THE ITALIAN OFFENSIVE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3313, 12 September 1917, Page 13

THE ITALIAN OFFENSIVE.

The Italians are furiously bombarding Monts San Gabrielle and San Daniele. Th2 former mountain has been completely isolated for the past week, and its mountain batteries' reply is feeble, owing to the heavy artillery having been removed to the Ternova Plateau. The Austrian prisoners now coming in belong to reserve units.

A despatch received by the Italian Embassy to the United States says that tha Germans rushed to the Austro-ltalian front are being pushed back. The Emperor Charles visited the front for tho purpose of encouraging the Austrians; but the Italians continue successful. The Germans have enabled the _ Austrians .to transfer five additional divisions from the eastern to the Italian front. Austria is depleting some of her garrisons to provide further reinforcements. General Koevess is succeeding General Soroevic, owing to the latter's failure in the eleventh Isonzo battle Tho Corriere della Sera (Milan) _ states that several thousand Austrians remain concealed in caverns on the Careo Plateau until the Italians reach the third and fourth Austrian lines. They then emerge and attack the Italians in the rear, catching tho Italians between two General Oadorna. however, foreseeing this danger, held another force in readiness to assail tha emerging Austrians, and this plan has proved successful, several entire Austrian battalions being taken prisoner. A letter found on an Austrian prisone? describes the terrible scarcity of food and clothing in Trieste. There is no oil, rice, potatoes, sugar, or coffee, and very little meat, so that the people are dying of starve tion. FIGHT FOR SAN GABRIELLE. News has been received in London that the Italians have captured Monte San Gabrielle, on the way to the Ternova Plateau. The Central News Agency confirms the Italians' capture of Monte San Gabrielle (north-east of Gorizia). with many prisoners and much booty. The Cologne Gazette foreshadows a further Austrian retirement. Austrian war correspondents stato that Monte San Gabrielle (north-east of Gorizia) is still hold by the Austrians against many massed attacks. The Italians captured tha summit several times, but were thrown back On the Italian front on Wednesday (sth inst.) fighting north-east of Gorizia was restarted with violence, sufficiently proving that tho Austrians had been " lying low' for the past few d;iys. It has been found that definite deductions cannot be drawn from tho comparative quiescence of the enemy's artillery. If it is less active than the Italian, it doe 3 not necessarily signify a shortage of ammunition. The heavy hir«Hq r dnjPTit on 4th inst. of the Italian communications in and around (.ion/, a show:- it the Austrians are alivo to the importance of the present position. They are continually bringing up reserves and enormous numbers of machine guns, and are sacrificing regiment after regiment in the hope of weakening the Italian attacks. Their old formidable trenches are now wiped out, and an Homeric struggle has developed, with continuous hand-to-hand fighting. Meanwhile the Italians are pitilessly shelling the Austrian caves and dugouts. Latest prisoners state that thousands of wounded have boen lying for three davs, and it is, impossible to succour them. The Austrian offensive on tho Carso no doubt aims at breaking the circle of steel which is gradually closing round Hermada. Mr Percival Gibbon writes: —"The Austrians are counter-attacking from ft triple mile line of defences between Kaotanjevica

and the coast. The great east and west valley of Brestovizza gives a highway for the attackers, while the heavily-armed Hermada slopes run steeply down to the southern end of the Italian line immediately ?outh of Kastanjevica. The Austrians have ess advantage in fighting on .the level country. Here they were stopped dead, and their offensive power was destroyed. The Austrian " shock " troops made seven successive attacks, from which there were few survivors. The Austrians at the rear of Hermada charged downhill, and, supported by furious shelling, they entered the Italian lines at two points. The Italian and British gunners put up a shrapnel curtain and shut out the reserves. The Italians simultaneously attacked, and won back both points, inflicting heavy losses. The Messagero states that a most violent battle continues round the forts east of Gorizia. The_ Austrians have already sacrificed five divisions. The Agenzia Liberta says the Italian victories have greatly alarmed Austrian mili tary which are beginning to realise the possibility of a colossal effort to deal Austria a mortal blow. Exceptional measures have been taken to bar the road to Vienna, and all the available troops have been sent to the Tolmino sector, where the Italians' next great effort is expected. The Austrians claim that thev have Eressed back the Italians at Monte San rabrielle, inflicting heavy losses. They also claim to have recovered'the ground lost in the Hermada sector, and that the;, captured--6460 prisoners. ITALIAN OFFICIAL REPORTS. Italian official reports state: The battle on the J".lian front has been renewed violently. We captured an important position south-westward of Okroglo. A battle is raging north-east of Gorizia. We captured on the 4th inst. 16S8 prisoners belonging to 10 regiments. The enemy violently attacked between Castagrevizza and the sea. They gained an initial success between the Brestovizza Valley and the sea, but our counter-attack re-estab-lished the line. Two hundred and sixty-one aeroplanes participated in the battle. On the Carso Plateau wo repulsed repeated attacks south of the Brestovizza Valley.

Wo destroyed enemy posts on the Trentino front. North-eastward of Gorizia, the enemy, having suffered heavily, are desperately resisting. The enemy's lines and communications were subjected to an Intense barrage fire. We took prisoner during the actual offensive 30,671 men. AUSTRIAN LOSSES. The Press Bureau at Vienna says that the Austrian divisions on tho Italian front have done their whole duty, but they were orushed in by tho enemy artillery. This is the most significant and serious admission the Austrians have yet made. Already 30,000 Austrian wounded have arrived at Vienna. Tho hospitals there and in the other Austrian cities are overcrowded, and emergencey institutions have been opened. The authorities at Budapest declined to receive 2000 wounded, as the hospitals there are already being overcrowded with wounded from Galicia and tho Bukowina. Austrian prisoners on the Italian front total 30,000. The enemy losses since tho beginning of the offensive are eistimated at 120,000. Mr M'Cluro. correspondent of The Times, describing the fighting round Gorizia, says: "Tho enemy losses are appalling. The capture of 122 officers during the past two days reveals the extent of tho Italian successes._ Under the Austrian system tho majority of the officers do not participate in tho fighting, but remain in caverns and 'funk-holes' at tho rear, where they are now being dug out in batches after the lino is broken. In the Oarso fighting +ho Austrians were repeatedly broken, suffering the bloodiest losses. The trenches were filled with long swathes of dead." An Austrian official message states: Since A '.gust 19 we took prisoner on tho Isonzo front 500 officers and 18,000 men.

The Bulgarians have refused to send reinforcements to Austria. Relations are

strained. Disagreements have arisen concerning Serbia, where there have been open conflicts between ,the Austrian and the Bulgarian troops.