It brought your heart into your mouth each time you heard the approaching wail of a shell, for fear this might be the one to “get home.” You watched the bridge and waited in a state of fascination as it were.
Suddenly, as we were gazing with our eyes glued to our field glasses, someone called out in a tone of horror, “they’ve hit it at last.”
A shrapnel had burst low down, right in the centre of the bridge, and just above a gun-team that was going along at the trot.
For a moment, till the smoke lifted, we thought that men, horses, and guns were blown to pieces; it looked as though nothing could escape, but when it had cleared off we saw that only one of the horses had been killed.
In incredibly quick time the dead animal was cut loose and the team continued on its way. There was no sign whatever of undue haste or excitement; it was as though an ordinary review manœuvre was being carried out. The coolness of the drivers was so impressive that I heard several men near me exclaim enthusiastically “Magnifico! magnifico!!”
I made up my mind to go later on to the spot and make a careful sketch of the surroundings with the idea of painting a picture of the incident after the war; but I never had an opportunity, as, a few days after, the Austrians succeeded in destroying the bridge.
It was very palpable that at any moment one really unlucky shot could hold up the entire line of communications and prevent supplies from coming up for hours.
In this particular instance there was no doubt that the “hit” was signalled to the Austrian batteries by a Taube which was flying overhead at a great height at the moment, for the gunners redoubled their efforts, and it was only sheer luck that helped the Italians out.
Time to make good their retreat was what the Austrians wanted: they knew perfectly well that with Monte Santo, Monte San Daniele, and Monte San Gabriele still in their possession they could yet give a lot of trouble. Fortunately, however, for the Italians, as it turned out, they had not sufficient guns on these heights to endanger the position at Gorizia.
The soldiers round us now began to move forward, and we were practically carried up the gully with them. At the top was level ground, with grass and bushes and some cottages mostly in ruins. We were in the outskirts of Gorizia.