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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.
But this conquest did not help much. No guns of great caliber could be carried on the mountain, and Tolmino, which had been heavily fortified, and contained a garrison of some thirty thousand men, was entirely safe. The following week there were repeated counter-attacks at Plava and on Monte Nero, but the Italians held what they had won.
On the following day, March 19, 1916, fighting continued at the Tolmino bridgehead as a result of Italian efforts to conquer positions firmly in Austro-Hungarian hands. The number of Italians captured reached 925 and the number of machine guns taken was increased to seven. On the Rombon the Austro-Hungarians captured a position and took 145 Italians and two machine guns.
This last disaster was caused by Croats and Bulgarians, who spoke Italian perfectly, having lived among us and taken degrees at our Universities, getting through our lines in the first confusion, dressed in Italian uniform, and sending false telephone messages and signals in our own cipher, ordering a general retreat. It was men from , who first ran away at Rombon and Tolmino.
On May 14, 1917, on the Julian front from Tolmino to the sea the destructive fire of the Italian artillery, directed against strong Austrian positions, reached great intensity and was vigorously answered by numerous Austrian batteries of all calibers.
On June 28, 1917, the artillery struggle was fairly active on the whole front. In answer to the fire directed by the Austrians against Ala the Italians repeatedly shelled the railway station at Calliano. On the Asiago Plateau the Austrians concentrated a violent fire on Agnello Pass. Near Santa Lucia, in the Tolmino region, traffic was interrupted repeatedly by Italian fire.
Italian batteries caused fires to break out on the Austrian Zugna line. Minor encounters favorable to the Italian forces were reported from various places. On the Julian front there were the usual artillery actions. The railway station at Santa Lucia di Tolmino was hit by Italian fire.
The Italian Battery beside us were moving north that night to the Tolmino sector and next day our Left Section was to move out into a position in the open, in order to switch north and shell S. Marco, which we could not reach from our present gun pits.
Again atmospheric conditions enforced a lull in military operations during the next few days and brought to a sudden end what had seemed to be an extensive offensive movement on the part of the Italian forces on the Isonzo front. On March 17, 1916, however, violent fighting again developed on the Isonzo front in the region of the Tolmino bridgehead.
The infantry actions continued during the entire day, supported by artillery and trench mortars, which were keeping the Austrian artillery in check. On the remainder of the front the Austrians attempted various attacks in force on advanced positions northwest of Tolmino and on the Asiago Plateau. All were unsuccessful and resulted in severe casualties to the assailants.
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