New-York tribune., 1918-10-31
Military Comment
BY Willism L. Mcpherson
Copyright. lels. New York rr,puus Inc,

NO'"''Sh'' lVlS. New York Tribute Inc\
NHE Austro-H Hungarian govern.
mentor the simuacrum OF
1t now going through the
twltchings of the death agony in Vi
enna-continues to plead for peace.
But there is no peace on the Piavc.
There the Italian armies, aided by
British and American contngents.
are taking an adequate revenge for
Caporetto.
When the Vienna government be-
gan to cry for quarter. after the
Bulgarian dcbacle, it made -four
lsh Of recalling the Austro- Hungari-
an forces in the Balkans. 1t sough,
to invest that retirement, ordered
. for military reasons only, with the
air Of conciliatory gesture. Presi-
dent Wilson had said that no armis-
tice terms would be considered while
/ the Teuton armies remained in in
vaded territory.
Emperor Charless advisers were
glad enough to abandon Serbia, AL
bania, Montenegro and Rumana.
The Austrian situation in those
countries-in fact, everywhere be-
low the Danube-was hopeless. But
not a hand was. lifted to withdraw
the 100000 Austrian and Hun
garlan soldiers occupying northeast
ern Italy and still less than twenty
five miles away from Nicenza and
Venice. Why didn't Vienna, if it
was sincere, set the wheels in mo-
ton to retire these armies within
the Austrian border?
Austria Hungary has always been
late in campaign and in a battle.
She is paying once more the pen
atty of her inveterate sluggishness.
! The armies which might have been
drawn back without serious punish
ment are now being thrown back
/ with heavy losses The Italians, up
I to Tuesday, had taken $4,000 pris-
Oners and several hundred guns A
wedge is being driven between the
I enemy armies along the Piave, fac
ing west, and those in the mountain
sectors west of the Piave, facing
south. If connection between these
groups is entirely broken, the Aus
trian invasion of Italy will end in a
great disaster
Yesterday the Italian offensive
/ developed further south along the
/ Piave. The front of the attack now
covers about sixty-fve miles. And
extremely rapid progress is being
made in the critical sector north
east of Treviso. In this region the
Eighth Italian Army has pushed to
j the north of Conegliano and occu-
pied Vittorio The Tenth Army, on
the right of the Eighth, has crossed
the Oderzo Conegliano road and
reached the Livenza River, twelve
miles east of the Piave.
The loss of Conegliano and Wit
torio deprives the Austro- -Hunga-
rians Of their chief bases on the
upper Piave front These bases
had rail connections with Trieste
and Gorilla, whence the eastern
part of the Austro-Hungarian line
in Northern Italy was supplied.
West of these two bases there is
nothing but mountainous country,
with no supply railroads until the
upper Brenta is reached.
The whole Austrian front, in fact,
/ lacks adequate communications.
There is a tirst-class railroad line
down the Adige Valley from Trent.
But the long sector running east
from the Adige, at Rovereto, across
/ the Asiago Plateau to the Brenta,
has to depend on single lateral
| branch road. coming east from
Trent to the neighborhood of Monte
Grappa. The only line of retreat
on the north front is up toward
Trent The only line of retreat on
the east front is east toward Udine,
Gorilla and Trieste. And the Htmy
groups on the two fronts can be
completely severed by drive up the
Venetian plain, close to the edge of
the Venetian Alps, such as the 1tal
] IAN Eighth and Tenth armies are
now making.
The Third Italian Army has
crossed the Piave near its mouth, at
I San Dona de Piave, and little fur
ther north, at Zenson. The whole
Austro- Hungarian east front is
therefore broken and the troops
which held it are fleeing back across
the Livenza River to the Taglia
mento. Vcnetia will soon be cleared
of the invader, who has long over
stayed his time, aimlessly awaiting
a dispossesS notice.