Salt Lake Herald-Republican | 1918-05-26 | Page 39 | Allies on Italian Mountan Tops Physically Fit

I ALLIES ON ITALIAN MOUNT AN TOPS PHYSICALLY Y FIT Winters Winter's Work Wark Strengthening Strengthen Strengthen- ing Positions Brings Ruddy Cheeks By Associated Press HEADQUARTERS ITALIAN ARMY May Mar 25 The The Italian and allied forces Corce on the mountain front arc are in the tho best of condition The Tho winter months have hao been utilized in strengthening tho defenses de le- le I and reinforcing lines of oC works until th tho whole region is interlaced with powerful systems of ot defense and attack There are arc vast stores of sun guns and ammunition an and the spirit of th themen the men is one of confidence and eagerness eagerness eagerness eager eager- ness for an approaching conflict in the mountain regions General Plummer commander of oC the British forces recently announced their establishment in new position in inthe inthe inthe the mountain sector around Asiago and General Genci-al Diaz's bulletins now refer to the operations of or the British forces in tha that mountain in region The French too who made their brilliant stroke in Mt Tomb Tomba are arc also in this mountain region It is hero that three Austrian armies under Field Marshal 1 Conrad von yon Hert- Hert are in III position The Tenth army Eleventh army arm armand and what is known as the Kraus army under Genera Gen Gen- General era eral Kaus I These armies comprise in the neighborhood of forty fort divisions besides several divisions of reserves while on the tho Piave front the Austrian commander has about f fifteen if- if teen divisions and some somo reserves Tho divisions on tho the north recently havE havo been strengthened b by fresh troops brought from Austria's sections of ot the Russian and Rumanian fronts which no longer need her attention This enemy concentration has been going boing on steadily for months and the Italian and allied forces have also made powerful preparations for tho the coming coining campaign The main cause for this shifting of or attention from the to tho the moun mountain tam tain line is of or a strategic character The Italian front has two main branches one running northward from the at a point twelve miles east of or Venice and the other turning westward across the mountain regions and running irregularly up to the Swiss frontier When the enem enemy made his rush last fall the first pressure was felt along the Piave as the enem enemy swept in from the east easl But later when tho the Italians threw the enemy into the river at and Zenson and 1 a solid soliel defense of ot the river line the enemy turned his attention attention at at- to the north and began pressing pressing press press- in ing down from tho the mountains Most of or the enem enemy forces first brought to the Piave line lino were gradually grad grad- withdrawn to tho the mountain line T Von Belows Below's German divisions were among those shifted from Crom the to the mountains before Von Van Below went to the French front The British British Brit Brit- ish reinforcements which first took position on the upper Piave at Mon Mon- tello soon observed that the enemy artillery had slackened of off to almost nothing and that the enemy positions on the east bank were apparently de de- le- le The British mado made many raids across the river but met little opposition opposition and there was some prospect this woud permit an advance by the tho Italians and their allies eastward into the region invaded by tho the enem enemy but held by them with reduced forces It was evident however that the thc enemy's inactivity on the Piave was was part of or a strategic plan by which his massing of forces on the north would not ont only permit him to make an offensive offensive offen offen- sive sho in the mountain regions but would also give him a position on the Italian left flank In Jn case of an Italian advance across the Piave into the invaded invaded invaded in in- region Ho was willing therefore therefore there there- fore to leave the with comparatively light forces and concentrate most of his strength in the mountains