St. John's Daily Star, 1918-05-17

              the st john's daily star i ... —— volume iv 3.00 per annum friday may 17 1918 r * *^ . no 112 probs pair and mild italians strike blow against foe lines penetrate austro.german positions on the asiago plateau i ■ . , , i ! : : £ , , italians take offensive and press austrians hard 1 — ' "—" 41 bitter fighting occurs on asiago plateau where the italian troops are the aggressors italians enter enemy trenches austro-german f6r c c s have to fight hard to maintain positions un der violent assaults j^ondon may 16.—amongst tha rugged peaks of the asiago plat eau east of'the brenta river the italian fronj has again flamed up into violent action the aggressive has been taken by the italians however arid the austro-german forces instead of launching their long expected as sault on the italians have been com pelled to fight to maintain the posi tions where they have stood since fast november the fighting seems to hare center ed on the comparatively short section of the battle line between monte as selone and monte pertica these j t?,o heights are about three miles 1 apart and rise to an altitude of about i 3,000 feet while between them there is a sort of saddle on which the teutonic forces have taken up strong positions bitter fighting both the vienna and rome official reports tell of bitter fighting on this particular front the latter stating that the italian troops have entered austrian trenches on monte asselone in two places the fact that the italian armies have taken the initia tive in the fighting would seem to indicate that they have sought to carry the fight to the enemy in such a way as to break up any airange j ments for the launching of strong i teutonic assaults this has many i precedents in the present war a strong offensive at a threatened point being considered the best defence under the circumstances while the fighting has been very fierce east of the brenta the whole italian line from lake garda to tha piave and thence to the sea has been marked by patrol engagements which appeat to be isolated actions but which may be component parts of a plan of campaign in that section of the war nowhere have tha italians been reached by the attack ing parties of austnans american gunners busy in flanders and picardy only j heavy artillery fire has marked the i fighting during the past day am erican gunners have been at work in the genetal bombardment that has been going on and have again set buildings in mont didier in flames a daring raid on the austrial naval base at pola has been male by italian units and an austrian battleship of the 20,000-ton type has been destroy ed the italian naval forces were aided in the operation by the co operation of an aerial squadron italian offensive rome may 16.—italian troops carried out an offensive operation yesterday in which the austrian trenches on monte assolone between the brenta and piave rivers were en tered at two points the italians inflicted heavy casual ties and took prisoners . six germans toeachyard jfinemy has great troop concentrations on west front particularly from ypres to the oise total divisions s hundred fifty baris may 16.—there are six ' i iermans to the yard on the great of the franco-belgian front frcin the north sea to thp oise ac : to the gaulois which bases jit ■ itement on the iniormation of j repr having reached the general ? - that 150 german divisions are situated in this area of t'nesc divisions it i stated ■ arc in the region between nieupott vpres forty are between ypres labassee canal and one hun ivisions horn labassee canal to the oise on this basis it is estimated says ti w paper that the german jtrri th from pres to the oise is rr six mm to the yard except on the n rthern part of the front above vp ' . where he estimate is a third i thai number ■ new york may 16—alexander f kerensky who became premier of russia in july 1917 and was de posed-in november by the bolshevik is expected to arrive in the united states next week according to a re port published today alexander kerensky j austrian warship torpedoed by italians in harbor of pola i italian force works way into naval base and sends 20,000 ton warship to bottom bomh may 16 an austrian bat rt torpedoed by the i forces in pola harbor r • la ' morning it was announced today the bat iva of the . viribus unitis : 20.000 ton vessel italian force worked its way linlo naval base by dodg y oats and searchlights c the naval operations were : ; ssins an italian seaplane force fzs zed austrian battle planes above .' two of the austrians were ■ ■ ■■■■.• t down and several others ! compelled to descend out of control the italian machines all returned safely . —. . _ will enlist women canada to use female workers in connection with air service toronto may 17 canadian wo t men will probably soon be enlisted as i members of the royal air force branches in canada one of the of i fleers of the force here said this morn i mg that this was becoming necessary they will be employed as chauf feurs and in other auxiliary capaci ties democratic gentleman a american labor delegates delighted with simple and cordial reception given by king george lady delegates meet queen mary king expresses delight over realisation of his dream of alliance be tween two countries i ondon may 16 via reuters ot lawa agency the american delegates have informed reuter that they are deeply impressed with their visit to buckingham palace dele gate wilson said the king was a true democratic gentleman throughout our visit to europe we have not been to a less formal function delegate frey said even the receptions at the white house are not so simple we americans did not realize the king was so human delegate berny said his ma jesty chatted with us ninety minutes and none of us felt ill at ease a single moment the lady delegates were similarly delighted with the simple welcome of the queen and princess mary in addressing the american labor delegation at buckingham palace to day king george said it had always been his dream that the two great english-speaking nation with their individual national characteristics should work together in close and harmonious relations toward these ideals of progress and civilization common to both peoples fate has decided that the war should fulfill this dream the two nations have made com mon cause in the cause of freedom and justice ' in the future days of peace may they continue to stand j side b side to attain the same ideals i and aspirations i wish you a safe and happy return home science is daily increasing the power of rapid transportation between our islands and the continent of america thus facilitating the interchange of these j visits and so strengthening the ties j of mutual understanding confidence and good fellowship which please god may ever henceforth unite us mr e 0 mccormick of san francisco replied briefly on behalf of the americans thanking his ma j iesty and expressing the pleasure the visit had afforded the delegates and how they appreciated it each member of the delegation was presented to king george and i queen mary as well as to princess ; mary and nearly an hour was spent jin informal conversation ' it's tommy atkins,'all right although his name back home is h r h king oeopge v of eng tend the king douned a helmet while visiting the flanoerß front as httre shown austrian proposals of peace are debated w house of commons dis cusses peace letter writ ten by emperor karl to his brother no allied move on these terms entente nations not per suaded germany's ally sincerely desired honor able lasting peace london may 16—foreign secre tary balfour was asked in the house of commons to-day whether prince.sixtus of bourbon to whom emperov charles of austria addressed the letters last year in which peace was offered to france paid two visits to england in connection with the peace proposals and whether he was in communication on this matter with premier lloyd george the question was brought up by robert outhwaite liberal member of the house of com mons for hanley mr balfour replied that the sub ject was not one which could be dealt with by question and answer the whole topic of emperor charles pro posals was discussed to-day in the house of commons on the initiative of the pacifists and advocates of peace by negotiations in response to the question mr bal four said that emperor charles wrote a letter to a relative prince sixtus is a brother-in-law of the emperor and that it was conveyed by this relative to the president and premier of france under the seal of strictest sec recy no permission was given to communicate the letter to anyone ex cept the sovereign and premier of this country mr balfour said he had no secrets hun terms ambitious germany's peace demands include possession of belgium and of french iron mines—return of colonies and new naval stations with the french army in " france may 16 by the as sociated press germany's condi tions of peace are clearly stated in a document found in a geunan trench recently recaptured by the entente forces a resume of the principal conditions given in an official translation reads after the enormous sacrifices we have made of our blood and pro perty we exact as a necessary min imum to the reservation and develop ment of germany the following belgium especially the flanders coast with antwerp is to remain un der german military economical and political dependence liberty of the seas slial be properly established for all nations the central powers teing allowed a commercial fleet totalling 1 7.8mg.000 tons while that of the allies should amount to 10,900,000 tons our colonies shall be returned without augmentation we are to have more numerous and stronger naval stations the longvvy and briey minefields i which furnished france its weapons | for attack shall become german readjustments of the frontiers particularly in the vosges are to be fixed according to the military situa tion and the appreciation of com austrians repulsed italians defeat strong re peated enemy attempts to capture positions on mount corno small battles but sanguinary jtalian headquarters north ern italy may - 15.—enemy groups continue their attempts to approach mount corno and reopen the line of advance through the valarza but are repeatedly repelled by the italian batteries the details of the capture of the mountain by the italians show that the fighting although carried out by small groups was very bloody a battalion of austrian jaegar troops advanced in three columns one succeeded in gaining a foothold in the battasti canyon but a bayonet charge cleared the canyon and firm ly reestablished the italian positions « o » peace need of austria dual monarchy faces economic and financial ruin as result of pro longed war only salvation is united states amsterdam may 16.—1n an article in die zukunly entitled gordian knots maximilian har den analyses austria's deep-seated desire and need for peace in connec tion with the fact that the monarchy has an outlook and interest entirely different from germany besides a most complicated nationality problem to solve he says for a country so deeply in debt as austria-hungary which will have to pay germany alone more than seven hundred billion crowns annual interest a new biiiion loan could only be raised in the united states the latter country however is now on the battlefield and cannot be compelled to entertain such a deal and should the united states refuse the money then the transformation of austria's wat industries to peace conditions would be an impossible task and the country would find it self on the brink of an abyss it is but natural that austria hungary should seek a peace which would leave her the possibility of an understanding with america aus tria-hungary more than any other state needs america's friendship big guns busy in amiens region otherwise paris reports only few minor operations paris may 16.—an artillery ac tion occurred last night on the french front southeast of amiens in the hailles-castell sector says to day's war office announcement west of mont dodier a german raiding detachment was driven off the french took prisoners in patrol oper ations north of the ailette the statement follows an artillery duel took place in the haiiles-castell sector a german raid west of mont didier was re pulsed by-french fire french pa trols operating north of the ailelte brought prisoners the night was quiet on the re mainder of the front 1 m ■» 1 loyalty is reaffirmed india's provincial government solid ly behind great britain simla india may 16 via rou ter's ottawa agency)—as a result of the delhi conference the pro jvincial governments have held meet ings unanimously reaffirming the reso lution of loyalty and promising all possible aid the government of india has al ready decided to immediately recruit over half a million men and organ where huns mass men for new drive against italy the cross on this map shows where it is known the austrians have been massing troops and supplies in the trentino for some time evi dently with the idea of launching a new drive against italy this con centration would indicate that a blow directly toward the south is con templated and will doubtless be struck even tho it may be delayed by the aggressive move just made by the italians the present battle-line solid black line on the map extends thru a mountainous country in this district if the huns could drive the italians out of the mountains into the plains below the whole italian line would ha+e to fall back probably to the line of the adige river dotted line on the map which would mean the loss of venxe to the allies renewed foe offensive in mountains expected austro-germans expected to attack italian in diffi cult alpine country eadquarters italian army april 20—(correspondence of the associated press attention is now being centered on the mountain front for all the indications are that this is to be the main scene of com ing operations instead of the flat river country to the east with these operations perhaps not far off it is well to take a survey of this mountain section for its main points are likely to be heard of very often in the coming months already along these mountain roads there is the stir of great forces of men guns and horses moving into position and cne almost feels that a greak battle is already on the tridentine alps stretch rxross northern italy from a natural fortification between the two oppos ing lines and it is in the lower sec lion of these ranges that the military operations are now unfolding while it is a front of several hundred miles from the adriatic up to the swiss frontier yet part of this stretch is im penetrable mountain peaks covered with eternal snow and there are prac tically only five lines of approach where breaks in the mountain heights permit military operations to be car x communication lines ese five lines of approach or communication through the triden tine alps are the valley regions known as the valtellina meaning see-saw from its winding character which leads down to lake como and toward milan second the val camonica leading southward toward brescia third the val ciudicaria which comes down just east of the adamello region with its line of peaks and skirts along the west shore of lake garda fourth val lagarina which follows the course of the adigo river en the east of lake garda and comes down from trent toward verona and fifth the val sugana which fol lows the course of the brenta river and winds around the asiago region down past bassano these five main highways through the mountains become more import ant from a military standpoint as they come eastward toward the asiago and brenta region all the chief pressure has been in the easterly region in the past and the indica tions at present are that it will be in this region th great fighting ground then would be along the two valleys on the east val lajarina and val sug ana and cht*f attention shoaw be centered on them and their neighbor and mount tomba both of them ome down from trent the austrian torm center which sends forward roops and supplies through both hese valleys to the mountain fronts jeyond from trent the enemy has ailroads down both these valleys where foe attacked the lagarina valley comes straight iouth to verona and the open plain it was down here that the enemy nade his first rush two years ago lushing from reverto west toward mount pasubio he was driven back hen and all the indications are that le will be held again if he comes that ivay the most important approach is y way of the val sugana or brenta iver from its headwaters near irent the brenta makes a wide cir cuit before it comes down to the open jlain at bassano and it is within this ircuit that the asiago plateau and the lardest fighting ground lies the ustrian railway from trent comes jown the valley to primolano about wenty miles above bassano thus reeping up a steady flow of men aod supplies that is why the italian air lanes have centered attention on r'rimolano which is often mentioned n the communiques as having its railway stations bombed the bomb-swept and deserted town jf asiago is the center of this battle region enclosed by the val sugana and the brenta river the enemy ines run just below the town near y are mount val bella sasso rosso md melago all the scene of desper ite fighting when the enemy tried to rome down the west bank of the 3renta the river itself comes hrough a rocky defile so part of the approach is over these intervening nountains which reach down to the iver valley this asiago region is cut by two jther valleys which are a most im aortant part of the mountain oper ations though they are not main high vays through the alps these are he valarsa and the astico volleys which wind irregularly down toward wcenza much is likely to be heard jf this section in the coming oper ations battle-scarred ground east of the brenta river is another of this same val sugana which is also desperate fighting ground here the enemy has made his main push to get down to the open plain and here h advanced furtherest to ward bassano yet the splendid brav ery of the italians held him in the mountain through the winter he is still there around mount pcrtico mount asolone col caprille and col della berretta this is bloody fight ing ground and it will doubtless be heard from very often as the oper ations develop still further east comes the domin ating mass of mount grappa mid way between the brenta and piave rivers it is strongly held by the ital ians and is one of the great citadels of italy's natural mountain defense near it rising from the rave river comes mount tomba where the french troops made such a briljiant drive last december the fflmmy has been comparatively quiet in this region all the indications being that he is centering attention further west in the asiago region and down the brenta valley this summarises the mountain fighting ground on the italian front where there is gathering activity and where it is believed the big fighting is going to occur i ccontimud on page *) i when you do go ! i overseas 1 * . ± j don't ' / i j leave to / i | your faflllyj | ! the unpleasant juty i i of explaining f | why / | j youw^re 1 | ! forcedlto j i i go as a | | {' \ why f i now ! i as a volunteer ? 1 / this «»- given by bowring bros ltd