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The Dominion. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1917. ITALY'S GREAT PART IN THE STRUGGLE

There need be little hesitation about regarding tho counter-offen-sive opened by . the enemy on tho northern, section o£ the Isonzo front as first and foremost a tribute to the splendid success with which the Italians developed their .offensive, during the spring and summer months. Attempting offensive action at any point in the Italian theatre the enemy must expect to incur losses he cannot afford, and his prospects of gaining advantages which would counter-balance these losses are of tho poorest. Ibis may bo applied oven to the defensivo motive which must be supposed to havo inspired the counter-stroke be is now developing—the hope, namely, of postponing the fate by which Austria is vory plainly threatened. There, is no mystery about tho considerations which nave moved Gerraany, heavily as she is already involved, to send strong forces of men and guns to assist her ally. The fact immediately determining her judgment unquestionably is that the Austrian armies, though they are defending the strongest frontier in the world, have suffered a long succession of disastrous defeats at the hands of the Italians, and are in evident danger of being utterly overwhelmed. Austria s peril and tho fact that the downfall of that country would fatally undermine her own position supply an adequate explanation of Germany s latest departure in military policy.- There is no other explanation that will meet the case. GSrmany is herself hard pressed at the. present moment, and can ill spare troops to act against Italy, one has passed the point at whictf her armies readied their maximum strength, and she is steadily, losing ground on the West front Her hopolcss inferiority in' the Western theatre has been demonstrated in battle after battle. She is. unable to prevent the Allies ejecting her stage by stage from posit cms so vital that she feels herself compelled to squander her dopletetl reserves in abortive attempts to recover them. .In the Western theatre she is short of men, guns, aircraft, and all the essentials of fighting strength, and even under tho conditions of restricted activity due to bad weather and the approach of winter is being steadily hustled along tho road to defeat. Theso circumstances afford a measuro of tho anxiety and alarm with which she must regard tho situation of.her ally. The thought may occur that developments in-Eussia havo given Germany, a margin of strength to

draw upon in seeking to ameni an unfavourable and menacing situ ation in. the Italian theatre. Bu Germany's Eastern front was thin neel months ago to a precariou: point. She has had to take over ar additional length of the- East from in order to relieve Austria; and th< operations based on the Gulf o Riga seem likely to make furthei demands upon her strength. Fra temal regard for Austria has, o course, little to do with Germany': present action. Wc may take il that she is actuated by the strictlj practical consideration, that th< downfall of tho Dual Monarchy would inevitably involvo her owr. downfall. It is a fact to bear it mind that a drive into tho heart oi Austria would be only less fatal t( Germany than an Allied drive across and beyond the Rhine. Givci the conquest of Austria, Germany'; fabric of power would fall in ruins It is hardly necessary to state the consequences to Germany of the col lapse of her principal ally. Shi would bo cut off at a stroke frontier minor allies, who would b( speedily subdued—if, indeed, thej attempted further resistance. Cut of from the Mediterranean, her dreams of Oriental conquest shattered, liei Eastern line outflanked, and callec upon to deal unaided with the un divided strength of tho Allies, it i| to be assumed that Germany would j'fitfd it necessary_ to forthwith sur render, at'discretion. ' The events now reported on th< Isonzo front afford striking evidence- that Germany recognises th< definite possibility of such a collapse of tho Austrian resistance a; would lead to'tho consequences jusl outlined'. A survey of tho positim: reached in the mountain and hilj country .-beyond tho Isonzo lends dc finite support to what is presumably tho German view of the matter. The Austrian defensive barriei —in its original organisation range on range of formidable hill and mountain strongholds—has been disastrously penetrated and breached. In their long-continued offensive the Italians have accomplished a mighty work which will stand for all time as a. monument to their' military prowess and enduring valour. An appreciation of tho situation is assisted by a map which wo publish to-day. In their last offensive, apart from, the material headway they made on the Carso Plateau on the direct approach to Trieste, the Italians swept across the Bainsizza Plateau (north of Gonzia) in a brilliantly conceived and directed battle of manoeuvre, and alsoi captured tho dominating height # of If on to Santo, north-east.of.Gonzia. The result is that the Italians are in close touch with mountain strongholds-Monto San Gabnello and Monte Snj? Damele-whiclicon-stitute the key to tho enemy s whole defensive organisation. When these peaks are conquered and an entry is gained into the forest areas- to the south-east, Trieste will pass to tho Italians, and it is practically certain that the enemy armies will escape envelopment in the mountain areas, if they contrive to escape, only by speedy retreat. In'the combined effort upon which he. is now engaged tho enemy is endeavouring to avert the imminent peril thus involved by a movement against the northern flank of the front on .which the Italian offensive has developed, region of Tolmino. One factor favouring him in this enterprise is the possession of a good lino ot supply—tho road and railway approaching Tolmino from tho east— immediately serving tho front ho has selected for attack. But there is : nnidl to set.on the other Rido of ' the'account. Tho enemy cannot hope to "equal either in numerical strength or" hi material equipment tho Italian armies available to meet his onset. Ho is at an even greater disadvantage in regard to the spirit, by which the - opposing-'aimica arc animated. The' enthusiasm with ; which the Italian Chamber of Deputies greeted the announcement ot ■' the War Minister that Germany . had joined forces with Austria, in a counter-offensive may be_ accepted in all confidence as an indication of tho spirit in which the Italian ' nation and armies will face the cn- . cmy onset. The enemy has embarked'on a forlorn hope, and, his action, even if ho should gam some •limited and temporary success, is : more likely to.hasten his_ ultimate defeat than to turn to his advantage. .

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19171027.2.37

Bibliographic details
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Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 28, 27 October 1917, Page 8

Word count
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1,101

The Dominion. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1917. ITALY'S GREAT PART IN THE STRUGGLE Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 28, 27 October 1917, Page 8

The Dominion. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1917. ITALY'S GREAT PART IN THE STRUGGLE Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 28, 27 October 1917, Page 8

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