Photograph by E. M. Newman
BOOKSTALLS IN ROME
War did not drive the booklovers from their favorite haunts
The retreat of the Italian army was followed by a wave of patriotism that swept from one end of Italy to the other. If there were some that were lukewarm before, they were roused to the highest pitch of enthusiasm for the prosecution of the war. Italy had been invaded, and that was sufficient to stir the blood of every Italian.
When, in the spring of 1918, Austria launched her great offensive, she faced an army wholly changed. Indifference had vanished, every man thirsted for revenge. No Italian would breathe freely until the stain of the retreat was wiped out. Not an Austrian must remain on Italian soil. The Austrians were bewildered when, instead of encountering a demoralized and beaten army, they found themselves face to face with a new and rejuvenated force.
Instead of advancing, the Austrians were swept off their feet. Instead of a crumbling line, they met a wall of steel against which their onslaughts were of no avail. On came the infuriated Italians, crushing the Austrian offensive and forcing them to beat a hasty retreat. Austria will never forget the punishment she received on the Piave (pee-ah-vuh), along the Asiago plateau, and in the vicinity of Monta Grappa.
Photograph by E. M. Newman
AMONG THE COLUMNS OF ST. PETER'S, ROME
Fields were strewn with Austrian dead. So precipitate had been their flight that they had to abandon guns, ammunition, supplies, in fact everything they possessed. When, a few days later, I crossed the delta of the Piave, I saw thousands of Austrian helmets, overcoats, and supplies of every description covering the ground that extended for many miles to the Little Piave, across which the Austrian army had been driven.