XI

June 5. Several days following our arrival in enemy territory passed

smoothly without anything particular happening. Every morning and every

night one of the refugees brought us a basket of food and we suspended

it from a cord that the ants and other insects might not spoil our

precious treasure. Bottecchia’s sister came. The meeting between the

two was truly moving. Giovanni’s sister is a little woman, angular and

nervous, all fire and pepper. She offered to help us and we gave her

some money to find something for us. She soon brought me some postcards

from which I derived useful information about the movement of certain

troops and I preserved these documents in a little tin box, which I

buried in a spot I could readily recognize. De Luca, my agent, also

brought me important news and the number of a division and a regiment

which he saw passing. But all of them had only a vague idea of what was

about to happen and could not give me the exact details I desired. All,

however, were unanimous in affirming that the offensive could not delay

much longer and that it would be especially violent in the sector from

the Montello to the sea.

More exact, more detailed, were the notices brought to me from Miane by

the refugee. His cousin in the Austrian headquarters seemed to be a

crafty, intelligent person. He was in touch with the general situation,

and beside sending me a great many postcards, he referred to me some

important details. From many symptoms he deduced that the offensive was

imminent. All the transportation of ammunition had by now been

completed and it was probable that the preliminary orders for the

relief of the troops in the trenches by troops of assault had been

issued. One of the most significant indications was that all the shock

troops, especially the Hungarians who form the staunchest troops in the

army of the enemy, had received the order to be in readiness and

several divisions had already left their old position so as to be

nearer the front. There was also much talk of change of headquarters

which, for the day on which the action was to open, must be in a far

more advanced zone. The troops had recently enjoyed special treatment.

The ration, which usually was very scanty and not sufficient to appease

the hunger of a robust man, had been gradually increased in the past

days, and there were daily distributions of wine, coffee, liquors and

other comforts. The enemy command was attempting by every means to

raise the _morale_ of its soldiers. The officers delivered lectures

before the troops in which they affirmed that from news received from

the other side it was certain that the _morale_ of the Italians was

still very low and that a single heavy blow would be sufficient to make

the entire defensive system crumble, thus compelling the Italians to

make a precipitate and disorderly flight. The victorious army would,

therefore, be able to advance without great sacrifices, and would be

able to take advantage of all the wonderful riches which were on the

further side, and among these the army was bidden not to overlook the

gem of the Adriatic, Venice. Even the Hungarian chaplains helped in

this propaganda. They endeavored to convince the troops that this was

to be the last effort required of them; an effort which would ensure a

victorious peace. Bulletins were continuously distributed in which the

German victories on the French front were praised to such an extent

that the soldiers daily expected to hear that the Germans had arrived,

at least, in Paris.

My informer did not know exactly at what point the offensive was to be

struck, but from several conversations he had overheard and from the

general trend of events he did not think he erred in saying that the

greatest effort would not be made from the side of the mountain, but

that the bulk of the Austrian army was already concentrated between the

bridge of the Priula and the Vidor bridge. This concentration had as

its objective the crushing in of the Montello. The foregoing was what

he wrote in his brief report, written in such a clear, fine handwriting

as denoted an educated person of some culture. He could not be far from

the truth because, from all the information I had at hand, it seemed as

if the Austrians’ plan of attack was in truth against the objective he

had outlined. But this information could not suffice. It was a matter

of absolute necessity that I set eyes, in person, on Armando Brunora,

the friend of the refugee; this Brunora who resided in the headquarters

at Vittorio and who seemed to know many important secrets. He had not

been able to move as yet because it had been raining heavily, and the

road which separated us from Vittorio was rather long, considering the

scanty means of transportation available.

During a brief interval when the rain ceased, we went to look for

the field near which we had arranged to place our signals. It was

easy to distinguish it at once. The only difficulty about it now

was that it did not belong to the uncles of my soldier but belonged

to certain peasants who lived in a little group of houses near the

square. Obviously we could not place our signals there until we had

communicated with the owner. I therefore asked the refugee to summon

the owner for me.

These little difficulties were a nuisance because in my mind I had

planned never to venture forth from the house of my soldier’s

relatives. Certainly not at first did I purpose to do so, but events so

turned out that I saw myself compelled to enlarge the number of persons

to whom we had to communicate our secret. However, I easily overcame

even this test, because an overpowering fatality now took possession of

me, and I cared very little for my life, did I but succeed in obtaining

the information I had so much at heart. The owner of the land had

received our request most kindly and was greatly interested in what we

told him. He consented to my project with good grace and furthermore

said that, not at once, but within a few days, his two sisters when

they returned from visiting distant relatives would be of great help to

us because they would be able to place the sheets on the ground and so

avoid the necessity of our showing ourselves. This was really a very

practical idea because after all, two men placing sheets on the ground

might arouse the suspicion of the guards, whereas women such as

are wont to wash and lay the laundry on the ground, are not an

out-of-the-way sight.

The weather continued to be unfavorable, and if on the one hand I

grieved because it interfered with our progress in getting into

communication, on the other hand I was glad we knew how to take

advantage of the only time in which it was possible to accomplish the

undertaking. Then, too, the offensive surely could not begin, while it

rained, because despite the fact that the Austrians do not usually

attach much importance to the climatic conditions, yet this time they

had a river in front of them and they must realize with a degree of

apprehension that if their first attempt should not succeed in driving

back our resistance, they might find themselves in the critical

condition of having many troops on the other side with a high river at

their backs. This might indeed prove rather inconvenient, because the

Piave at times becomes a rushing torrent such as hinders the building

of any bridges or the sending over of any reinforcements of food or

ammunition.

For several days we had not seen a ray of sun even for a second. The

rain continued to fall unceasingly, so that the wood had become a

veritable bog. We hardly dared thrust our heads out of our little

stable for fear of a drenching. During these days the refugee brought

me for the first time a copy of the _Gazetta del Veneto_, a filthy

newspaper published at Udine by a renegade Italian in the pay of

Austria. It was really impressive to read those pages in which were

printed sentiments and opinions which, written in German, would not

astonish me in the least, but which disgusted me profoundly when

written in our beautiful language. They invented a multitude of things

about the internal situation in Italy. According to them a revolution

was about to break out because of the lack of food, a lack become more

severe owing to the intensive submarine warfare. “Our enemies,” the

newspaper said, “have little reason to rejoice because they hoped to

see many Americans arrive on their front, in the springtime, but

instead thanks to the indefatigable work of our submarines, these

reinforcements cannot come and all the provisions sent from the other

side of the ocean are regularly lost at sea.”

The days seemed interminable, especially because we could not venture

out from our lowly hut. We did not even dare return to the house of the

Toneli because we feared to upset them and that our presence might

annoy them. We trusted to the little woman who lost her son to find us

eggs, and at once she began to go about offering money for them, but

found it difficult because most of the peasants bring the little they

produce to the board of the Austrian officers at Vittorio so as to get

some flour in exchange.

On awakening on the morning of June 7th we had a pleasant surprise. We

found the sun shining. The trees, on which the dewdrops still trembled,

swayed their branches in the slight wind from across the mountain. The

mountains seemed clear and clean-cut in the atmosphere about them. As

the sun peeped over the top of the Cansiglio an anti-aircraft battery

near Conegliano began firing and soon the aerial bombardment increased.

All the sky was dotted with little pink and grayish clouds which

blossomed and then dissolved in the clear upper air of the morning....

Even the battery at Vittorio had begun to fire. Soon after we observed

in the pure sky above us the powerful wings of many of our “Caproni” in

single file surrounded by many little chasing planes. The Caproni were

directed towards an aviation camp near San Giacomo di Veglia, and

meanwhile our chasing planes, gathered in a compact formation, were

patrolling the air above the aerodrome of the enemy chasers in order to

down any such impudent plane as dared to take rise and molest our

bombing planes. A bombing machine with a chasing plane near it gives

the impression of a young girl about whom a young colt cuts a thousand

capers. All the people from the nearby houses came out into the open,

unmindful of the shower of splinters which fell from the air. The women

raised their arms towards the sky in supplication, and pointing out the

Italian wings to the children murmured, “They are ours, ours.” An old

white-haired man raised his hat as the Italian flag passed above him.

But the Austrians, who cannot be accused of extreme temerity, waited

until all our planes had departed before rising in flight and as the

last of our planes was passing over our lines on its return flight, the

heavy enemy chasers arose, filling the sky with the coarse, deep

roaring of their motors. Their method of flying is altogether different

from ours. At times I enjoyed watching them in their movements; I found

none of that agility, none of that rapidity of movement which so

distinguishes our chasers.

If the weather continued favorable we intended that afternoon at one

o’clock to begin placing our sheets. I decided to set a signal on the

field which would indicate that the offensive was imminent on the

sector of the Montello. I examined my conscience and questioned whether

this report was not premature, but as time passed and I gathered more

information from all sides, I became all the more convinced that the

day could not be far distant when a rumbling, rolling bombardment would

indicate that the offensive had been begun. Even the weather, which was

now fair, could but help hasten events.

The sister of Bottecchia had brought me the sheets which we were going

to use as signals and cautiously we approached the place where they

were to be extended. We traversed the little field once again so as to

be certain we were not making a mistake, and by half-past twelve the

sheet was in its proper place. We hid behind a tree on the other side

of the river to guard it and hinder any petty thief from stealing the

precious material.

The sky which at first was very clear was streaked with those small

light clouds which indicate that in the higher strata of the air a

swift wind is blowing. Above the clouds a squadron of enemy planes,

readily recognizable from the heavy noise of their motors, was

completing a series of slow evolutions. These aeroplanes, whose task

was certainly to obstruct the way for any of our planes, cruised

continually between Vittorio and Pordenone. We glanced at the little

watch given to Giovanni by his sister; it was 12.55. Suddenly the

anti-aircraft battery near us began to fire. Yes, they had come. After

a few seconds we glimpsed among the clouds a reconnoitring plane

escorted by three chasing planes. And now what would happen; now that

four of our aeroplanes would be against twelve of theirs? The

adversary’s chance in attack was better than ours because they were

able to rise above the clouds and crash down unexpectedly on our planes

which, flying beneath them, were certainly not aware of their presence.

I distinctly heard the cadenced, sibilant note of our motors and the

deeper, heavier noise of the enemy motors. In a second the enemy had

divided into two platoons of six planes each and each had selected its

own objectives. Six had placed themselves against our reconnoitring

plane and six were combating our three chasing planes. From among the

clouds I heard the first faint reports of the machine-guns. The

reconnoitring plane which appeared and disappeared among the white

curls did not let itself be surprised; at times it made some daring

evolutions and seemed as if it were going to nose-dive forever but

retook its position and answered with brief rallies to the prolonged

bursts of fire from the enemy guns. The Austrians in accord with their

usual tactics tried to keep our plane in play with a concentration of

their forces so that finally one of them could attempt a fatal volley,

but our pilots did not lose heart and with repeated tricks and wiles

endeavored to escape the net. There!—five planes had surrounded it,

and one all painted red, the swiftest, a “D 5,” tried to take position

on its tail. I held my breath; the enemy plane was but a few yards from

our plane and fired lengthy bursts at it but ours answered only with a

brief volley. Suddenly the Austrian plane reeled and seemed to go out

of control; for a time it spun downward like a dead leaf, and finally

nose-dived in a great flame. I raised my arms in the air; I wished to

express to that little speck with the tricolor all my joy, all my

satisfaction. The other planes, who had viewed the havoc, divided and

turned towards their aerodromes. Our planes remained lords of the air.

One flew several times over our signals as if the observer wished to

take many negatives so as to make certain that one good photograph

would result. I looked into the eyes of Bottecchia who was near me, and

I could not conceal the emotions I felt within me.

Within a few hours the staff would know of our signals; of what was

about to happen; it would be certain that the offensive was imminent

and that it was about to be loosed against the sector of the Montello.

From that moment I was certain that events favored us. From the combat

which took place above our heads I had received another proof of the

superiority of our race and from this I derived pleasant predictions

for the future. In the sky, as always, we were absolute masters, in

this sky which they had tried to take from us but which remained ever

ours. Soon, I was certain this mastery would extend even to the land.

We would win, absolutely we would win! And how could a nation, which in

enemy territory exhibits such feats as those I had just witnessed, do

otherwise than win? And furthermore, my modesty did not forbid me to

forget that I too was a sample of the country which would win. Even on

land Italy was not unworthily represented.