Volume 4 — E. ALEXANDER POWELL
Reading edition
CORRESPONDENT OF THE "NEW YORK WORLD" AND NOW CAPTAIN IN THE NATIONAL ARMY
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1919
Copyright, 1917, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT
For the assistance they have given me in the preparation of this book, and for the countless kindnesses they have shown me, I am indebted to many persons in many countries.
His Excellency Count Macchi di Cellere, Italian Ambassador to the United States; Signor Giuseppe Brambilla, Counsellor of Embassy; Signor A. G. Celesia, Secretary of Embassy; his Excellency Thomas Nelson Page, American Ambassador to Italy, and the members of his staff; Signor Tittoni, former Italian Ambassador to France; Signor de Martino, Chef du Cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; his Excellency Signor Scialoje, Minister of Education; Professor Andrea Galante, Chief of the Bureau of Propaganda; Colonel Barberiche and Captain Pirelli of the Comando Supremo, and Signor Ugo Ojetti, in charge of works of art in the war zone, all have my grateful thanks for the exceptional facilities afforded me for observation on the Italian front.
His Excellency M. Jusserand, French Ambassador to the United States, General Nivelle, General Gouraud, and General Dubois; Monsieur Henri Ponsot, Chief of the Press Bureau, and Professor Georges Chinard, Chief of the Bureau of Propaganda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Commandant Bunau-Varilla and the Marquis d'Audigné all helped to make this the most interesting and instructive of my many visits to the French front.
To General Jilinsky, commanding the Russian forces in France, and to Colonel Romanoff, his Chief of Staff, I am grateful for the courtesies extended to me while on the Russian front in Champagne.
Lord Northcliffe, who on innumerable occasions has shown himself a friend, Lord Robert Cecil, Minister of Blockade, and Sir Theodore Andrea Cook, Editor of The Field, put themselves to much trouble in arranging for my visit to the British front. Nor have I forgotten the kindnesses shown me by Captain C. H. Roberts and Lieutenant C. S. Fraser, my hosts at General Headquarters.
For the many privileges extended to me during my visit to the Belgian front I take this opportunity of thanking his Excellency Baron de Broqueville, Prime Minister of Belgium; M. Emanuel Havenith, former Belgian Minister to the United States, Lieutenant-General Jacquez, commanding the third division of the Belgian Army; Capitaine-Commandant Vinçotte, and Capitaine-Commandant Maurice Le Duc of the État-Major.
To Lieutenant-Colonel Spencer Cosby, Corps of Engineers, United States Army, I owe my thanks for much of the technical information contained in Chapter V, as he generously placed at my disposal the extremely valuable material which he collected during his three years of service as American Military Attaché in Paris.
James Hazen Hyde, Esq., who accompanied me on my visit to the Italian front, has, by his hospitality and kindness, placed me under obligations which I can never fully repay. I could have had no more charming or cultured travelling companion.
I also wish to acknowledge the information and suggestions I have derived from Sydney Low's admirable book, "Italy in the War"; from R. W. Seton-Watson's "The Balkans, Italy, and the Adriatic"; from V. Gayda's "Modern Austria"; from Dr. E. J. Dillon's "From the Triple to the Quadruple Alliance"; from Pietro Fedele's "Why Italy Is at War," and from E. D. Ushaw's "Railways at the Front."
And, finally, I desire to thank Howard E. Coffin, Esq., of the Advisory Board of the Council of National Defence, for his hospitality on his sea island of Sapeloe, where most of this book was written.
E. Alexander Powell.
Washington, April fifteenth, 1917.
TO
THEIR EXCELLENCIES
COUNT V. MACCHI DI CELLERE, AMBASSADOR OF ITALY, AND JEAN JULES JUSSERAND, AMBASSADOR OF FRANCE
IN APPRECIATION OF THE MANY KINDNESSES THEY HAVE SHOWN ME AND IN ADMIRATION OF THE TACT, SINCERITY, AND ABILITY WHICH HAVE WON FOR THEM, AND FOR THE COUNTRIES THEY REPRESENT, THE FRIENDSHIP AND CONFIDENCE OF ALL AMERICANS
CONTENTS
Page
I. The Way to the War 3
II. Why Italy Went to War 37
III. Fighting on the Roof of Europe 68
IV. The Road to Trieste 105
V. With the Russians in Champagne 138
VI. "They Shall Not Pass!" 155
VII. "That Contemptible Little Army" 204
VIII. With the Belgians on the Yser 253
ILLUSTRATIONS
The King of Italy and the Prince of Wales Frontispiece
Facing Page
The Teleferica 4
An Italian Position in the Carnia 5
The King of Italy and General Cadorna at Castelnuovo 32
The Peril in the Clouds 33
Alpini Going Into Action 68
On the Roof of the World 69
A Heavy Howitzer in the High Alps 82
An Outpost in the Carnia 83
"Halt! Show Your Papers!" 160
A Nieuport Biplane About to Take the Air 161
Verdun's Mightiest Defender: a 400-mm. Gun 172
A Gun Painted to Escape the Observation of Enemy Airmen 173
Australians on the Way to the Trenches 196
The Fire Trench 197
A British "Heavy" Mounted on a Railway-Truck Shelling the German Lines 238
Buried on the Field of Honor 239
These illustrations are from photographs taken by the Photographic Sections of the Italian, French, British, and Belgian armies and by the author.