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Six months on the Italian front cover

Six months on the Italian front

Chapter 20: CHAPTER XVIII
By Julius M. Price
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About This Book

A war-artist correspondent records six months spent with the Italian army at the front, blending travel notes, illustrated sketches, and immediate battlefield reportage. He describes movement from major cities to frontline towns, dealings with military authorities and press censorship, everyday life under mobilisation, the challenges of mountain and Adriatic sectors, aerial raids on urban centres, and the logistical and tactical preparations that preceded assaults culminating in the capture of Gorizia. The narrative interweaves descriptive vignettes of trenches, troop movements, medical and supply work, and portraits of leadership and soldiery, offering vivid, on-the-spot impressions rather than technical strategic analysis.

CHAPTER XVIII

Big operations on the Carso—General optimism—No risks taken—Great changes brought about by the victory—A trip to the new lines—Gradisca and Sagrado—A walk round Gradisca—Monte San Michele—Sagrado—Disappearance of Austrian aeroplanes and observation balloons—Position of Italian “drachen” as compared with French—On the road to Doberdo—Moral of troops—Like at a picnic—A regiment on its way to the trenches—The Italian a “thinker”—Noticeable absence of smoking—My first impression of the Carso—Nature in its most savage mood—The Brighton downs covered with rocks—Incessant thunder of guns—Doberdo hottest corner of the Carso—No troops—Stroll through ruins of street—Ready to make a bolt—A fine view—The Austrian trenches—Shallow furrows—Awful condition of trenches—Grim and barbarous devices—Austrian infamies—Iron-topped bludgeons, poisoned cigarettes, etc.—Under fire—A dash for a dug-out—The imperturbable Carabinieri—Like a thunderbolt—A little incident—Brilliant wit—The limit of patience—The Italian batteries open fire—No liberties to be taken—On the way back—Effect of the heavy firing—Motor ambulances—Magnified effect of shell fire on Carso—Rock splinters—Terrible wounds.