New-York tribune., 1918-11-02
Military Comment
BY William L. Mcpherson
I'd. .sIs. New f0rk TrtuHc Incl

70 nj An l NG-ARI started
~ the world confagration by
attacking Serbia. Never was
var made on more frivolous pre-
text. The jingoistic statesmen of
vienna and Budapest took up arms
IN order to strengthen their own
hold on the subject peoples of the
Dual Monarchy.
Now retribution has come. En-
peror Karl, the last of the Haps-
ourgs, is in flight from his capital.
Where a Socialist republic has been
proclaimed. Count Tisza, the arch
Chauvinist and reactionarv among
the Magyar leaders, has been assas-
slnated. A Socialist republic. with
Count karolyi at its head. has been
instituted in Hungary. The Austri-
an Empire has been split into frag
ments. Austria-Hungary has com
pletely disappeared as great power
and as q member of the European
Concert.
Under such circumstances the fate
OF the Austro- hungarian armies in
Italy becomes of little consequence.
They no longer serve under one flag.
Their High Command represents no
organized state They are released
from service and discipline and now
tight only as individuals or groups.
uncertain of their political alleg-
lance. 1t is reported that terms of
arnalstice between General Diaz and
the Austrian commander in chief are
now almost ready to be signed.
Meanwhile the enemy's forces are
dissolving under the pressure of the
relentless Italian ocensive.
The Italian attack spread yester-
day as far west as the Adige River.
On the Adige sector the Austro
Hungarians are not Yet thoroughly
demoralized. But everywhere else
east Of the Astico River they are
in full retreat. The whole Asiago
front between the Astico and the
Brenta, has been broken. East of
the Bren.a the Italian Sixth Army
advanced north yesterday to Fouzaso
and and the Fourth Army entered
Feltre. These. were the two chief
bases of TIE Austro- -Hungarians in
the stretch between the upper
Brenta and the upper Piave They
are connected by a good high-road
with the railroad coming down the
upper Piave Valley from Belluno to
the noighborhood OF Naldobbiadene
The troops in this sector are now
trapped. The Italians have already
taken all the Piave passes through
which they could escape eastward to
the Venetian Plain.
In the plain itself the Italians
have crossed the Livenza River from
the Venetian Alps to the Adriatic,
and are pushing on toward the Tag
liamento River. Pordenone has
fallen and, further north, Aviano
has been reached. This town is
twelve miles northeast Of Vittorio
and about twelve miles west of the
Tagliamento.
The Austrians are evacuating
Udine, their main base in Venetia.
between the Tagliamento and the
Austrian border. The number OF
prisoners taken by the Italians must
now run we'll up to 100000 Seven
hundred guns have been captured. 1t
is another Caporetto. with the leu
tons and Magyars as the victims.
Activities on the front in France
had Jagged for couple Of days.
Yesterday they we're resumed with
vlgor. Supplementing a minor oper-
alton on Thursday. the Allies have
advanced four or five miles in the
region between Journal and Ghent.
They have come up abreast of the
Scheldt River, above and below
Oudenarde, and Lave crossed it at
Kerkhove. Journal is now left in
the apex of salient. Valenciennes
has been practically abandoned by
the Germans, and Client will prob