The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1918. AN ATTACK ON ITALY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 231, 18 June 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1918. AN ATTACK ON ITALY

As Sionor Orlando, the Prime Minister ofrttaly, lias said, the Italian Army is the right wing of a united Allied Army—its front from the Swiss mountains to the mouth of the Piavc is a southern extension of thp Allied front in Flanders and Franco. The conflict which opened on the Austro-Italian front on Saturday morning is therefore part and parcel of the one great campaign in Western Europe which will determine the fate of the war. At the same time there arc circumstances conducted with this struggle on the Allied right wing which invest it with far greater importance than it, would hold if only military factors h'ad to be taken into account. A glance at any reasonably good will show' that from the purely military point of view the onemy is at a very great advantage in his campaign against Italy. Along the northern front to the point at which their line follows the Piavc across the Venetian Plain to tlie sea the Italians hardly anywhere r hold more than the fringe of the Alpine country. To the enemy this same mountain territory is an all but impregnable natural fortress withi more 1 than ono sally-port which, if it were opened, would give him access ta the Italian lowlands. Tire .enemy is' thus free to select his point of attack .in a degree limited only by his ability to overcomo the difficulties of mountain transport, while the Italians are under the necessity of making provision against possible attack in any one of a, number of sectors. Austria has nearly all the advantages of position, and probably she has at least an equality, possibly a superiority, in tho factor of artillery. But there is a great deal to set down on the other side of _ the account. With some things in her favour, Austria is heavily outclassed in tho air; she is opposed by_the Italians in considerably superior numbers; and it is most important of all that while Italy is fighting as a resolute and united nation, steeled and not intimidated by adversity, the Dual Monarchy is a prey to political disorders which threaten its continued existence as an organised State. There is no need to repeat here the reports which have come over the cablcs during the last few weeks regarding internal conditions in Aus-tria-Hungary, but in their total effect these reports cannot be disregarded. _ There is no doubt that, as the British official review of the war points out this week, "conditions in Austria _ continue to grow worse." The review quotes the Burgomaster of Vienna as declaring that: "The faults of our Governments of the last centuries* are bitterly avenging themselves. High treason and boundless ingratitude arc now rampant, and the Government proves weak and unsteady. The supreme duty of the German parties is to show a united front against Slav treachery." This is' particularly interesting as evidence from his own inner camp of the state to which the enemy is reduced. The Burgomaster of Vienna speaks as a faithful Pan-German. What he calls Slav treachery is in fact the rising determination of people who have been brutally oppresVed, maltreated, and exploited for centuries past to endure such treatment no longer. Corrected to this extent, his outburst distinctly confirms news from other sources to tho effect that the Dual Monarchy is weakened not only by the fearful drain the war has imposed oil its population and resources, but by tho rapidly-growing- determination of the oppressed races within its frontiers—in the aggregate a majority of its population—to win freedom and relief from grinding tyranny. Not long ago Italians, Poles, llumanes, Czechs, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes held a representative congress at Home, at which each of these peoples proclaimed its right to full political and oconoraic independence, and denounced the Austro-Hungar-iati nlonarohy as the instrument of

German domination. Au amicable agreement was reached in the names ot the people of Italy and the Southern Slavs, and the resolutions of the congress as a whole, including this agreement, received the sanction and approval of the Italian Prime Minister. All the Entente 1 o\vcrs endorsed and declared their hill sympathy with the national aspirations of the oppressed races of Austria-Hungary, and America has taken tho same course. For the foment the Pan-Germans arc masters of Austria, The recall of Oount Burian as Foreign Minister, the conclusion of a hard and fast military and political compact with Germany, and the present offensive, are so many proofs of the fact. But the final provocation thus offered to the Slavs and other subject races Was yet to bo measured as it makes for the internal disruption of the Dual Monarchy arid for its military defeat.

Faced as they admittedly are by s , military problem which is not without its serious aspects, the Italians have a splendid asset in the high spirit of resolve by which, as a nation, they arc animated. There is no room for doubt as to the reality of their recovery since the disastrous days of October and November last year. Terrible losses were suffered in t-hc retreat, but the Italian arniien' demonstrated their unbroken spirit uy stemming the enemy onslaught before the _ French and British divisions hurried to their assistance had ai rived. Not only did they stand firm against all assaults on the strategically weak and unfavourable line ot the Piave, but before the year onded they gallantly stormed ana vceoycrcd tactically important mountain positions where the enemy in his attack upon the northern flank of their line hjjd' come dangerously close to the Venetian Plain. In the interval Italy has not only received material reinforcements in men, guns, and aeroplanes, but has achieved that close co-ordination with her Allies which was formerly lacking. The results will be of very great benefit not only from the military point of view, but in making better provision than was possible at an earlier stage for the needs of her civilian population. She resumes the struggle restored ancl remvigorated after a respite which would certainly have been of niucli less duration had the enemy's political and military organisation been sound and unimpaired. The fact that Austria has allowed nearly ■.half the summer to pass without taking active measures to second the efforts of her principal ally is perhaps the most signal proof yet afforded of her parlous internal condition Belatedly as she has acted the offensive will no doubt be pressed with all possible violence so long as Pan-German influences retain their .ascendancy at Vienna, and for some time to come critical issues will remain in suspense. But it must in the cnd_ tell heavily that while Italy 13 fighting as' a free nation to uphold ideals of liberty and justice, the ramshackle Empire to which she stands opposed is more and more menaoed > by the irreconcilable racial antagonisms which its rulers have foolishly elected to aggravate. The early reports as yet to hand dealing with the battle on the Asiago Plateau and on the Piave line are encouraging, and bear out the observation of the Italian Prime Minister that the Austrians failed to achieve even the preliminary success custom<ll y in crushing offensives. As news stands the enemy has made no serious impression on the Allied defenS m 6 'l n , 0 ' has ca P tl ired a considerable number of prisoners, but has himself lost heavily under this head. No doubt an even more intense struggle is now under way or imminent, hut whntever -the immediate fortunes of battle may lie Italy is strong not only in the valour of her troops but in a, steady and united determination on the part of her population which is in the^ greatest possible contrast to conditions reigning in the Dual Monarchy.