Evening star., 1918-06-25
ITALIAN TRIUMPH
VAST AID TO ALLIES
Equal to Verdun and Hardly
Second to the Marne
Victory.
WILL AUSTRIA COLLAPSE?
BY FRANK H. sIMoNDs,

the Italian victory at the Piave That
a great victory has been won can no
longer be mistaken. The question
which remains to be settled is wheth-
er the beaten Austrian army can rail-
ly at the Piave or will have to go
back to the Tagliamento.. or even to
the Isonzo. The offensive has failed:
the question of the moment is wheth-
er the Austrian army can be reor-
ganized.
To the Italians belongs the credit
for having won the first great VIC
tory or the campaign of 1918 and hav-
ing made the great contribution to
allied morale of the current year
Hardly more than six months ago an
ltailan collapse produced the gravest
pessimism of the war. Now the Ital-
1ans have redressed the balance by
winning a victory as important for
the allied cause as Verdun, and per-
haps only little less important than
the Marne:
Last Years Defeat Redeemed.
1t must be matter of congratula-
tion to all Italians that Italy, practi-
cally unaided-for allied contingents
In Venetia are light-has redeemed
the defeat Of last year by a victory,
which, even in its present proper
tions. must count as the greatest bat
tleheld achievement in the history
Of the Italian people since their liber-
alton.
We have seen in this contest the
clear shock of two great nations. Had
the Austrians prevailed at the Piave
1t may be questioned whether north
ern Italy could have been defended or
Italy could have maintained the
struggle. and the collapse of tally
would infallibly have released Aus
trian divisions for service on the
western front. In spirit and in
strength the allies would have been
put to 1t once more had Italy failed
on the Piave.
Italy Smashes Offensive.
But, so far from failing. Italy has
smashed the Austrian offensive The
Austrian armies are retreating in
something which must resemble a
rout, and this great disaster has come
at time when the domestic condi-
tion of Austria has become acute
almost beyond exaggeration. To es-
cape from domestic evils, Austria, un-
der German impulse, staked all upon
the possibility Of achieving foreign
victory. Her failure has been COM
plete, and the reaction upon her home
uuSl UC ShOIiAouS
It would be a mistake to assume
that italy has won an easy victory.
All the accounts that we yet have
Of the battle of the Pfave indicate
that the Austrians fought with great
courage: that their attack was made
with skill; that they were supported
by tremendous artillery, and that, so
far from being easily beaten. their
preliminary gains were large and, in
one or two places, threatened to be
decisive. The first stage of the AUS
trian attack was unquestionably sue
cessful; the subsequent failure was
due to the skill and the promptness
with which Italian reserves were
handled and to the state OF training
and morale of the Italian troops
themselves.
Likened to the Marne.
For Italy, the battle of the Piave has
at once the value which the battle OF
the Marine had for France. 1t saves
the fertile and highly industrialized
regions Of the northern provinces of
the Savoy kingdom. 1t removes the
peril to Venice and the only less i'm
mediate peril to Milan and Florence.
1t should definitely close the period of
Austrian penetration of Italian terri
tory.
There remains the possibility of the
Intervention Of German reserves. But
these can be used promptly only on
the narrow front of the Trentine hills,
between the Asiago plateau and Lago
di Garda, where the Italian line is
most strongly held and the difficulties
of attack are greatest. Moreover,
victorious Italian army is bound to
offer far more formidable resistance
than did the under-manned and diSor-
ganized forces responsible for the dis
aster of Caporetto last year.
Alps Aid Retreating Austrians.
In their retreat from the Piave, II
the Austrians are unable to stand on
the east bank of the river. they will
be threatened by no such peril as
hung over the Italians in the first
session of the Alps covers the flank
of the beaten Austrians, and they will
be able to retire along lines of COM
munication which will not be threat
ened by flank or rear attacks. The
sole question will be whether the re-
whether, at the Piave, or the Taglia-
mento, or even at the Isonxo. the
broken lines are reorganized and the
front re-established.
Looking backward now to the
anxiety and apprehension with which
Italian front for more than six
months, recognizing the extent to
which allied confidence has been
temporarily weakened by German
successes on the west front, it is i'm
possible to exaggerate the value Of
the cotemporary Italian triumph or
to overestimate the contribution Italy
has now made to the common cause.
Whether Austria collapses in revo-
luton or retires to a sullen and pas
sive defensive, it is hardly too much
to believe that Austria has shot her
bolt for the war and that Germany
will be left single-handed to face the
great western powers in the decisive
campaign of the war.
Value of Success Great.
The military value Of the Italian !
success on the Piave is considerable |
locally and bound to have influence on !
tance is tremendous, and its effect in |
Vienna, in Sofia and Constantinople, !
as well as in Berlin, can hardly be !
overstated. A hunger offensive, con-
Quoted by one of the central powers. |
has resulted not in the conquest of !
food but in the loss of a great battle. ;
GEORGIA'S PEACH CROP
MAY BREAK ALL RECORDS
The Georgia peach crop this year I
is probably the largest on record, a |
Department of Agriculture report to-
day stated A crop of 6,332. 900 BUSH
- ha