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Updated: May 20, 2025
They had taken that day 480 prisoners, and more than 30 guns, and had destroyed many more. Next morning the 144th Brigade seized all their objectives with little difficulty; the Winterstellung existed no longer. The Division held the entrance and both sides of the Val d'Assa, and began to march up it towards their final objective, the Val Sugana, one of the main nerves of the enemy system.
The Bucks, who were out on the left, brought back similar word, and it was apparent that a general retirement had been carried out to their Winterstellung, or Winter Lines, which ran along the northern slopes and barred ingress into the side valleys which led up to the railway of the Val Sugana.
For a while the situation had been critical owing to the gap between the second and third bridgeheads. But by the 28th fresh Divisions had crossed the river at all three bridgeheads, and spread out fanwise, linking up the gaps in the line. The same day on the Asiago Plateau the enemy at last fell hurriedly back to his Winterstellung, and British troops occupied the ruins of Asiago itself.
If, on the other hand, we had followed up an Austrian retreat to their Winterstellung by the occupation of Asiago and the throwing forward of our line across the Plateau, the relative situation would have been reversed.
The possibility of such an advance being attempted was evidently still in the minds of the Staff, for our forward or Battle Position at San Sisto had to be kept in constant readiness for occupation, and it was suggested by some that the occasion for a big attack would be the moment when the enemy was in the act of retiring voluntarily to his Winterstellung, necessarily a somewhat difficult and risky operation.
It was the key of the whole of this section of the Winterstellung, as it overlooked the trenches on either side. At 5.35 the attack was launched; C and D Companies, from right to left, were charged with the assault; they advanced close behind a barrage. Each had a section widely extended in advance as skirmishers, the main body advancing in two lines.
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