All this was very disconcerting to the I.N.C. They knew that on the
hills outside Rieka were large numbers of Italian troops, which had come
overland from Istria. But how to get them in? Rieka had not been
ascribed to the Italians by the London Treaty.[16] ... On November 15 a
detachment of Serbian troops arrived, under Colonel Maximovi['c], and
were given a magnificent reception. Thousands of people accompanied
them, and in front of the French destroyer there was a manifestation.
Some of the Serbs, old warriors who had been under arms since the first
Balkan War, were moved to tears. The Italianists were furious; Admiral
Raineri called on the Governor for an explanation of the Serbs' arrival.
A conference was held between the Admiral, the Colonel and two Yugoslav
officers. If the Serbs remained at Rieka, said the Admiral, he would
land his marines. Maximovi['c] said he had come in obedience to his
orders, and that he would have to prevent by force the disembarkation of
the Italians. At this moment a Serbian officer entered to announce that
Italian armoured cars were approaching from Abbazia. Maximovi['c]
immediately ordered his troops to mobilize, but the Admiral said a
mistake had been made and that the cars would be sent back. (The
Government Secretary, Dr. Ru[vz]i['c], had been told at three o'clock by
a telephone operator that the Admiral had himself telephoned to Abbazia
for the cars.) It was decided at this conference that on Sunday,
November 17, the Yugoslav troops would evacuate the town, that it would
be occupied by Serbian and American troops, and that, to mark the
alliance, a small Italian detachment would be landed. As Admiral Cagni,
of Pola, ordered that Italian troops should be disembarked at Rieka,
another conference was held between Admiral Raineri, Colonel
Maximovi['c], Colonel Tesli['c] and Captain Dvorski (of the Yugoslav
navy), as well as French and British officers. It was arranged _sous
parole d'honneur d'officier_ that at 4 p.m. the Serbian troops should
leave Rieka and go to Porto Re, an hour's sea journey, that the Yugoslav
troops should remain, and that the Italians should not land. No other
steps would be taken till November 20 at noon, and the Supreme Command
would be asked to settle the difficulty. As soon as the Serbian troops
were out at sea, the Italian army, under General di San Marzano
(attended by a kinematograph), marched in from the hills, entering the
town simultaneously from four directions, in accordance with a strategic
plan. The General was told what Raineri had agreed to do; he replied
that he was Raineri's senior, that the final decision rested with him,
and that he intended to proceed into the town. (One of the British
officers is said to have addressed him rather bluntly.) At 4.30 Raineri
landed his marines, and afterwards he was dismissed from his post--not,
indeed, for having broken his word given at the inter-Allied conference,
but for having delayed so long before disembarking troops in the town.
He said he had received a written order from the Entente; if only
Maximovi['c] had not left he might have shown it him. With twenty
carabinieri the General went to the Governor's palace and asked Dr.
Lenac to vacate it. He was so excited that he almost pushed the doctor
out. "There is no room for the two of us," he said. And that is how the
Italian occupation began. The French and British brought some troops in
at a later date, but when they had six hundred each the Italians had
22,000. With the Italians came fifty Americans, so that the force might
have an international appearance. These Americans were given
broad-sheets, printed by the town Italianists in English; they welcomed
the Americans as liberators, and informed them that the population had
by plebiscite declared for annexation to the Motherland. On the same
night the Yugoslav troops were turned out of their barracks into the
street by the Italian army.... These are, I believe, the main facts as
to the occupation which has been the subject of much heated argument. I
had the facts from eye-witnesses and documents: I exposed the evidence
of each side to the criticism of the other.
Very soon the disorders began. On the evening of the occupation Italian
troops ran through the town, accompanied by some of the plebiscite, and
compelled the people to remove the Yugoslav colours from their
button-holes. In cases they surrounded their victim and used force. When
this was used against women, after the arrival of the French and
British, it produced some serious international affrays. The Italians,
who invariably outnumbered the others, did not scruple to employ their
knives; thus in the middle of December two French soldiers were stabbed
in the back and their murderers were never found.