Italy's Defeat and of importance occurred on the Italian pleasant shock. Here, as in Russia, the cause seemed to have been the ganda of the extreme Socialist elements.
Shortly previous, German troops had been secretly arriving on this front, tak ing their places among the Austrians. On October 24 these troops began their attack. The onslaught came with the sud denness of a stroke of lightning. During the first week the Italians lost nearly a quarter of a million men in prisoners taken by the enemy and 2,300 guns. The attack began in the Julian Alps, then spread southward down to the vicinity of Venice. Tolmino and Plezzo were taken from the Italians; the whole front during the year 1917 until May 15, when the Italians began their strong offensive movement, culminating in the capture of Gorizia on August 9, Monte Santo on August 24, and Monte Gabriele on September 14. During this period the Italians had apparently performed wonders, considering the nature of the terrain on which they were operating. Steadily they had forced the Austrians back.
The news of the disaster which over took the Italians, beginning on Oct. 24, 1917, came to the public of the Allied countries with a tremendous and un Italian line from the sea to the Carnic Alps wavered, then broke. More im portant still, the Italians lost Caporetto, on the upper Isonzo, where they had built a series of dams by means of which the Isonzo could be flooded at a moment's notice, so that it would be impassable by any arm37.
The Italian retreat continued until the Piave river was reached, where British and French troops met them and served as stiffening. General Cadorna had meantime been dismissed, and General Armando Diaz appointed commander-in. chief in his place.
On November 11 the Italians came to a line of intrenchments which had been hastily dug along the W. bank of the Piave river. Here they made a stand, offering a resistance which the pursuing Austrians and Germans could not break. The latter therefore dug themselves in, along a line reaching from the foothills of the Alps to the Adriatic.
Now began a long-draws-out battle, the center of which was on the Asiago plain. Here, fortunately, the terrain was in favor of the Italians, who were able to dominate the plateau with their artillery, stationed among the near-by hills. Another factor in their favor was the system of lagoons which extended from the lower Piave to the sea, across which it was utterly impossible for the enemy to pass.
In vain the Teutons endeavored to turn the Italian right by working their way around the N. limits of the Venetian Gulf. This region the Italians were able to flood and render impassable. Over this artificial sea flitted all kinds of light war craft ranging from armed motor boats carrying machine guns, to light gunboats. The result was a dead lock, which neither side was able to break before the end of the year.
The Balkan Countries.—The begin ning of the year 1917 found Rumania badly beaten, taking refuge from the pursuing Germans behind the Russian lines. The Rumanian capital was estab lished at Jassy, and at regular intervals the government of the little country is sued announcements of its determination to continue fighting until the death, but as a matter of fact these could be only the ordinary empty diplomatic phrases, for when the Bolsheviki began peace negotiations with the Germans in De cember, 1917, Rumania hastened to follow their example.
In Macedonia the year began quite un eventfully. The Allied troops under Sarrail had accomplished very little, ex cept to take Monastir shortly before the close of the year, an event of political rather than military significance. This stalemate continued largely throughout the year 1917. In February it was esti mated that the total forces of General Sarrail on the Macedonian front num aered about 350,000. This military in activity was largely caused by the situa tion in Greece, where the Allies had to solve the problem created by the pro-Ger man proclivities of King Constantine. This behavior on the part of the Greek monarch led from one disturbing situa tion to another.