The sun., 1918-07-03
ITALIANS FIGHTING
FOR ASIAGO HEIGHTS
Repulse Enemy's Efforts to
Retake Monte Val Bella.
ny j. NJ. JEFFRIEs.


Special Cable Despatch to The Sun and the
Public Ledger
Copyright, 1918; oil rights reserved.
ITALIAN HEADQUARTERS, July l tde-
layed On the Asiago Plateau the
troops Of the Italian Sixth Army. which
held the gates OF italy in tho first days
Of the Austrian offensive and so greatly
contributed TO the victory on the Pave,
have been engaged in an effort to re-
cover from the Austrlans the heights OF
Monte Val Bella. Col del Rosso and Col
di Chelo. These heights, which are east
OF Asiago, are pledges for the security
OF the head of the valley Of the Brenta
and they have always been fought for
by the contending armies.
In desperate. wavering struggles
which resemble the fighting Of small
units for parts of trenches. they have
been taken and retaken many times
since January last, but finally remained
in italian hands. At the beginning of
the offensive a fortnight ago the Aus
TRANS took them in the first food OF
their onset, submergng the defenders
with gas and making their way through
caverns and from side to side of Val
Bella so that they managed to turn some
Of the crest positions
Austria's Rest Troops Attack.
The attack on these mountains began
on Saturday Five columns drove at
Val Bella and other columns on the
right at Col del Rosso. On Val Bella
there were many men of the most ia
vored and belauded division Of the En-
peror Charles, the Edelwciss, and the
- ti,a Of
Scheucnenstuel, a trusted Austrian com
mander.
On the extreme right OF Monte Val
Bella the attackers were a small con-
tingent of Czecho-Slovak troops. who
had asked to be allowed TO measure
themselves against the tried troops Of
their oppressors.
The assaulting column was made up
chiefly Of southern Italians. when they
reached the barren slopes OF Val Bella
they had 500 yards of ground to cover
before they could reach the summit. but
in the brief space OF half an hour they
were there.
The storm troops, the regimental out
riders. led the way with machine guns
and pistols and soon the prisoners were
rushing and leaping out of the tunnels
and down the mountain side. Nearly
all Of those taken are Germans. Aus
TRANS or Hungarians. The Austrians
defended themselves stubbornly in
many cases with machine guns especially
but when finally all had cap!tulated
they could claim no excuse of numbers
as the capturers of Val Bella were
fewer than the defenders The Aus
trian losses are very heavy indeed.
Two Regiments Destroyed.
Fresh regiments. the l26th and the
13lst. entered the line on Saturday
morning. At noon one OF these regi-
ments had not yet been employed in the
offensive. BY o'clock In the evening
neither existed all the men had been
killed or captured.
All the Italian officers in the division
most concerned in the capture OF Val
Bella speak with admiration OF the
steady courage Of the Czech contingent,
which went into action with small CAL
iber guns and trench mortars. They
carried their obJectIves in a desperate
charge, flung guns and defenders down
the mounta!nsde and in hand to hand
fighting killed the Austrian Colonel and
every officer by his side.
Some troops OF non-Austrian nation
alites surrendered to the Italians.
These men explained that they had been
deserted by their Austrian officers. who
He" TiuueH OIL tdhlng WIN then many
men and all the gas masks they could
lay their hands on in the hope that their
despised and hated soldiers might perish
from Italian gas shells: military dis
honor has never gone further.
The day ended with Val Bella taken,
but Col del Rosso and Di Chelo were
still holding out. At night the Austrians
made a strong effort to retake Val Bella
but the Italian artillery beat them back
When dark fell all the mountain crests
were lit up by the flashes from the guns