The Washington herald., 1918-11-01
AUSTRIA BELIEVED ON VERGE OF SURRENDER;
"CANNOT FIGHT ANY LONGER" KARL SAYS TO
THE POPE, CRYING FOR QUICK ARMISTICE
AUSTRIA HOSTS.
FLAG OF TRUCE.
Request for Armistice Made
to Diaz, But Too
Late.

London, oct. 3l.-Austria has kan
araded."
The white flag was hoisted over a
front line trench in one Of the few
quiet sectors of the Italian front
early today and across No Mans
Land" into the Italian lines walked
parlamentaire.
He conveyed to Gen. Diaz. Italy's
commander in chief. the Austrian
generalissimo's request for an armis-
tice.
Diaz's answer. stripped for military
diplomatic verbiage. was: TOO latc,"
lie stold~- ~-lA.s-@l,noisJfc ss-SAsaE-tSsS Ms
request would be forwarded tc the In
terallied War Council at Versailles.
There the matter rests, for the pres
ent though word is expected at any
moment Of a complete Austrian capit-
Ulation. Since unified allied COM
mand was created. direct communica-
tiOns between Versailles and the va
rious headquarters in the field have
been perfected 10 the limit 1t will
take few hours for the supreme war
council TO flash its decision to Diaz-
"wnI Sign Anything
Opinion here tonight is that the
Austrians will sign anything and
are waiting. craving only the chance
to sign.
One strong report has it that there
has been a tacit understanding be
tween Turkey and Austria, and thai
the latter's surrender was to syn
chronize with that of the porte.
Military defeat-indeed. a debacle OF
the first ma aEnitude-ferced the hoist
ing Of the white flag by the Haps-
20 &c
now known, the .Austrians had been
"stalling" When they accepted
President Wilson's evacuation demand
few weeks ago. they began 10
evacuate everything they could no
longer hold. Everywhere in the Bal
kans their troops turned tail But
on the Italian-front. since Bulgaria's
detection, Austrias only vital front
the vaunted wall of STEEL stood
rigid More than that, it was stifren-
ed and cemented and reinforced every
day and night. Even the three di
visions they had on the West front
We're hurried to Italy. With all their
cries for armistice and peace the
Austrian commander stin noUrished
in his heart the hope Of holding out
on that vital front. and possibly ever
OF a come back. soon or late
For nearly a week a fair fight was
put up and a break through STAYED.
But ever more crushing became the
force of Foch's blows. and two days
ago the Austrian morale began to
show signs of going by the board.
At dawn today real hell broke loose.
Foch's strategy was at its best. He
had nagged and nibbled and weaTied
and worn down his opponent. The
hour was ripe for the deluge. The
whole far-flung front. from the Tren-
tino passes near the Swiss frontier,
eastward around the great bend above
Montello, down to the Adriatic, fiared
into fame.
Surrender BY Thousands.
Every Italian army. every British.
American, and French unit, sUrged
forward into the last round of the
Revenge for Caporetto."
Under this concerted. dynamic
crash, whatever was left of Austrian
military defiance crumbled. Morale
broke and vanished under Diaz's
hammer blows. Panic seized the
troops. They began to surrender
by the thousands. Italy's army had
come back" The force of that
realization did more than all else to
weaken the Austrian heart. for a
year ago. after Caporetto, after the
disastrous retreat of the Latins,
Italy was definitely discounted.
licked to a frazzle." as the Vienna
papers put it at the time.
Side by side with King Victor's
troops advanced Yankee veterans of
the West. Austria had made their
acquaintance in the st. Mihiel sal
lent, where the Hapsburg troops
had to carry the hod" in. covering
their German comrades retreat.
The battle progressed with seven
league boots. In the early hours of
the morning the Austrian front was
ripped to pieces. The river line skunk.
staggered, slithered backward. Hun
dreds>were drowned in trying to get
across the Livenza- Meanwhile Lord
Cavan's British forces had slashed a
hole into the Hapsburg line whose
mission was to keep the contact be-
tween the river and mountain fronts
At thet same time the entire Alpine
front Went up in an ail-deXouring
blaze. HAght after height, pasA after
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