Six months on the Italian front

by Julius M. Price

In Verona, had one been holiday making, many hours might have been profitably spent in “doing” the place. As it was, my time was fully occupied from the hour we arrived till the moment we left, and it was, I am grieved to have to confess it, only by accident that I was able to snatch the time to see anything of the artistic treasures of the famous old city.

As a matter of fact, you scarcely had a moment to yourself if you wanted to get any work done, as we only remained three days in Verona.

The reason for thus curtailing our stay did not transpire. In this sector of the Front the most important operations in the Trentino were taking place, and the Austrians were straining every nerve in order to stay the victorious progress of the Italians, but the lightning rapidity of their advance had proved irresistible, and had forced a retirement to their second line. To dislodge them from this was the tack the Italians had before them when we were in Verona.

The axis of the Trentino is obviously Trent, and in due course of time it will doubtless fall into the hands of the Italians, but the date of that event is on the knees of the gods.

Meanwhile the focus of the operations in August 1915, was the fortified position of Roveretto, which has been described as the “strategic heart” of the Trentino, and which guards the Austrian portion of the valley of the Adige. Enclosed within several rings of entrenchments and an outer chain of modern forts of the most formidable character, it presented a redoubtable barrier to the advance of the Italians into the Trentino in this direction.

But the lightning-like strategy of Cadorna upset all the plans of the Austrian generals and, formidable though these defences were, they were gradually being mastered.

Fort Pozzachio, which might have proved the most serious obstacle of all, and have involved a long siege before it was captured, turned out to be little more than a dummy fortress in so far as defensive possibilities were concerned, and had to be abandoned at the commencement of the war. This step being decided on by the Austrians in consequence, as they stated in their communiqué, of its not being in readiness to offer any prolonged resistance if besieged.

It transpired later that, although years had been spent working on it and vast sums of money expended, it was so far from being completed when war was declared that its heavy armament had not yet arrived. It had been intended to make of it a stronghold which would be practically impregnable.

Even now, it is a veritable modern Ehrenbreitstein, but with this difference: it is not built on a rock but excavated out of the summit of a lofty craig, which is quite inaccessible from the Italian side. Although only about four miles from Roveretto, its surrender did not help the Italians over much, in so far as the operations in that zone were immediately concerned, but its loss must have been a severe blow to Austrian pride.

It was said that it had been the intention of the Austrians to blow it up rather than let the Italians reap the advantage of all the labour that they had wasted on it, and in this connection there was a story going round at the time that seemed circumstantial enough to be worth recounting.