Then began, on July 20, a great general Italian assault on a 75-mile line from Tarvis to the Adriatic shore. A dispatch from Turin from the correspondent of The London Daily Chronicle announced a victorious advance by the Italians on the Carso plateau, east of Sagrado, with the capture of 2,000 Austrian prisoners. The War Office in Rome reported on July 21 that while the Italian defense continued to develop energetically in Cadore, and the artillery was effectively working in Carnia, the struggle in the Isonzo zone continued with increasing intensity. Toward Goritz the Italians gained part of the line of the heights which form the right bank of the river commanding the town and the Isonzo bridges. On the Carso Plateau the Austrians were reported driven from some trenches, and 3,500 prisoners and much material captured. On July 22 the fall of Goritz and Tolmino was reported to be near, the War Office in Rome announcing a development of the offensive "along the whole front from Monte Nero to the Carso Plateau. Vienna reported that the heavy attacks were being repulsed. But on July 23 the official report from Rome for the first time declared that the Italian armies in the battle along the whole Isonzo front were achieving success," which was "constantly becoming more clearly apparent." On July 24 a dispatch from Udine said that General Cadorna was personally directing the battle in the presence of King Victor Emmanuel and the Duke of Aosta. A Milan dispatch to The London Daily News on July 25 reported the evacuation of Goritz by the Austrian General Staff in view of the imminence of its fall. Below appears a prospective account of Italy's formidable task, written on July 1 by an Italian correspondent of The London Morning Post.
The Task of Italy
[By a Special Correspondent of The London Morning Post]
Cormons, July 1.
The Italian battle for the conquest of the fortified lines on the Isonzo and the entrenched camps of Gorizia is one of the most important in the European conflict. The battle of the Isonzo is not to be regarded as a mere episode, but a prolonged siege over a front of more than a hundred miles of a natural fortress, consisting of a chain of precipitous mountains. Perhaps never before in a European war has the value of individual qualities been shown so conclusively as by the Italian troops in this war. The very steep cliffs, which are almost perpendicular, along the course of the river are almost impossible to scale. The mountain passes which open along the river are very few and also narrow. In addition the geological nature of that district, composed of strong walls of granite towers, which dominate the River Isonzo, is favorable to its defence.
To this natural defense have been added strong fortifications built by the Austrians during past years in anticipation of being used for the subjugation of Italians at some time or other. Finally, during the last nine months of Italy's neutrality the Austrians have employed the latest technical improvements in defensive warfare, and I have never seen their equal during my excursions to the front in France and Belgium, not even at Antwerp. This remark applies especially to Carso and Gorizia.
The artillery officers of the Italian Military Staff whom I met at the front have explained to me the nature of the Austrian defensive works. Upon the Carso and around Gorizia the Austrians have placed innumerable batteries of powerful guns mounted on rails and protected by armor plates. Numerous other artillery advantages are possessed by the Austrians in the form of medium and smaller guns, though the efficiency of their action is modified by the long distances separating the armies.
In view of these advantages possessed by the Austrians, the Italians have accomplished marvels and are worthy of great admiration. The infantry is much exposed while crossing large and deep rivers. With the exception of the two positions of Podgora and Sabotino, all the Austrian line on the Isonzo has been taken by the Italians.
To the conquest of Gorizia are directed the efforts of the Eastern Italian Army. The Italian infantry which crossed the Isonzo ran against a net of trenches which the Austrians had excavated and constructed in cement all along the edge of the hills which dominate the course of the river. These trenches, already occupying a position nearly impregnable because so mountainous, are defended by every modern protective device. They are armed with numerous machine-guns surrounded by wire entanglements, through which runs a strong electric current. These lines of trenches follow without interruption from the banks of the Isonzo to the summit of the mountains which dominate it. They form a kind of formidable staircase, which must be conquered step by step with enormous sacrifice. The Italian troops have accomplished this marvel.