The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-11-19
ITALIANS PUSH ]
AUSTRIANS BACK
ACROSS pave
Continued from Page One)


near the bank with the Italians on
throw a line around the town and
succeeded in part on one side until the
Italian batteries to the north got the
range of the line outside the shelter
of the streets.
! This line was the first to be dennol-
| ished and then the Italians on this
side of the town advanced cheering,
| hewing their way. The enemy held
at first, then began to- seek cover and
/ finally broke as the Italians plunged
| into the water and sought to get to
the sand bar. All the machine guns
were abandoned. Most of the enemy
| fell along the waters edge and an OBJ
server who saw the gruesome sight
says the bodies on the river bank and
| in the water reminded him of heaps
of sea weed after the tide had gone
out.
Farther up the river at the Sega
MILL the other crossing had brought
on another bloody fight, which lasted
until late yesterday, when, the whole
shore was cleared of living Austrians.
But it was lined with dead. The
movement here began late on Friday
night and reached it's elimination
about IL o'clock Saturday morning.
Friday night several Austrian bat
talions got across under the cover OF
darkness. They chose narrow cham
nels and some of the Austrian officers
rode across on horseback. They took
a position near the town cemetery
and opened on the. Italians during the
night with machine guns. The AUS
TRANS carried search1ights, which they
played on the Italian position, while
the Italians were without search
lights. It was only by the flashes OF
| the Austrian machine guns that the
Italians could direct their fire.
At day light yesterday the, enemy
still held his position at the cemetery.
The situation began to look serious
and for a time it appeared as if the
Italians would have to fall back. But
now the famous Bersaglieri brigade
was brought up fresh from it's hero
rear guard defense of the main army
as it retired. Some of the other
| troops were from nearby towns and
they were stirred to the last desper-
ate effort to save their homes.
The italians charged shortly after
dawn, their line moving straight up
the hill to the cemetery. Against
| ma chine gun fire and guns on the
bank the Italians moved with bayo-
nets, grenades and torpedoes. 1t was
one of those charges inspired by love
of home and country that will live
always, and it was irresistible. Inc
1 enemy wavered and broke just as the
Italian artillery on a nearby height
got the range of the cemetery. But
the main fighting was hand to hand
with the enemy pressed back steadily
to the river, where they were cut
by the fact that the old Sega mill on
| ed. By 10 o'clock aturday all had
been swept away except a few stray
Cling groups, but by noon not one OF
| the enemy's force was left on the
western bank.
/ In addition to some 1900 killed,
the enemy lost 1900 prisoners, includ-
| ing two colonies and some 80 other
officers. All the Austrian machine
guns were captured and are now used
by the italians.
The fury of the fighting is shown
| by the fate that the old Sega mill on
| the river bank was taken and re-
| taken six times during the ebb and
| flow of the battle. The mill IS full
of bullet holes but shows no evidence
of shell fire, indicating that the fight
! ing was entirely at close quarters,
| Italian stretcher bearers did noble
| service yesterday dAlerHooH III C1i-
/ ing for the great number of Austrian
wounded who lay along the shore.
Two of these stretcher bearers waded
out to the sand bar in midstream
where several seriously wounded Aus
| TRANS had dragged themselves. The
| men were brought back and cared
for by the Italian hospital corps. One
of these Austrians, wounded seriously
in the leg, was supported between
two italian soldiers on the way to the
| receiving station.
The Italians recovered their dead
some of them at the waters edge
One gunner was found hanging life
| less over his machine gun.
! This summarizes a most desperate
fight to preserve the Piage line.