Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-09-04
Airmen Used Machine Guns.

Other airnlen dropped close to the Aus
trian trenches and columns and regardless
of their own lives swept the enemy with
machine gun fire. The artillery from
Ia grada 10 the sea pounded the positions
along froct of some eighty miles in
cessantly. the fire SURPRISING anything be-
fore experienced on this front. 1t mas
tered and silenced the Austrian guns.
From caves high in the PERCEPTIONS
face of Monte Cabotine jets of flame
spurted day and night and the Isonzo
gorgeS seized and hurled back the re-
ports like Chaps of thunder,
The tdkin. Of Monte Santo was a stu
pendcus task The t6nuntain which
"as the apple of popular desire had re-
sisted score OF attacks since first
saw its smooth sides and the famous
white stone sanctuary Two years ago
Hopes were raised in August of last
wear and in May this year. only TO he
dashed 10 the ground. Santo appeared
To be impregna BILE.
In May the offensive brought the Ital-
ians to the heaps OF rubbIe marking the
place where a convent once stood, but
they could only maintain their posi-
tons half way Up the slope. Five DAYS
after the soldiers had taken the noun
tain in the present offensive / climbed
its 1000 feet of sheer height above the
Isonzo river in an hour and a half A
battle was raging on Monte San Ca
brfelo. From the top Of Santo ] had
good view of the shells from the near
by Monte Sa botine and the Austrian
shells from Ternova breaking over the
twin trenches scoring the sides of San
Gabrielle. Fire was splitting from the
gray face of Sabatino while smoke
rolled in clouds over the infantry, the
puns, now gray, now yellow. now red
and white and now black and gray
showing the size and type of each ex-
ploding she'll To the eastward also
shells We're breaking along the wooded
slopes OF Ternova and the valley iso-
iating Monte San Gabrielle from Monte
san Doniele- This. said an officer, was
a Ilght chnnonade. Gargaro hollow
with the ruined villages of Gargaro.
bate and Zagorie, and the open valley
OF Chlapovano, lay like map before
me- The artillery observatory on top
of Monte Santo dominates the entire
country and one feels that the prize was
worth fighting for
Already the Santo battlefelds had
peen almost completely cleared and
the caverns emptied. 50 that only oc
casionally were the eyes and nose Of
tended Gen. Borosvic had ordered the
Austrians TO hold Monte Santo at ali
Costs They paid the rrice, but they
did not hold the position, which was
literally a Gibraltar There were
caves IN the solid rock large enough
10 shelte. iive full battalions Trenches
We're also dug in the rock, with re-
doubts placed with the skill in de-
1ense Tor which the Austrians are IA
nous. The barbed wire was festooned
with bombs made of tin cans.
Monte Santo. it is true. could never
nave been taken by direct assault.
The attack on the mountain began Au-
gust 10 and the Italians hammered
away at the adamantine lines for four
days In superhuman but fruitless eff
forts Then on the morning of Au-
gust "A one Italian column advanced
south from todico over saddle called
No 2O3, Ranking Monte Santo Another
column, advancing from the left, took
the saddle between Monte Santo and
Monte San Gabrielle. From the right
another column advanced UP the side
almost TO the very ruins of the CON
vent The three columns were about
70 meet when the Austrians realized
the horeiesssiess OF the.r position and
retreateG down the eastern and south
eastern Slopes.
u vas go am. when the Italians
reached the summit and halted for a
moment an Officer drew thinly sill,
rag f-o::: his pocket. The soldiers
caeerstl ana Wild cry of JOY arose
The grir;y arti,ierists in the Sa.bo:iao
cares across the river ian iron, Their.
shelters into me fall dayiigh, il: a
burst Of deliricGs entkrstas-l "siontt.
Santo IL taken" tkey shouted Then
they rapidly descended to their s:r,ok-
ing guns. the bombsrGment sgelIed
into sullen roar and the infantry
swept down the eastern slopes Of
Monte Santo In pursuit of the fleeing
Austrians.