Six months on the Italian front

by Julius M. Price

I had a walk along the trenches where the men were firing through the loopholes as unconcernedly as though at a shooting competition instead of having human beings for their target.

The Austrians were scarcely a hundred yards away in places, so it did not require to be an expert marksman to hit anything at that range; but it was not often that anything shewed itself above the parapets, either on the Austrian or the Italian side; still the men kept up a constant fusillade, for what reason I could not ascertain, except that perhaps it was to prove that no liberties were possible.

Whilst in the trenches I was introduced to two important characters of the position. One, a white-haired old veteran well over sixty years of age, who was serving as a volunteer. A fearless, wiry old chap I was told, and who could hold his own even now with any individual Austrian if ever he had the opportunity.

The other character was the pet of the position, a jolly little fox terrier that had, I was told, gone through all the fighting, and had now the run of the place and was looked upon as a mascot by the officers and men; in fact, there would be much perturbation if any harm came to it; curiously enough this was the only occasion that I saw a dog in the trenches.

Gemona was a quaint little town, or rather big village, and the inhabitants were delighted to see us, and proved it by not overcharging in the least.

When we arrived and reported at the Censorship, which was established in the Town Hall, we were given a list of houses where lodgings could be obtained, with the prices affixed. This was a capital idea, and worked out admirably; it saved a lot of time running about hunting for rooms, and as only those lodgings recommended by the Mayor were in the lists there was no risk of unpleasant surprises.

I got fixed up at a very nice house, and the landlady, a delightful old person, did her utmost to make me comfortable, as I used my room for a studio also. Considering she only charged one lire and a half a day it could not be considered excessive.

For our coffee in the morning we usually used to meet at a café; for lunch and dinner there was no lack of choice, as curiously enough for so small a place, there were several really good restaurants.

There was a regiment of Alpini quartered there, a splendid body of men, giving one the impression of picked athletes all, and of an evening their band always gave a military tatoo, wet or fine, marching through the main streets with torches and finishing on the Place with a short concert. A very inspiriting procedure, which considerably helped to liven us all up, and the more especially as this was the only place on the Front where we had heard military music.

The night before we left, the Mayor gave us a reception and vin d’honneur, which further helped to emphasise the good feeling which existed between us all. We had spent a delightful week in Gemona.