Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1918-02-08
side. Every one instinctiyeiy rscofled.
and then
Crashl
No More Observation Post.


No More Observation Post
Five OF us went down In heap.
stunned as with hammer blow. There
was a great. enveioping noise, With the
smash and crack Of walls, the flying Of
fragments. and then the heaye Of tona
Of earth, mortar and masonry, plowed
up by the huge missile.
It had struck that observation post,
just Is feet away, which we were about
to enter. There was no more observa-
ton post; 1t was swept clean. But
fortunately the shell had gone straight
through. battering down massive walls
and digging a deep trench into the
earth where 1t had exploded under
ground. throwing up great geysers. But
while the earth and stone few liki
hail, the und erground explosion had
held the shell fragments. Stunned as
we were, the drst impulse was Of self
preservation. A hasIy glance showed
no one was seriously injured, though
the trickle of blood on the right tenn
| pie of one Of the party told that fly
ing stone had feund mark.
s1rhey s,ave this range" said the es-
cort rs we struggled to our feet, and
one shot means that another will fol-
low"
There was hasty scramble from the
battlement, over the tons Of debris
thrown up, which now completely
blocked the three-foot path skirting
the wall.
4 The shell had suddenly brought to a
close our observation Of the battle
front with all Its tragedy and majestic
beauty. But worst Of all, 1t put an end
, to all trips to Goritz, for the officer
said no further chances Of this kind
i could be taken. 1t was just as well,
for now the great offensive of the
enemy burst Unexpectedly, and with It
/ came the retreat from the Goritz line.
Fortunately orr unfortunately, had
seen ~ at the last moment when the
tide was turning.
Situation Explained
At the cafe where we went for luneA
the officer from headquarters laid out
the big military map on the table and
explained the military situation. II
was this: The enemy was bringing
great masses of men to the north Of
the Biansizza plateau. His design was
| evident. The Italians by their last adj
vance had swung a ring which was
threatening Trieste. TO save Trieste
the enemy must force the Italians back
to the Isonzo river, as another Italian
offensive would clear the Carso range
and give the Italians the mastery Of
Trieste. To the enemy the time had
come when he must act before the Ital-
ians played their final card and held
the Jewel of the Adriatic.
/ AS we pored over the map the In
creasing roar of the artillery told that
the enemy was losing no time in his
part of the military game. The pro-
prietor of the cafe was an intelligent
old man, and / asked him If the fire
we heard was the same as usual. he
shock his head and said: mo, 1t is
very much heavier and 1t seems as
though something was going TO hap
pen.' This was the instructive feel
! ing of the people on the spot who had
gone through this day after day for
months. They felt the blow coming.
4 on the corner there were two women
Of the working class talking together
under an umbrella. for 1t was raining
hard. Their indifference to the she'll
ing seemed strange, and | stopped to
ask them IL the bombardment did not
brighten them and keep them awake at
night.
They were puzzsed for a haoment, as
though not comprehending such an In
| aniry, and then they shrugged their
shoulders.
ave are used to it,, they said. III
| used to brighten as at first, and the
children still cry at night. But what
can we do?"
These were typical t0wnswomen
| who had become habituated to the dan
ger and destruction ell around them
and were now stopping on the street
corner in the rain to exchange the
latest gossip. One Of the women had
the features of an Austrian, and she
smiled as she heard the rumble of the
/ Austrian guns and looked on toward
the enemy lines so near.
within three hours when We goi
HACK TO headquarters the full force OF
i the blow had been struck and the great
| Austro-German offensive against Italy
was In full operation.