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Show PLATEAU Italians Withdraw From Some of the More Advanced Ad-vanced Positions of Their Lines, but the Loss Has Not Impaired the Roman Defensive. ASSAULT MADE BY TEN DIVISIONS Men Hurled Into Battle in Closed Ranks in Supreme Su-preme Effort to Break Through the Barrier and Put Italy Out of the War. ROME, Dec. 5. Enemy forces have begun an attack on tlie Italian lines on the Asiago plateau, the war office announced today. The only gains achieved in the attack at-tack were some positions, the loss of which has not impaired the Italian Ital-ian defensive line. The Italians withdrew from some of the more advanced positions of their lines between Monte Tondera-car Tondera-car and Monte Badonoccho, northeast north-east of Asiago. BERLIN, Doc. 5, via London. Austro-German forces yesterday captured some hill positions in the Sette communi, on the mountainous front in northern Italy, the war office of-fice announced today. By International News Service. LONDON, Dec. j. The Teutons resumed re-sumed their drive on the northern Italian Ital-ian front today but failed to brook through. Definitely stopped by the Ital-inn Ital-inn resistauce between the Piave and Brenta rivers, they switched the momentum momen-tum of their onslaught westward to the Afiaco front. Their strategic object here is to the same at on their original attacking front, namejy to sweep through tho mountain passes southward to tho L'diuo-Verona, and thus to cut the line of communication of tlie main Italian armies on tlie Fiave. A terrific battle continues. Tlie J.tali.'ms were at last account holding their own. So powerful was tho Austro-German asf-ault Hint the Italians, according to official admission by the Kome war office, of-fice, were forced to withdraw from some of their advanced positions. The?e Joe.il withdrawal;- '.lid nut, however, impair the r'iruines'j of Ui' Italian main line of defence, Koui'1 asserts. BerJin'8 Claims. Nor diil Berlin idaini more than Ihe eapture of ''seme hill positions'' by l-'irdd Marshal I'onrud von Heel endorf 'h troops below ,-.i:io oily. The withdrawals with-drawals odmill'M by Homo were to the northeast of Asiago, which indicates that they were el tcH 'd to esi'ape eu-eireloincnr. eu-eireloincnr. from Hie ftou tli wil . Ten Austro l.ermnn division ".00,000 men hae been m;.-ed behind Ihe Teuton Teu-ton Asi.To front i"or I he ofH'nivc now in progress. They are hurb'd into linllle in closed ranks. 1 The Teuton desipn tn daFdi soulli-v.nrd soulli-v.nrd bv one or two ionics, from west of Asiago to Yieeii.a, a distance of some fiftnen miles, or from east of Asiago to ( itadella. twelve and a half voiles. Both theo towns arc on tbe. Uditir-Verona Uditir-Verona railway. ihe "life line" of the Itnlian main armies. At Ciladella the invaders would be twrnfy miles behind ;h Italian center on Ihe I'inve, and at Yb-imy,;i some Ihitty-six niiles. -Meanwhile the nienm-e of a possible (Continued, oa Paca Ten,). j TEUTONS AHflCK ON ASIAGO PLATEAU (Continued from Page One.) i break through by tho Auatro-Gevman army now in the region of Cismon, above Bassauo, still obtains. So far Monte Grappa, "saw moijntain, M lias presented aji insurmountable obstacle to advance here. A break through on this front, between the Piave and Brenta rivers, would also lead to Citadella. The situation situa-tion on this whole mountain front is such that if the line is really breached at one point the whole front must automatically auto-matically recede as on the Tsonzo. But General Diaz has had ample time to round up his army and to concentrate guns and reserves at the danger points. If the new Teuton offensive is the supreme su-preme effort to put Italy out of the war, the fighting" is expected to surpass everything ev-erything seen in the great couflict on a front eveu at Verdun. Every dispatch from Koine reiterates unshakable confidence in the valor of the Italian armies and in their ability to withstand the supreme test. The strong French and British rem force-men force-men t a that are now immediately behind the front, are counted upon to take an important part in the battle. The Teuton attack was prepared by an artillery bombardment lasting scv-entv-two hours. |