Bisbee daily review., 1917-12-02
.BYNC'S TROOPS renew THEIR
OFFENSIVE ON CAMBRIA SECTOR
and CHECK GERMAN ADVANCE
Italian Front
Is Impressive
At First Sight
(By Review Leased Wire. }

ITALIAN ARMY HEADQUARTERS
IN NORTHERN ITALY, Friday. Nov.
3O-A colonel commanding batteries
along the Asiago front, where the Aus
trians and Germans are exer ling their
chief pressure, took the correspondent
along his lines today and explained the
station and the action in progress.
From his observation post at the sum-
nit of the mountains thanking the Ash
ago plateau, one could Look down on
the shell torn and deser.ed city of Ash
ago, now held by the enemy, with his
lines of entrenchments beyond and his
batteries blazing fro mthe long range
of SUBMITS extending from Monte Mel
eta eastward to the Brenta river.
1t was a most impressive scene, at
an altitude of 5000 feet with the clouds
lying below, instead of above, and the
cannonade echoing through the gorg.
es. The ground was covered with an
inch of snow which had fallen during
the night, and the ponds formed in
shell holes were coated with three
inches of ice.
Men Look Well.
The men off duty were around camp
fires. looking well and Contented. The
colonel said living conditions, rations
and supplies were in good shape.
Some of the men were in tents on
the mountain slopes, others in trench
es and dugouts, while others were in
rough frame barracks which are being
hastily constructed.
Asiago itself presented a desolate
spectacle in the midst of the fire swept
plateau, to which it gives the name.
with the Italians on one side and the
enemy on the other. Houses, churches
and tall campaniles could be seen
plainly but the colonel said the whole
place was in ruins, without building
intact. Strong field glasses showed
no sign of life in the town, and no
smoke 1ose from the factories or resi-
dences.
Artillery Fire Heavy.
Theartil lery fire was heavy and
continuous. The colonel said the enc
my was bringing up heavy guns of
larger calibre. Twenty monster pro-
jectiles had come in a bunch early in
the day, opening great craters, which
were now frozen ponds. There had
been 10 infantry advances and the col
onel said, but the strength of the Ital-
ian lines gave assurance tina. ne would
be repulsed again.
Prisoners From Russian Front.
Austrian prisoners who had been
brought in declared that they recently
came from the Russian front. The
enemy lines were made up of Germans
and Austrians, but there we're no Bull
garians or Turks The wild nature of
this country was shown while the sol
diers were digging their trenches,
when they unear he'd the fossil re-
mains of numerous mastodons of gi-
gantic dimensions.
Along the road leading to the front
there was increasing activity with vast
forces of men and material pushing
forward. The correspondent passed
batteries of heavy guns drawn by
trains, tractors and huge stacks of nine
and twelve inch shells. Infantry was
moving forward being strung along
the road for three miles. This and fire.
quent evidence of troops on many
roads gave visible signs of the power
being concentrated, while on every
hand the officers and men were conf
dent the great drive from the north
had been held as that from the Piave
side was held.