As a matter of fact, at that time it would have been impossible for the Italians to have attempted, except at very heavy and needless sacrifices of life, any thing but a “Moral” occupation of Plezzo, as although the Austrians had evacuated the town they were very strongly fortified and entrenched on several of the surrounding eminences.
The whole situation here at the moment, however, was, so far as one could gather, dependent on the success of operations being carried out in the direction of Tolmino. So that it could be safely left to work itself out here, and there appeared to be no doubt whatever from what we learned that everything was developing as satisfactorily as possible. We then returned to Udine via Savogna and Cividale.
Another excursion we made to Gradisca was also particularly interesting, and very exciting as well.
Gradisca, at that time, had only recently been abandoned by the Austrians, and a somewhat similar state of affairs existed there as in Plezzo. That is, it was continually under fire from the Austrian batteries on the Carso, and many houses had already been destroyed. There was, however, this difference, that there were soldiers in the town, not many, perhaps, but sufficient for it to be considered “occupied.”
It is only a short run of about 30 kilometres from Udine. En route we drove through Palmanova, a delightful old semi-French town, dating from the time of Napoleon I, and which reminded me a little of Vitry-le-Francois. Its star-shaped setting of old ramparts with moat and drawbridge and archways entrance, with big doors, presented a strange contrast to the up-to-date military traffic passing through.
A little beyond Palmanova, at a village named Romans, we were informed that all the cars could not be allowed to go to Gradisca, which was some three kilometres further on, as the road was under fire, and a procession of half-a-dozen vehicles would attract still more attention from the Austrian batteries.
It was proposed, therefore, that we should all squeeze into two of the biggest cars and make a dash along the road, with an interval of twenty minutes between us. It was an uncomfortably tight fit, as may be imagined, and we were packed like sardines. The car I was in, a very high-powered one, surely did those three kilometres in record time. I never motored at such a speed before.
As we neared Gradisca the shells began bursting with unpleasant frequency in the fields, quite close to the road, and I feel sure that everyone experienced a sense of relief when we reached the shelter presented by the first house.
The town, which was not very much damaged, was typically Austrian, and in the bright sunshine looked a very pretty and quaint little place. There was a nice park with fine old trees, and in the centre was a bandstand, so it was evidently a pleasant place in pre-war time, but now it was absolutely deserted, and the streets presented a very forlorn and ghostly appearance, which was heightened by the fact of all the shutters of the houses being closed and grass growing in the roadways everywhere.
There were Italian batteries on the hills just outside, and they were firing continuously and with a regularity which almost savoured of clockwork. The Austrians were only replying in a desultory manner.