th the survivors came out and surrendered, the Italians
presented arms to them as a mark of respect and admiration. By the
evening of the 9th of August the attack, "one of the most important
and violent onslaughts on fortified positions that the European War
has yet seen," had been completely successful, and the city of
Gorizia, together with the heights that guarded it, including the
northern end of the Carso plateau, were in Italian hands. The cost to
Italy was 20,000 dead men. It was a high price but, on the other hand,
she captured 19,000 prisoners, 67 pieces of artillery, and scores of
trench mortars and machine-guns. The moral and strategic results were
of incalculable value. The first line of the Austrian defense, deemed
one of the strongest on any front, had collapsed beneath the Italian
assaults; though the crest of the Carso still remained in Austrian
hands, the gateway to Trieste had been opened; and most important of
all, the Italian people had gained the self-confidence which they had
long lacked and which comes only from military achievement.

In order to reach Gorizia we had to motor for some miles along a road
exposed to enemy fire, for the hills dominating the city to the south
and east were still in Austrian hands. The danger was minimized as
much as possible by screening the roads in the manner I have already
described, so, as the officer who accompanied me took pains to
explain, if we happened to be hit by a shell, it would be one fired at
random. I could see no reason, however, why a random shell wouldn't
end my career just as effectually as a shell intended specially for
me. Although, thanks to the tunnels of matting, the Austrians cannot
see the traffic on the roads, they know that it must cross the
bridges, so on them they keep up a continuous rain of projectiles, and
there you have to take your chance. The Gorizia bridge-head was not a
place where I should have cared to loiter.

It is not a simple matter to obtain permission to visit Gorizia (it is
much easier to visit Verdun), for the city is shelled with more or
less regularity, and to have visitors about under such conditions is a
nuisance. Hence, one cannot get into Gorizia unless bearing a special
pass issued by the Comando Supremo. So rigid are the precautions
against unauthorized visitors that, though accompanied by two officers
of the Staff and travelling in a staff-car, we were halted by the
Carabinieri and our papers examined seven ti