These rumors were gradually dissipated by the successive measures taken by the Italian Government and the requisitioning of the German interned vessels revealed her as in full cooperation with the Allies. There were also other considerations that weighed with Italy. The submarine had revealed itself as a powerful destructive weapon, and the toll taken by it of allied ships was a heavy one. It was seen that the transfer of German vessels to the flag of Italy and their use by the Allies would do much toward relieving the congestion of goods at American docks which were awaiting shipment to the allied countries. The loot of German vessels then in Italian ports and their tonnage formed a formidable total. They were as follows: At Ancona, Lemnos, 24,873 tons; at Bari, Waltraute, 3,818; at Cagliari, Spitzfels, 5,809; at Catania, Lipari, 1,539; at Genoa, Hermesburg, 2,824, König Albert, 10,484, Moltke, 12,325, Prinz-Regent Luitpold, 6,595; at Girgenti, Imbros, 2,380; at Leghorn, Amalfi, 1,756, Termini, 1,523; at Licata, Portfino, 1,745; at Naples, Bayern, 8,000, Marsala, 1,753, Herania, 6,455; at Palermo, Algier, 3,127, Catania, 3,000, Tunis, 1,833; at Savona, Bastia, 1,527; at Syracuse, Albany, 5,882, Ambria, 5,143, Barcelona, 5,465, Katterturm, 6,018, Mudros, 3,137, Sigmaringen, 5,710, Italia, 3,498; at Venice, Samo, 1,922, Volos, 1,903; at Massowah, Aspemfell, 4,361, Borkum, 5,645, Choising, 1,657, Christian X, 4,956, Ostmark, 4,400, Persepolis, 5,446, Segovia, 4,945, and Sturmfels, 5,660. All these were at the end of February, 1916, put into the service of the Allies, compensating in some degree for the losses suffered by each of these nations from mines and the deadly submarine.[Back to Contents]
CHAPTER L
RENEWED ATTACKS—ITALY'S SITUATION AT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH, 1916
During the month of February, 1916, the war on the Italian front continued with bitterness but without decisive result. Early in the month the Austrians attacked the heights of Oslavia northwest of Gorizia, capturing 1,200 men and several trenches. Several days later the Italians achieved some results after weeks of hammering in the Sugana Valley. They captured the mountainous region of Collo and also occupied the towns of Roncegno and Romchi. By this new acquisition of territory the Italians came almost within striking distance of one of their chief objectives in the war—the city of Trent—which lies, protected on the northeast and north by a line of forts, fifteen miles west of the conquered terrain. Meanwhile several aerial attacks, which had been fitfully chronicled since the beginning of the war, brought anxiety to the coast towns of Italy. Venice with its arsenal was visited more than once. In February, 1916, hostile aeroplanes bombarded the town of Setio, fifteen miles from Vicenza, killing six persons, wounding many others, and doing considerable material damage. The aerial attack on Setio was the third reported in one week on Italian cities, following raids on the districts of Ravenna and Milan. Setio is in northeastern Italy, fifteen miles south of the Austrian border, and fifty miles northwest of Venice. On February 14, 1916, Austrian aeroplanes dropped bombs on Rimini, but were chased to the east by the fire of antiaircraft batteries.
In the last week of February, 1916, a report that Durazzo, an Albanian port on the Adriatic Sea, had been evacuated by the Italian troops was confirmed. The Italian brigade stationed there had been withdrawn, it was officially declared. The Italian troops were drawn back in company with Serbians, Montenegrins, and Albanians. Men and horses were gathered together, revictualed, and transported with light losses in the midst of grave difficulties, by the combined action of Italian and allied warships and Italian troops along the Albanian coast. When the evacuation was completed by the departure of the Albanian Government from Durazzo, the Italian brigade assigned to the city began a retreat, which was accomplished according to plan despite serious attacks from the Austrian forces, which advanced as far as the isthmuses to the east and north of Durazzo. The fall of the city of Durazzo resulted from the defeat of the Italian and the Albanian forces under Essad Pasha, the provisional president. A strong line of outer defenses for the city had been constructed and the indications were that a spirited resistance would be offered. The Austrian and German forces attacked at daybreak. The defenders were soon ejected from their positions at Bazar Sjak. Soon afterward the Italians on the southern bank of the lower Arzen were forced to abandon their positions. The Austrians crossed the river and proceeded southward. At noon a decisive action east of Bazar Sjak drove the Italians from strong positions. The same fate was suffered by the defenders of Sassa Bianeo, six miles east of Durazzo. By the evening of February 23, 1916, the entire outer girdle of defenses was taken. The attackers, advancing to the inner line positions, established the fact that the Italians were embarking their troops hurriedly. The final result was that the only position held by Italian troops in the Balkans was Avlona in Albania. The situation was viewed with much concern in Italy, where the ambition was to make the Adriatic an Italian sea. It was an unsatisfactory result of a series of operations in which Italian interests were vital, but in which Italians had taken but a negligible part. The conquest of most of the territory north of Greece had left the Austro-Germans with a large army released for work elsewhere. French and British were intrenching strongly at Saloniki, backed by a powerful fleet. The Italians still held Avlona. Greece remained neutral, but was filled with resentment against the Allies, who were repeatedly violating her territory. Bulgaria, flushed with victory, now held her strong army in leash. Serbia and Montenegro had gone down before the invader. Rumania was resisting every effort whether by threat or force or cajolement to lead her into war. The situation called for the most serious consideration from Italy and her allies.
During February, 1916, M. Briand, the French Premier, was the guest of the Italian Government in Rome, where he had gone with the object—the words are M. Briand's—"of establishing a closer and more fruitful cooperation between the Italians and their allies." Political cooperation was complete, he declared, but military cooperation on their part had been admittedly less so, and that was the supreme want of the moment. Italy rightly hesitated to embark on adventure, but in order to secure her political aims her primary object was identical with that of her allies, namely, to break down the military strength of the Central Powers. For this purpose it was necessary to strike together, and strike at the enemy's heart. The world knew what Italians wanted, and meant to get—the Italian Trentino and Trieste; but frontal attacks were costly, as General Cadorna had discovered, and the Italian strategist had not yet said his last word.
The fate of Trieste might perhaps be more quickly decided on the Danube than on the Isonzo. There was a general agreement that an error had been committed by the Allies in letting the Central Powers cross the Danube into Serbia. Except along the 250-mile gap between the Adriatic and the Serbo-Rumanian frontier, the Central Powers were blockaded either by ships and soldiers or by neutral territory. Opinions differed as to where the Allies should strike to reach the heart of Germany, but there were many who thought that the first offensive should be to close the gateway into the Balkans by reconquering Serbia and cutting the communications between the Central Powers and their allies. Time would show what the allied Governments meant to do, but if this intention was to get back to the Danube half a million men would be required at Saloniki with an equal force in reserve.
It was generally admitted that the territorial ambitions of Italy had been seriously checked by the development of Austrian strength. The war as originally planned on the Austro-Italian frontier was to be one of swift movement in the direction of Trieste and Dalmatia; with the gradual cooperation of the Balkan nations and a general invasion into the interior of Austria. Until, therefore, decided headway could be made on the Isonzo front and Gorizia had fallen, a feeling-out movement would appear the best to be followed. The Italian people were learning to accept the delay with philosophic resignation. The axiom of Napoleon was recalled that it was always the unsuspected that happened in war, and events in the other fighting areas enabled them to grasp the difficulties of the situation on their own border.
Already in February, 1916, the conquest of Montenegro and the capture of Mount Lovchen, long the nightmare of Italian statesmen, by the Austrians, began to be less a subject of anxiety. Serious blow as it was to Italian prestige, it did not appear irreparable. Even before, Austria had already a magnificent series of natural harbors in the Adriatic. But it was argued that Austria had not a sufficiently strong fleet to take advantage of the new wonderful natural harbor now entirely in her possession. The chief perils lay in the formidable obstacle to naval activity formed by Mount Lovchen, with 305-mm. guns mounted on its summit and in the facile use of the Bocca di Cattaro as a submarine base from which to harass the Italian fleet. Italy, it was recognized, was contending with geographical disadvantages everywhere, but in the Adriatic more than elsewhere, owing to the peculiarly tame configuration of her coast line. As compared with that on the eastern side of the Adriatic the contrast was great.
Nature had, indeed, been lavish in her gifts to Austria in this direction. Deep water inlets forming natural harbors, which at the present time are invaluable as harbors for warships or as submarine bases, are to be found all along the Dalmatian coast.