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The passage of the Isonzo, here a deep cleft in the mountains, from Plava to above Canale, had been accomplished by the combined skill and valour of Infantry, Artillery and Engineers. The preliminary work of the Engineers in roadmaking on the western side of the river had been, as always, worthy of the highest praise.
It was decided, after some discussion, to attach me temporarily to a Battery which had one officer in hospital, slightly wounded by shrapnel. I continued my journey in another motor lorry after lunch. Gradisca lies on the western bank of the Isonzo, which is crossed close by at Peteano by a magnificent broad wooden bridge, the work of Italian engineers.
Austria would appear to have little to gain from a conquest of Italian provinces in which her former rule brought her the deep and ordained resentment of the Italian people. During the month of January, 1916, the southern theatre of war was comparatively quiet. The forces under General Cadorna maintained their offensive on the Isonzo without any decisive revolt taking place.
It rained in torrents during my stay in Gorizia, but, as we recrossed the Isonzo onto the Friulian plain, the sinking sun burst through a rift in the leaden clouds and turned into a huge block of rosy coral the red rampart of the Carso. Beyond that wall, scarce a dozen miles as the airplane flies, but many times that distance as the big gun travels, lies Trieste.
The Austrians so far had resisted all Italian attempts to take Goritz, an important town on the Isonzo, about twenty-two miles northwest of Trieste. With Goritz in the hands of the Austrians Trieste was safe. For it could not be approached by the Italians as long as this important position threatened the flank and rear of any army attacking Trieste along the seashore.
Five squadrons were sent to Italy after the Italian retreat from the Isonzo and took a prominent part in the final Austrian defeat; a Royal Air Force contingent was sent to Russia to operate from Archangel; and material assistance was given to France and the other Allies, but especially to the United States in the training and equipment of her air forces.
As one goes eastward by this railway, there is a grand panorama of hills, circling the whole horizon; to the north and north-east the Carnic Alps and Cadore, their highest summits crowned with snow even in the full heat of summer; eastward the Julian Alps, beyond the Isonzo, stretching from a point north of Tolmino, down behind the Carso, almost to Fiume in the south-east; and yet further round the circle to the southward the mountains of Istria, running behind Trieste and its wide blue gulf, whose waters are invisible from this railway across the plain.
Another force penetrated further to the north in the Crown land of Gorizia, and Gradisco. Reports from Italy were that encounters with the enemy had thus far been merely outpost skirmishes, but had allowed Italy to occupy advantageous positions on Austrian territory. By June 1st, the Italians had occupied the greater part of the west bank of the Isonzo, with little opposition.
Naturally, in such a country the advantage is always with the defensive. It is significant that throughout the half year there are few dispatches indicating strong counterattacks on the part of the Bulgarians. Next to the Trentino the Isonzo was the part of the Austro-Italian front which had seen most fighting in the past.
As announced by the German imperial chancellor, the concessions Austria was willing to make were as follows: Cession to Italy of that part of Tyrol and the western bank of the Isonzo inhabited by Italians, and of the town of Gradisca. Trieste to be made an imperial free city, receiving an administration insuring an Italian character to the city, and to have an Italian university.
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