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Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1783, 31 January 1918, Page 2

eral feet, line after line of'stationary bateries of guns of from ,3in. to loin, in calibre, and deep, muddy trenches filled with men determined that the enemy shall not advance any further—such are the impres-. sive and apparently well-nigh unassailable defences of Venice, the correspondent wrote. The character of the warfare all along the Lower Piave line, and particularly the methods employed to defend the “Queen of the Seas” from invasion, undoubtedly are unique, even in this war of novelties. Nature has placed a barrier in the path of the invader apparently more nearly insurmountable even than the mountains across which the enemy has fought his way, and these natural obstacles have been fortified as probably has no other place in Europe, Floating fortresses, armed with large guns, can slip from point to point, never offering a mark for the invaders, and yet always able to bombard the enemy as he attempts to build pontoon bridges across the Piave Diver. Engineers have ferreted out every bit of solid mainland in the vast, swampy area north of Venice, where batteries, large and small, according to the distance from the Austrian lines, have been established. The engineers have cut away the dykes that formerly controlled the water to irrigate the fertile Italian plains, creating a vast lake. Finally, in addition to the foremost infantry lines in the immdated section, big and little batteries are scattered everywhere and lioating monitors constantly are on patrol. The Austrians have occupied (he entire northern bank of the new Piave, and have reached vSanta, Donna di Piave, which is about Ki:, miles north-east of Venice, but the Italians hold Musile, on the south hank of the river opposite Santa Donna di Piave, and have been able to prevent the Austrians from bringing any heavy artillery up to that point, from which Venice possibly might be bombarded.