Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1918-06-17
Battle RACES Along Front of
Nearly One Hundred Miles
in Length; Enemy Forces
Crossing of Piave River,
5000 AUSTRIANS TAKEN
PRISONERS BY ITALIANS.
Invaders Claim to Have Cap
tured 10000; Fighting in
France Has Simmered Down
Except Near scissors.

fbf MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LtAskp Wisb
The Italian and allied armies are
bravely sustaining the weight of the
Austrian forces which are attacking
along the front of the Italian theater
from the Northwest of the Asiago
plateau eastward to the Piave river
and thence along that stream to
where 1t joins the headwaters of the
Adriatic sea, a front of nearly 100
miles
The Austrians, having made extens-
i've preparations for the drive by
bringing up strong reinforcements in
men and guns, many of them coming
from the former battle line in Ru-
mania and Galacia as a result of the
debacle in the east, is using them
without stint in the effort to debouch
from he mountain passes and cross
the Piave river and gain the Venetian
plains.
Everywhere the fighting is of an
extremely sanguinary character
especially east of the Asiago plateau
in the Brenta and on Monte Grappa
In the initial struggle the enemy sue
ceeded in capturing several front
itht pOSIllOIlS III lHt HlOuUtdiil IeBlOU
from the British and also in cross
ing the Piave Counter attacks. have
restored all the positions in the
mountains. including territory to a
depth of 1000 yards along a $500
yard front captured from the British.
At last accounts the allied troops
everywhere were strongly holding the
eaersv ard King Victor. WfnrS SUSIE
men were gallantly striving to throw
back the invaders across the .Piave.
The Italians have taken more than
1900 Austrians prisoner, among them
so officers.
Austrians Capture 10000.
AS yet the Vienna war office has
given only brief mention of the bat
tie, saying that the Austrian armies
had invaded the Sette Comuni pla-
teau, lying at an altitude of 3,400
feet northwest of Asiago, and that
up to noon Sunday more than 10000
Italian, English and French soldiers
and considerable number of guns
had been captured.
With the commencement of the
long expected Austrian offensive the
. fighting in France has simmered
down almost to sub-normal, except
southwest of Soissons. where the
II
attacks against the Germans holding
territory captured last week. Where
the enemy week ago was throwing
thousands upon thousands of men
against the allied line between Mont
didier and Noyon. Sunday saw him
worn out with his useless efforts and
his forces sadly depleted through
men killed and wounded, unwilling
or unable further to give battle.
Germans Deliver Blow.
In the famous ST. Mihiel sector.
where the Americans took over their
first sector of the battle front, the
Germans have delivered a stroke
and were rewarded by being able TO-
gain the village. Soon afterward.
however. they were expelled and the
killage retaken. Prisoners were taken
from the Germans, who in thell
anger throughout Sunday "strafed'
villages in the rear with their artil-
lery.
Probably having in mind President
Wilson'S promise that the war should
not be ended until the wrong done to
Alsace-Lorraine is righted, the Amer
ican troops now are occupying sectors
in the picturesque locality of Alsace.
They have been there since May Il,
and possibly sensing the Importance
of the move, fboth from the strategic
and moral standpoint, the Germans
already have delivered an attack
against them. The American casual
ties were light.
In Macedonia the operations daily
increase in Importance. Along the
greater part of the front there have
been heavy reciprocal bombardments
and Bulgarian troops several times
have endeavored to penetrate the al
lied lines All their efforts, however,
met with III success.
That enemy submarines still are at
work in the north Atlantic waters ad-
jacent to the American coast in shown
by the fact that another vessel, the
lNorwegdan sibark Samoa, was sunk
ninety miles off the Virginia coast last
Friday. The crew was saved.