ITALIAN TROOPS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144778, 7 September 1915, Page 4

ITALIAN TROOPS.

IN THE ALPINE PASSES. BATTLE FOR A MOUNTAIN-TOP. Those who have employed Italian labourers readily grant that 1 they are willing and cheerful workers. That they are also capable ot tho heaviest kind of manual effort, that they are temperate, enduring, and are simple in their wants, is amply testified to by the builders of the Italian great railroads, and by the engineers of tho monumental constructions and of tunnels and dams. These very qualities (writes Gino C. Speranza in New York Evening Post) are to-day proving excellent assets in the w;ar that Italy is waging against Austria—these qualities, coupled with two others which he have had little opportunity to put to the test here, bin. which are as characteristically Italian as the, others we know of. One is daring or indifference to danger, of which we have some examples in our count’rv. such as the readiness ot Italian workmen to undertake highly hazardous labour and tho more picturesque exhibition of it by Italian automobile drivers on some of our racecourses. The other characteristic which is proving a great asset in the war, but which we have had no opportunity to see in play here, is tho Italian democratic snirit. ; How all these qualities arc powerfully contributing to the success of the Italian war plans for a greater Italy and a freer Europe is already being proved by the daily reports, official and otherwise, reaching us from the battlefront. 1 WORK IN ALPS. It is to bo borne in mind that a considerable part of the work of strengthening the frontier defences and of mobilising supplies and reserves at military bases near the border had to he carried on at a season of tho year niton operations of this kind have been considered practically impossible, owing to tiie deep snows and rigorous weather m those Alpine regions. But, as the spring was to sec war, it was absolutely necessary both for Austria and Italy to attempt to do even the “impossible.” Some of the Alpine passes, such, for instance, as 'that of the Stclvio, hear tho Swiss border, are covered by 30 feet •of snow and more during three-quarters of the year; yet during the months preceding tho war they have been kept clear of snow by sappers, cleared repeatedly after frequent snowstorms, and the ground dug and blasted with numerous trenches. At the declaration of war,_ on May 24, there were from 9 to 15 feet of snow over this mountain, but an unusually mild spring reduced this harrier very rapidly before June 20, which is tho “opening day” of this pass in normal times.. : In the Trentlno region very manv roads and paths were blown up and destroved by the Austrians shortly before the ‘declaration of hostilities. Italian engineering soldiers have done marvels in rebuilding them and opening new ones at various points. In the first week in June nearly 1700 feet of nntio paths wore cut into tho rock at one place in three days. The mounting of heavy batteries by Italian artillorymcn on peaks in Austrian territnry, which in some instances are 7000 and 8000 feet up in the air, has meant the blasting and making of rough roads along precipices heretotore deemed impassable and cut into the living rock. ADVANCE ON ISONZO FRONT. The advance on the Isonzo front has called for a distinctly different kind of engineering work. This front has been well described as a long fortress constituted of a chain of mountains with the Isonzo River flowing at its base like n moat. , Tho Austrians destroyed all bridges across this “moat” except those bridging it at the great places of Goritz and Tolmino. Tho Italian cn-, gineering corps, therefore, have had to construct pontoon bridges in sufficient numbers and with sufficient rapidity to allow the quick passage of enough sappers, hersaglieri, and artillery to construct and defend bridge-heads on the opposite side of the Isonzo against fire from Australian heavy artillery stationed in the mountains towering above the bank with tho Italians were attacking. The brilliant dashes of the borsaglieri up such slopes would Have been impossible without the courageous and patient labour of the engineers, who. under a murderous fire from the enemy, kept on throwing over new bridges and repairing those destroyed bv the Austrian artillery. In the Cadoro region Italian troops 'are' encamped at heights of from 6000 to 9000 feet, under a hot sun in the day and very low temperature at night. Trenches have had to. bo built at such heights and over such steep cliffs that tho soldiers clung to the-rocks much as our linemen hang to telegraph poles in repairing telephone wires in our coimtrv. When the stormed the

Tonale Pass and the heights above it (9000 feet), they encountered snow nine feet deep in ■ their ascent. The taking of Mount Pasubio in tho Lake Garda region early in the war will give a. good. idea .of the kind of warfare that the character of the country necessitates. The Italians in their attack had to ascend to Mount Pasubio from the side towards Italy, which has not oven the semblance of a road. They had before them a height of over 10,000 feet. to bo climbed slowly, noiselessly, and as much hidden from the view of sentries at its top as was possible. They, chose a misty night, and wore led by expert Alpine guides. In the occasional stops the soldiers would jokingly ask in a whisper, “What’s the name of this mountain?” and receive tho jocose reply, “Don’t know, but onr officer thinks it ought to bo called Mount Vesuvius.” It took several hours to r each the top, the only incidents being that an Austrian sentinel had to be suddenly pounced upon and gagged before he could utter a cry of alarm, and a troop of the enemy put to flight in a direction away from the Australian base. At dawn the Italian fusiliers had run up tho tri-colour on the top of Mount Pasubio, and then promptly began building fornolli with loose stones for a much deserved breakfact. However, tho forts on the adjoining mountains began immediately a well-directed artillery fire, but the heavy guns from the Italian side silenced Hie Austrian fire after a fivohonr bombardment. In this feat of arms, artillery, Alpinists, and fusiliers co-operated to effectively strengthen a strategically weak spot in the Italian frontier, where the prosperous valley of the Astico was exposed to Austrian invasions. , . Swiss soldiers relate the following incident which they witnessed from the border of their country near tho Stclvio Pass, where Swiss, Italian, and Austrian territory come together:—Seven Italian Alpini were surprised by a large contingent of Austrian Jaegers near the Swiss line. The Alpini, with the agility of clftimois, scrambled «ph steep cliff and prepared to sell their lives dearly. An attempt to storm the peak was given up after the first disastrous attempt, and the Austrians settled down to besiege them. The Italians held out for two days until reinforcements came up and relieved them. Twentv rifles and as many Austrian kepis scattered about the base of the cliff here testimony to the excellent marksmanship of tho seven Alpini, who escaped unscathed. Indeed, the successes of 'the Italians in the Alpine regions must bo attributed largely to a daring advance over precipitous passes, narrow paths where soldiers can march only m single file, and the scaling of heights winch the enemy left largely unprotected, reiving on what were deemed impregnable and impassable natural obstacles. In this hold offensive the services of smugglers (or, as they are I more politely called now, ex-smugglers), who in times of peace carried on contraband trade on a largo scale in some of these regions, have been of aid to the Italians, for whom they acted as guides. ■ But it is the good humour ot tho troops and the democratic relations between officers and men which observers of all nations at the front dwell upon with great stress. . This democratic spirit in tho army is no new thing. It is partly due to tho fact that tho officers are drawn largely from the middle class: It has been said that the war has brought out this quality to such a fine degree, that the Italian army on the battlefields to-day is inspiringly a people's army. Ao Italian soldier can say that he has gone where his officer durst not go; the Italian press is full of announcements of tho death of high and petty officers who fell leading their men.