Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-07-05
THOSE FIGHTING ITALIANS
Correspondent Tells What He Saw
During the Fighting.

The Italian Front on the Piave
June "a (via London, June 26.)-The
Austrian bolt across the Piave was a
disaster. SO closely did the Italians
press upon the enemy's heels that Aus
trian soldiers were taken prisoner rs
from the river bank. The lost Italian
batteries have been retaken. Some
were found filled with explosives
ready to be destroyed, but the Aus
TRANS did not have time to blow
them up. Several enemy batteries,
hundreds of machine guns. thousands
of rifles and an airplane have been
found on the evacuated ground. The
number of prisoners reported increas-
es hourly.
Hoped to Retire Secretly.
II seems that on Saturday night the
Austrians made up their mind to get
back over the river. They started to
retreat secretly, possibly about "a. m.
Sunday. Machine guns were left in
advanced positions to keep up the i'm
preston OF unchanged strength by
constant firing.
At dawn. Italian patrols. feeling for
ward, discovered how thin the enemy
line had become. News Of the enemy's
withdrawal was flashed up and down
the line from the MonteIlo to the sea
and everywhere an attack was order
cd. The Montello is now free, a. all
eEaq!ss ele.a axeeS. flgl laEIt -
holes. Nervesa. which the enemy had
made his gate to the Montello, was in
Italian hands again last night.
The piles of corpses on the Piave
shore show what losses the Austrians
had yesterday morning in trying to
get across the river by boats and foot
bridges under shell and machine gun
fire. The 31st and 23d rifle regiments
of the Austrian army, however, fought
gallantly a rearguard action on the
upper Piave from Saturday evening
till yesterday afternoon. They then
had only eighty men unvounded. and
when these surrendered the general
commanding this bridge. named Won
Cronstadt. shot himself.
The whole Italian army Is at the
zenith of it's fighting enthusiasm. Man
for man II Is worth twice what 1t was
a week ago today. Both sides are
now adapting themselves to the new
conditions caused by the sudden
abandonment by the Austrians under
Italian pressure OF ground they had
occupied this side of the Piave. A
few Italian patrols have crossed the
river at some places and searched the
bank for prisoners.
went to Nervesa this afternoon
All was quiet except for a desultory
exchange of shells, but the ground
bore traces enough of the desperate
fighting by which the Italians decided
that the Austrians should give up the
small fruits their offensive yield
ed. To get my car along one OF
fought their way to retake Nervesa II
was necessary to be constantly shift
ing out of the way of telegraph poles
tree tops and fences that the bonn
bardment had strewn across It's shell.
pitted breadth.
Italian dead lay scattered on the
road and in bitches according as their
last advance had been a rush along
the open or q crawl under cover Fol
in the lanes Of this cramped. inclosed
country Austrian machine guns had
taken a heavy price in gallant lives
An officer showed me one redoubt In
the outskirts of Nervesa where nc
fewer than twelve machine guns had
swept the ground on all sides. They
had been silenced at last, but Italian
soldiers lay heaped up around them.
Airplanes Very Active.
II was quiet though on the banks
of the upper Piave. 30 quiet one
could motor for several miles along
the road within 100 yards OF the river
bank. It needed but a glance upward
to realize where was the real activity
of the day. Since o'clock this morn
ing the Italian airplanes have hardly
come down except for petrol and more
munitions, and the weather has beer
perfect for their work. They were
engaged In blowing up an Austrian
munitions train in the Coneglianc
station. In photographs of this ex-
plosion. which I have seen, the i'm.
mense mass of white smoke from the
explosion looks like a cloud close be-
meath the machine.
The body Of Major Baracca, Italy's
crack airman, who fell on the Mon
tello, where 1t was found by an tall.
an war correspondent, was brought
back for burial. As I heard Major
d'Annunzio say Of his famous brother
airman tonight:
1T was the finest death an airmar
could have. No enemy fiier can claim
to have brought Bararca down. He
died an unconQuered champion of the
air."
The national holiday OF. France