Amid the onslaught of overwhelming masses of the enemy, the Italians fell back slowly. The retreat, as in other instances of the war, was the most terrible for the civilian inhabitants. There was an enormous movement Westward. All the roads were packed with dense traffic, with four or five lines abreast of teams, automobiles, motor trucks, pack mules, artillery wagons, and ox carts. The soldiers marched or rode, singly, in groups, in regiments, in brigades, or in divisions.
"It was such a time as the world has seldom witnessed," said a Red Cross spectator. "Even fields and by-roads were utilized for the colossal migration. The only wonder was that the great army was able to withdraw at all and establish itself along the new line of defense.
"Many heartrending scenes were witnessed along the route, as the torrential rain and the vast zone of mud increased the misery of the moving multitude. Food was scarce and many went without it for days, while sleep was impossible as the throng trudged westward. The military hospitals were evacuated, with all other establishments, and pale and wounded patients obliged to join in the rearguard march or fall into the hands of the enemy. The roads were strewn with dead horses.
"Families with eight or ten children, the youngest clinging tightly to the grandfather, trudged amid ranks of soldiers of many descriptions." The safe retirement of the Tagliamento was due to the unexampled heroism of large bodies of Italians, of such spirit as the Alpine troops on Monte Nero, who refused to surrender, and the regiments of Bersaglieri at Monte Maggiore, the members of which perished to the last man rather than yield ground. It was by such resistance in the face of overwhelming forces of the enemy that the civil population was able to retire. And it was owing to the valor of Italian aviators, combating the Austro-German army of the air, that the fleeing women, children and old men, who crowded the roads, were not struck down by bursting bombs.
By November 1 General Cadorna's forces had effected their retirement behind the Tagliamento River line, but at the cost of tremendous losses, aggregating 180,000 prisoners and 1,500 guns. It was soon seen, however, that the Tagliamento line could not be successfully held against the enemy and a further retirement was carried out, Southward through the mountainous country to a shorter line along the Piave River East of Venice and Northwesterly to the Trentino boundary. This gave French and British reinforcements the opportunity to arrive in sufficient numbers to aid in checking the invaders.
As one result of the Italian reverses, General Cadorna was relieved of the chief command, though he was credited with a masterly retreat. He was succeeded by General Diaz.
The Austro-German offensive continued steadily for three weeks and on November 21 was being pressed on three main fronts: First, along the Piave River; second, from the Piave to the Brenta; third, from the Brenta across the Asiago Plateau. The Italian troops were holding firm and inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. The spirit of the Italian people was calm and public opinion strongly supported the most stubborn resistance to the invader. Although all the fruits of Italy's two years of strife had been swept away in a single month and a dread enemy was reaching ever forward, seeking her most treasured possessions of art and industry, the internal dissensions which Germany probably hoped to start had not appeared. The population of Venice, however, had been reduced from 160,000 to 20,000.
ANARCHY RAMPANT IN RUSSIA
The Imperial government of Russia, headed by Premier Kerensky, was ousted on November 7, when a period of practical anarchy set in. On the evening of that day a congress of workmen's and soldiers' delegates assembled in Petrograd, with 560 delegates in attendance. Without preliminary discussion the congress elected officers pledged to make "a democratic peace." They included fourteen so-called Maximalists or members of the Bolsheviki (majority), the radical Socialist party suspected of pro-German tendencies, headed by Nikolai Lenine and Leon Trotzky; also seven revolutionary Socialists. These leaders at once sent an ultimatum to the Kerensky government, demanding their surrender within 20 minutes. The government replied indirectly, refusing to recognize the Bolsheviki committee. Rioting then broke out and the Winter Palace, headquarters of the provisional government, was besieged by troops favorable to the rebels. The cruiser Aurora, firing from the Neva River, and the guns of the St. Peter and St. Paul fortress bombarded the palace and early next morning compelled the surrender of the government forces defending it. Women of the "Battalion of Death," armed with machine guns and rifles, were among the defenders, who held out for four hours. Soon the Bolsheviki were in complete control of the city, Kerensky was in flight, several members of his cabinet were arrested by the rebels, and the provisional government was no more.
Several weeks of political and industrial chaos in Russia followed the Lenine coup d' etat, which was a triumph, probably temporary, of extremists. A number of the commissioners appointed by the Lenine-Trotzky faction to carry on the government, gave up their posts within a few days, characterizing the Bolsheviki regime as "impossible" and as inevitably involving "the destruction of the revolution and the country."