It was an open secret that had it not been for an error of judgment and generalship on the Italian side, the Austrians would never have been so near achieving success.
The sudden mise en retraite of one of the best known generals, together with several divisional officers, bore this out, and proved that General Cadorna will not overlook incompetency at a critical moment, however high-placed may be the offender, or what his previous record may be. This faculty, if one can so term it, of coming to rapid decisions and holding by them is one of the most characteristic traits of the Italian Generalissimo.
In the Trentino the weeks following the great push may, therefore, have appeared quiet in comparison with what had taken place during these exciting days, but they were by no means uneventful; on the contrary, they were marked by two exceptionally brilliant exploits which, as was seen, had considerable influence on operations elsewhere, and went far to consolidating the Italian gains.
The mining and blowing up of the important Austrian position on the Castalleto summit, east of the peak of Col dei Bos, was one of these feats.
The work was entrusted to the Alpini, and was brilliantly carried out, as may be imagined, for the Alpini never do things by halves. With infinite perseverence, and in the face of continual difficulty, and peril, a tunnel some twelve hundred yards in length was bored, an immense charge of dynamite was exploded, and the whole of the Austrian force that occupied the summit was buried in the wreckage.
This success restored to the Italians the command of the Dolomites Road, and enabled them to resist all attempts on the part of the Austrians to regain the position.
The other great event of the month was the recapture of Monte Cimone, the mountain which towers above Arsiero. This exploit was also accomplished by the Alpini.
The table-like summit had been in the possession of the Austrians since the latter part of May, and had been transformed by them into a veritable citadel, and one of the strongest points on their line of defence in this region.
The Alpini, as was to be expected from these mountaineering athletes, set out without hesitation to accomplish what must have looked like the impossible to the ordinary soldier, though it was really but a repetition of previous heroic exploits of a like nature.
It appeared to me as a layman, incredible that anything but a chamois could clamber up the cliff-like front of Cimone—that any human being could do it never occurred to me for a moment.