CHAPTER XII
There were rumours that within a very short time the correspondents would be permitted to return to the Front, but it was very uncertain when this would be, so I decided, since we all had to leave the war zone, to return for the time being to London where I could find better employment in my studio, than playing the tourist in Italy.
For several months, however, no permission was given, and during this time, owing to the fact that there were no correspondents with the Army, little or nothing was known of what was taking place; the brief official communiqués conveying but the most meagre details.
That the Italians were marking time meanwhile was, however, in the last degree improbable, of that I felt convinced; General Cadorna is not made of that fibre. When he is apparently doing nothing of importance it is certain he is preparing some coup and waiting a favourable opportunity to develop it.
In the meantime practically half the Austrian Army and the pick of the troops at that was being held up on the Italian Front, and not in a state of immobility by any means; one was able to judge if one read between the lines of the Communiqués that day by day almost, and all through the winter, harrying tactics were being successfully carried on all along the Front. So much so, in fact, that the Austrian Generals must have often found themselves in a quandary for satisfactory matter for their daily reports.
The winter passed with ding-dong trench warfare, when the rate of progress could at times be only reckoned by yards in a week. Still, it was progress, and every yard was bringing the Italians nearer to their immediate objective, Gorizia.
Meanwhile the extraordinary and quite unexpected recuperative power of the Austrians was becoming more and more en evidence as was also the fact, unfortunately demonstrated by the heavy losses of the Italians, that they were putting up a desperate fight.
Gorizia had proved a veritable Verdun. Every hill and bluff being found to be fortified and honeycombed with deep entrenchments, which would have entailed enormous sacrifice of life to capture at this stage of the operations.
It looked, therefore, like taking months to accomplish what the Italians had fondly hoped would be but an affair of weeks, though considering the unforseen difficulties that had to be overcome, it redounded to the credit of General Cadorna and his lieutenants that so much could be recorded as actually compassed.
The occupation of two thousand square miles of Austrian territory with a population of over 300,000, was an achievement which in itself was sufficient answer to those captious stay-at-home arm-chair critics who were continually asking “What is Italy doing?”