In the withdrawal of the armies that were along
the front in the Cadore and Carnic Alps, occasions of this kind occurred
several times during the week throughout which the retreat lasted, when
rear-guard detachments were completely surrounded. At Lorenzago a force
in this position succeeded in cutting its way back to join the main body
again; west of Gemona, however, the remnants of the Thirty-sixth
Division were so thoroughly engulfed by the advancing Austro-German
forces that, having used up all their ammunition, they were obliged to
surrender. And so, gradually, not without moments of discouragement
almost amounting to despair, the Italian armies, which ten days before
had been fighting on Austrian territory with every prospect of carrying
still further a series of victories that had lasted two years and a
half, found themselves on the defensive far back of their own borders,
awaiting the attack of a triumphant and advancing foe. It had been a
terrible trial for them and for the nation at their back. Almost in one
night, dreams of imperial expansion, cherished with an enthusiasm that
gave them an air of virtual reality, faded into a remoteness beyond
reckoning. The war that had been from the first gloriously offensive,
was suddenly transformed into an outnumbered struggle against invaders
who had already seized half of one of the richest provinces of Italy.
Yet, though numbed by the shock and stricken to the heart by the
realization of her disaster, Italy reacted well.
Pages:
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121