The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-11-21
Writer Visits Piave, Where
Austrians Were Decimated.
Invaders Crossed River Only
To Be Moved Down.
SANDBAR STRENN WITH DEAD
of Carnage Every
where ON Uttered Field.
Rifles, Helmets, Bloody Cloth
ing and GreusOme COrpses.

! ItalY Nov 19.-(By the Associated
Press. 1.-The correspondent today
made a tour of thirty miles along
the Piave battle front, visiting Zenson,
| Faeare and the Sega mill where des-
! perate fighting has occurred, ana saw
| the Duke of Aosta, commander OF the
Third army, guarding the Pave line
whose men hurled the Austrians into
/ the river and re-established the solid
! ity f the Piave front. At the mo-
ment the duke was issuing an address
to his army congratulating them on
| their glorious achievement
An officer from general staff mead
quarters accompanied the correspond
ent and altho the Headquarters OF the
third army was reached at an early
| hour, the duke was coming out to pro-
| coed along-the front, He held in his
Inland a war map which he consulted
with his aides before giving directions
for the route to be travelled
Duke Praises Victors::
! 1t was a striking picture as the duke
stood there studying the map he
! is tall, of athletic build, with gray
hair and moustache and face bronzed
by exposure. He wore the service
uniform Of high command, with
boots, spurs ami a great coat edged
with black fur. He acknowledged
cordially the salutes of the CORE
| spon6ent's party and a colonel of the
staff explained conditions along the
] EVERYWHERE the colonel said the
| ener1y had been thrown back except
at the brink of the river at Zenson'l
where few men were huddled IN the
bushes unable to go forward or back
ward and were being slowly cut to
| pieces At Fagare, Follne and the
Sega mill, the rout of the enemy was
| complete being accomplished in fear
! full hand to hand lighting on Frloay
| night and Saturday. This confirmed
previous information and added per-
manency to the effects obtained. =.
The officer procured a copy of the
dukes address to his men. 1t is an
/ inspiring document, breathing en-
| coura gement, and commence 1t says
in p-rt:
''Soldiers of the Third army:
'HThe enemy attempted to pass our
defenses on the Piave, but his au-
dacity has meet with defeat before
your heroic lines and he is driven
back. leaving in our bands a great
number of prisoners and machine
guns. My soldiers, your commander
greets you at the moment OF TINS
| glorious exploit and conveys to you
1.-The grateful acknowledgment of the
country With you rests the victory.
With all our hearts we join our eff
forts for the country, for liberty"
Where Fight Was Hardest.
The tour along the front took the
| party to the very centers of the hard
! est fighting and along the edge of the
inundated region where the country
| side was transformed suddenly into a
| vast inland sea. Approaching the bat
| tie front the party passed the brigade
| mentioned by General Diaz, the COM
| mander in chief, for its furious as
| sault at Zenson. 1t was just back from
| the front line and the men still wore
their helmets. Many of them were
men of twenty. They were sturdy
| country boys and marched along
seemingly unconscious of their glory
/ At the barracks they were count
ing Austrian rifles and guns gathered
| in the court. The line of captured
machine guns looked like a collection
of huge black grasshoppers. The bayo-
nets were detachable bowie knives
with two edged blades. General Eu-
hereni of the famous Bersaglieri bril-
gade which carried the day, came out
to greet the party. He is a short
stocky man of resolute bearing. On
the cemetery road, where the Aus
! TRANS advanced and set up their line
| of quick firers, a fearful scene was
spread before the party. The road
| was Uttered as tho a tornado had
passed by. Dead horses lay all about
in contorted shapes. The highway
was strewn with enemy helmets, blood
stained clothing, cartridge belts and
all kinds of accoutrements The trees
| on either side were cut in two and
the lines of bushes were leveled like
grain before storm
| Evidence EeaF1uI Carnage.
Just ahead on the road was Sega
Mill, where the bloodiest fighting was
conferred. The mill wheel was still
running and the water was flowing
peacefully. But all about were evil
dences of fearful carnage The SOL
diers who held the mill stood uncon-
! cernedly at the door. Passing on to
the sandbar in midstream lay corpses
in heaps as far as the eye could see,
the uniforms showing plainly that
Ill vtriTv L.
bank and some floated in the water.
The Italians had just buried the bodies
of 800 Austrians, but those other hun
dreds could not be brought back for
decent burial, as the Austrian guns
cut down stretcher bearers every time
they went off toward this bar. An
officers dead horse, with saddle and
rich cloth lay among the bodies.
| The gruesome line of bodies ex-
tended far down the river. The Aus
trians had been cut down by machine
gun fire, as tho by a scythe. All the
men in the line pitched forward on
their faces and lay there, as tho on
dress parade, but PROSTATE.
Retreat Cut Off.
Going on to Zensonathe little town
could be seen to have been retaken
by the Italians after the enemy OBJ
tanned a brief Judgment Behind the
town on the river edges are bushes.
Here were huddIed what remained of
the Ilrst enemy Storm1ng party which
crossed the river. The whole place
was swept by fire, and one realized
the fearful furnace these men were in
As the party passed the inundated re-
gion the tops of corn stalks could be
seen above the long stretches of water
, indicating that it was about five feet
deep. Similar traces of VINEYARDS
could be seen above the waste of wa
ter Soldiers of the engineer corps
4 We're along the banks of the canal.
: h cl.T 81 i I
: the water was up to the sills. The
- harvest had been gathered. but there
! can be no planting nor sowing there
next spring.