The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-10-29
ITALIAN ARMY
! SHATTEREDBY
GERMAN DRIVE:
Berlin Claims 100000 Have
Been Captured
GORIZIA us RETAKEN
Rome Admits Its Second Army Either
Retreated or Surrendered With
out Resistance.

London, Oct 29.--The Austro-Ger-
man armies under the command OF
Emperor Charles, who has as his
chief assistant the brilliant Field Mar
shall Won Mackensen, are shaking the
entire Italian line from the Julian
Alps region to the Adriatic sea. Hay
ing pressed back the Italians at sew
eral points upon Italian soil, the com
bined enemy forces have now pushed
forward on the Italian left wing and
captured Cividale, northeast OF Udine,
and are nearing the plains beyond.
In addition, the Austrian town of
Gorilla, point OF great strategic
value on the lsonzo river, has been
retaken from the Italians
According to the latest Berlin of
fetal Communication, 100000 Italians
have been made prisoner and more
than 700 guns have fallen into Aus
tro-German hands. The Cd and Sd
Italian armies are declared to be in
retreat Rome admits the falling
back of the I'd army, asserting that
cowardice similar to that shown by
the Russians in Galicia was exhibited
in the face of the foe, the Italians
surrendering or retreating without
giving battle, permitting the breaking
OF the left wing and thereby offering
easy access to the town OF Cividale.
Prior to falling back, however, the
Italians destroyed all their depots
and stores and Cividale was on fire
when the Austro-Germans entered it.
Possibly the Italians in this region,
who are declared by Rome to be re-
treating to the prepared positions on
the plains, will turn about and meet
the enemy in open-country fighting.
If they do not and the enemy is able
to keep UP westward the fast pace
that has been maintained since the
start of the operation the greater
part of the Italian forces along the
northeastern line will be threatened
with capture The situation is so
grave that special meeting of the
French cabinet has been held for the
purpose of deciding upon the ques-
ton of allied cooperation on the ltai-
ian front
Cividale is town OF about 5000 in
Friuli, nine miles northwest OF the
important railroad center OF Udine. 1t
is near the entrance to the valley of
the Natisone river, along which the
Austro-German forces which broke
the Italian line in the Tolmino region
have battered their way Cividale is
in the foothills of the Julian Alps, be-
yond which lie the plains of northern
Italy.
Gorilla was captured by the Ital-
ians on August ., 1916 at the time OF
the synchronous offensive of the al
lies on the French, Galician and
Italian fronts. The italians took
about 10000 prisoners in the city.
The capture of Gorizia was one Of
the most important successes of
Italy's campaign against Austria. 1t
is town of 1000 inhabitants on the
Isonzo halfway down the present
AustoGerman front OF attack be-
tween Tolmino and the sea. 1t is
strongly situated among hills of great
defensive value, in which there was
heavy fighting before the Italians
reached the city itself Gorilla is %
miles northwest OF Trieste. Austria's
big seaport at the head of the Adria-
tic, the capture of which is one of the
principal Italian aspirations in the
wa,