo with come
,aratiyely little obstruction. Here. hoWg
.yer. they were faced by low range
,f mountains in which the passes are
ItronRly held by the Italian army. nON
leavily reinforced from the center and
he south.
The whole operation now pivots %
he possibility Of Won Mackensen drtvs
ng through these passes. whore the
ity Of Cividale IL the hrst importaA6
,lace leading to the rich and leyq$
lain All Indications are that the ItA11 {.
49, -~n ~