ld for their scenic beauty and natural grandeur. People from
many countries of the world have used this ground which now is so
bitterly fought over as their playground, and have carried away from
it not only improved health, but also the most pleasant of memories.
Though much of its beauty undoubtedly will survive the ravages of even
this most destructive of wars, a great deal of damage has been
inflicted. For in order to achieve some military ends the sky line of
entire mountain ranges has been changed. Summits have been blown up,
and contours of mountains which have been landmarks for centuries have
been changed.

Pleasant though life is in these regions when peace reigns, they offer
particularly great and severe difficulties to the fighting men. The
dangers and hardships which these courageous soldiers of Italy and
Austria have been called upon to undergo are not easily appreciated
unless one has been on the very ground on which they do some of their
fighting. The following extracts from descriptive articles from the
pen of Lord Northcliffe, Mr. Hilaire Belloc, and some special
correspondents of the London "Times" give a most vivid picture of
actual conditions in the Austro-Italian mountains in war times.

Speaking of his visit to the Cadore front, Lord Northcliffe says in
part:

"In discussing the peculiarities of the hill fighting as contrasted
with the fighting on the road to Trieste his Majesty the King of
Italy, who has a fine sense of words, and who has spoken English from
childhood, said: 'Picture to yourself my men 9,000 feet up in the
clouds for seven months, in deep snow, so close to the Austrians that
at some points the men can see their enemies' eyes through the
observation holes. Imagine the difficulties of such a life with
continued sniping and bomb throwing!'

"The illustrated newspapers have from time to time published
photographs of great cannon carried up into these Dolomite Alps, but I
confess to having never realized what it means. It never occurred to
me what happens to the wounded men or to the dead. How do supplies and
ammunition reach these lonely sentinels of our Allies?

"Here food for the men and food for the guns go first by giddy,
zigzag roads, especially built by the Italians for this war. They are
not mere tracks, but are as wide as the road that runs between Nice
and Mentone, or the Hog's Back between Guilford and Farnham. When
these have reached their utmost possible height, the