Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-02-03
ITALIANS, WITH ALLIED
HELP, BEAT BACK ENEMY
Austrian Divisions Lose From so to
20 Per Cent of Their Fight
ing Force.
ARTILLERY DOES EXECUTION
Battery OF -Four Big Guns Com
pletcIy Destroyed by Concentrated
Fire-Airplane, Attacking Pris-
oners, Brought Down.

| ITALIAN ARMY HEADQUARTERS
! Friday, February 1.-The enemy made
another powerful effort yesterday to
! redeem the situation west Of the
| Brcnta River. whcrc tho Italians re-
1 Gently won a notable success. but was
! beaten back by the combined action OF
| tile infantry and artillery without
| reaching his objective of Monte di Val
! Bella where the Italians arc maintain
| ing their position.
| The extent of the oncmy losses in
the fighting early this week is now
| known TO be larger even than the
first accounts indicated. An observer
who has arrived from the field reports
having seen and talked with a num-
Der of tho captured officers and men.
They were a miserable looking lot, he
says. many OF them wearing italian
| uniforms taken during the invasion OF
the Friu!i region
All the prisoners agreed as to the
furious nature of the fighting and the
exceptionally heavy losses caused by
tho concentration of tho fire Of the
The trenches were leveled and tho
links between the forward and rear
lines swept away. thus stopping all
communications and preventing the
oHcers from securing coordination in
the work OF tho. artillery and the in
fanfry. The few trenches remaining
were Uttered with dead. and the sur
Nirors were found for tho most part
on their knees, Historically crying or
praying.
The Twenty-first rife division OF
the Austrian forces had 5000 men nut
out OF action. or about 20 per cent OF
its fighting force. Brigades Of tho
Eighteenth and Sixth Austrian Divis
IONS had casualties amounting to ap-
proSimattly 90 per cent But the
most terrible loss was inflicted on the
One liundredth and SiStieth Landsturm.
which OF several thousand men in line
has only few hundred left.
The magnitude Of such losses wos
due to the triple artillery fire of the
allies, maintained for forty conseou-
two hours. often cross-firine from two
or three directions simultaneously. An
unusual feature or this artillery action
was the complete unity brought abou,
among the Italian. French and Brit
'Sh batteries. This was SO marked
that one or the chiefs OF the artillery
stan exclaimed: AT last we have re-.
allied unity OF command right in m.
lace OF tho enemy fire"
AS an illustration OF the destructive
Hatnre OF the triple artillery fire. IL
may DC recorded that an enemy battery
with four monster 240-mill!mctcr guns
was destroyed completely The enemy
was using an Old church as one or hi.
principal ammunition depots. and when
, the church was blown up he was cut
. on from supplies of ammunition In that
| sector. In consequence, all the cne,ny
batteries around l'oza and several
other PAGES remained silent
Inc whole action disclosed unusuo,
generalization and confusion in The
enemy lines, While this wa, due
chicaE 10 the artillery concentration, It
also indicated that, owing to internal
conditions, the enemy forces have
fallen far below their former standard
Of efficiency.
While convoy OF prisoners was be-
!ns taken 10 the rear an enemy air
piano flying low. sought to intcrrup.
It's progress. There was no an,iair
craft Gun around. but the machine
!!hally Was brought down by a rife
Interrogation Of prisoners gave con-
!irMat!on OF reports that the Germans
have moved troops from the Russian
to the French front during the period
OF the armistice. This was accom-
plished indirectly by granting leave 10
the best troops on the Russian front.
The places OF these men were filed
from the Invalid class, and they were
not taken back to that front.