Part 10
Giovannino’s intentions were far from wrong; he was searching for a way in which to get something to eat.
“Listen, Cietta, if you can’t find a way in which to get flour, send for my sister at San Martino. You told me she was still grinding the flour for the Austrian command, and who knows but she may be able to take a little away. Anyway we must tell her I am here because I must see her, for she can be of great use to us in our undertaking.”
“We’ll do anything you want, but for mercy’s sake, for mercy’s sake, don’t let yourselves be caught. You do not know these savages yet, you do not know what they are capable of doing. After having taken you away they would come back here to our house and would set fire to it, the way they did at Mezza Villa in an isolated house where they found some prisoners. And now it is late and you are tired.”
Cietta had entrusted several blankets to Rino who was to guide us to the little hut where we were to spend the night. I still wished to ask many questions and to continue talking with them and express all my appreciation for what they were doing for us, but perhaps they would not have understood me, for I realized that my way of speaking was not always the best way in which to make my thoughts understood to peasants. I feared that they might perhaps consider as haughtiness that which was merely reserve, and I experienced a vague feeling of being an outsider, of not being one of them.
We stumbled on the little hut almost before seeing it, for it was so well hidden and covered by the thick vegetation. We entered the lower part which in the past must have been used as a stable; the upper part had evidently served as a hay-loft. The beams yet stood which formerly supported the hay and a bit of forage must have been left in the place because in one part the beams were still covered. Rino climbed up a little straight wooden ladder and where we thought there lay but hay there were instead several boards laid across the beams so as to form a little platform. We threw some hay on it and made ready to lie down. Rino, before leaving us, advised us to pull up the ladder and throw it across the beams, so that if someone were to enter beneath, he would never suspect we could have climbed to the little platform and therefore would not molest us. Our little lair was not far from a window and in case of alarm we could always escape by it and take to the open country. Soon fatigue overcame us and the bed, though in truth it was not very soft, seemed to us like a comfortable couch of feathers.
XI
June 5. Several days following our arrival in enemy territory passed smoothly without anything particular happening. Every morning and every night one of the refugees brought us a basket of food and we suspended it from a cord that the ants and other insects might not spoil our precious treasure. Bottecchia’s sister came. The meeting between the two was truly moving. Giovanni’s sister is a little woman, angular and nervous, all fire and pepper. She offered to help us and we gave her some money to find something for us. She soon brought me some postcards from which I derived useful information about the movement of certain troops and I preserved these documents in a little tin box, which I buried in a spot I could readily recognize. De Luca, my agent, also brought me important news and the number of a division and a regiment which he saw passing. But all of them had only a vague idea of what was about to happen and could not give me the exact details I desired. All, however, were unanimous in affirming that the offensive could not delay much longer and that it would be especially violent in the sector from the Montello to the sea.
More exact, more detailed, were the notices brought to me from Miane by the refugee. His cousin in the Austrian headquarters seemed to be a crafty, intelligent person. He was in touch with the general situation, and beside sending me a great many postcards, he referred to me some important details. From many symptoms he deduced that the offensive was imminent. All the transportation of ammunition had by now been completed and it was probable that the preliminary orders for the relief of the troops in the trenches by troops of assault had been issued. One of the most significant indications was that all the shock troops, especially the Hungarians who form the staunchest troops in the army of the enemy, had received the order to be in readiness and several divisions had already left their old position so as to be nearer the front. There was also much talk of change of headquarters which, for the day on which the action was to open, must be in a far more advanced zone. The troops had recently enjoyed special treatment. The ration, which usually was very scanty and not sufficient to appease the hunger of a robust man, had been gradually increased in the past days, and there were daily distributions of wine, coffee, liquors and other comforts. The enemy command was attempting by every means to raise the _morale_ of its soldiers. The officers delivered lectures before the troops in which they affirmed that from news received from the other side it was certain that the _morale_ of the Italians was still very low and that a single heavy blow would be sufficient to make the entire defensive system crumble, thus compelling the Italians to make a precipitate and disorderly flight. The victorious army would, therefore, be able to advance without great sacrifices, and would be able to take advantage of all the wonderful riches which were on the further side, and among these the army was bidden not to overlook the gem of the Adriatic, Venice. Even the Hungarian chaplains helped in this propaganda. They endeavored to convince the troops that this was to be the last effort required of them; an effort which would ensure a victorious peace. Bulletins were continuously distributed in which the German victories on the French front were praised to such an extent that the soldiers daily expected to hear that the Germans had arrived, at least, in Paris.
My informer did not know exactly at what point the offensive was to be struck, but from several conversations he had overheard and from the general trend of events he did not think he erred in saying that the greatest effort would not be made from the side of the mountain, but that the bulk of the Austrian army was already concentrated between the bridge of the Priula and the Vidor bridge. This concentration had as its objective the crushing in of the Montello. The foregoing was what he wrote in his brief report, written in such a clear, fine handwriting as denoted an educated person of some culture. He could not be far from the truth because, from all the information I had at hand, it seemed as if the Austrians’ plan of attack was in truth against the objective he had outlined. But this information could not suffice. It was a matter of absolute necessity that I set eyes, in person, on Armando Brunora, the friend of the refugee; this Brunora who resided in the headquarters at Vittorio and who seemed to know many important secrets. He had not been able to move as yet because it had been raining heavily, and the road which separated us from Vittorio was rather long, considering the scanty means of transportation available.
During a brief interval when the rain ceased, we went to look for the field near which we had arranged to place our signals. It was easy to distinguish it at once. The only difficulty about it now was that it did not belong to the uncles of my soldier but belonged to certain peasants who lived in a little group of houses near the square. Obviously we could not place our signals there until we had communicated with the owner. I therefore asked the refugee to summon the owner for me.
These little difficulties were a nuisance because in my mind I had planned never to venture forth from the house of my soldier’s relatives. Certainly not at first did I purpose to do so, but events so turned out that I saw myself compelled to enlarge the number of persons to whom we had to communicate our secret. However, I easily overcame even this test, because an overpowering fatality now took possession of me, and I cared very little for my life, did I but succeed in obtaining the information I had so much at heart. The owner of the land had received our request most kindly and was greatly interested in what we told him. He consented to my project with good grace and furthermore said that, not at once, but within a few days, his two sisters when they returned from visiting distant relatives would be of great help to us because they would be able to place the sheets on the ground and so avoid the necessity of our showing ourselves. This was really a very practical idea because after all, two men placing sheets on the ground might arouse the suspicion of the guards, whereas women such as are wont to wash and lay the laundry on the ground, are not an out-of-the-way sight.
The weather continued to be unfavorable, and if on the one hand I grieved because it interfered with our progress in getting into communication, on the other hand I was glad we knew how to take advantage of the only time in which it was possible to accomplish the undertaking. Then, too, the offensive surely could not begin, while it rained, because despite the fact that the Austrians do not usually attach much importance to the climatic conditions, yet this time they had a river in front of them and they must realize with a degree of apprehension that if their first attempt should not succeed in driving back our resistance, they might find themselves in the critical condition of having many troops on the other side with a high river at their backs. This might indeed prove rather inconvenient, because the Piave at times becomes a rushing torrent such as hinders the building of any bridges or the sending over of any reinforcements of food or ammunition.
For several days we had not seen a ray of sun even for a second. The rain continued to fall unceasingly, so that the wood had become a veritable bog. We hardly dared thrust our heads out of our little stable for fear of a drenching. During these days the refugee brought me for the first time a copy of the _Gazetta del Veneto_, a filthy newspaper published at Udine by a renegade Italian in the pay of Austria. It was really impressive to read those pages in which were printed sentiments and opinions which, written in German, would not astonish me in the least, but which disgusted me profoundly when written in our beautiful language. They invented a multitude of things about the internal situation in Italy. According to them a revolution was about to break out because of the lack of food, a lack become more severe owing to the intensive submarine warfare. “Our enemies,” the newspaper said, “have little reason to rejoice because they hoped to see many Americans arrive on their front, in the springtime, but instead thanks to the indefatigable work of our submarines, these reinforcements cannot come and all the provisions sent from the other side of the ocean are regularly lost at sea.”
The days seemed interminable, especially because we could not venture out from our lowly hut. We did not even dare return to the house of the Toneli because we feared to upset them and that our presence might annoy them. We trusted to the little woman who lost her son to find us eggs, and at once she began to go about offering money for them, but found it difficult because most of the peasants bring the little they produce to the board of the Austrian officers at Vittorio so as to get some flour in exchange.
On awakening on the morning of June 7th we had a pleasant surprise. We found the sun shining. The trees, on which the dewdrops still trembled, swayed their branches in the slight wind from across the mountain. The mountains seemed clear and clean-cut in the atmosphere about them. As the sun peeped over the top of the Cansiglio an anti-aircraft battery near Conegliano began firing and soon the aerial bombardment increased. All the sky was dotted with little pink and grayish clouds which blossomed and then dissolved in the clear upper air of the morning.... Even the battery at Vittorio had begun to fire. Soon after we observed in the pure sky above us the powerful wings of many of our “Caproni” in single file surrounded by many little chasing planes. The Caproni were directed towards an aviation camp near San Giacomo di Veglia, and meanwhile our chasing planes, gathered in a compact formation, were patrolling the air above the aerodrome of the enemy chasers in order to down any such impudent plane as dared to take rise and molest our bombing planes. A bombing machine with a chasing plane near it gives the impression of a young girl about whom a young colt cuts a thousand capers. All the people from the nearby houses came out into the open, unmindful of the shower of splinters which fell from the air. The women raised their arms towards the sky in supplication, and pointing out the Italian wings to the children murmured, “They are ours, ours.” An old white-haired man raised his hat as the Italian flag passed above him.
But the Austrians, who cannot be accused of extreme temerity, waited until all our planes had departed before rising in flight and as the last of our planes was passing over our lines on its return flight, the heavy enemy chasers arose, filling the sky with the coarse, deep roaring of their motors. Their method of flying is altogether different from ours. At times I enjoyed watching them in their movements; I found none of that agility, none of that rapidity of movement which so distinguishes our chasers.
If the weather continued favorable we intended that afternoon at one o’clock to begin placing our sheets. I decided to set a signal on the field which would indicate that the offensive was imminent on the sector of the Montello. I examined my conscience and questioned whether this report was not premature, but as time passed and I gathered more information from all sides, I became all the more convinced that the day could not be far distant when a rumbling, rolling bombardment would indicate that the offensive had been begun. Even the weather, which was now fair, could but help hasten events.
The sister of Bottecchia had brought me the sheets which we were going to use as signals and cautiously we approached the place where they were to be extended. We traversed the little field once again so as to be certain we were not making a mistake, and by half-past twelve the sheet was in its proper place. We hid behind a tree on the other side of the river to guard it and hinder any petty thief from stealing the precious material.
The sky which at first was very clear was streaked with those small light clouds which indicate that in the higher strata of the air a swift wind is blowing. Above the clouds a squadron of enemy planes, readily recognizable from the heavy noise of their motors, was completing a series of slow evolutions. These aeroplanes, whose task was certainly to obstruct the way for any of our planes, cruised continually between Vittorio and Pordenone. We glanced at the little watch given to Giovanni by his sister; it was 12.55. Suddenly the anti-aircraft battery near us began to fire. Yes, they had come. After a few seconds we glimpsed among the clouds a reconnoitring plane escorted by three chasing planes. And now what would happen; now that four of our aeroplanes would be against twelve of theirs? The adversary’s chance in attack was better than ours because they were able to rise above the clouds and crash down unexpectedly on our planes which, flying beneath them, were certainly not aware of their presence. I distinctly heard the cadenced, sibilant note of our motors and the deeper, heavier noise of the enemy motors. In a second the enemy had divided into two platoons of six planes each and each had selected its own objectives. Six had placed themselves against our reconnoitring plane and six were combating our three chasing planes. From among the clouds I heard the first faint reports of the machine-guns. The reconnoitring plane which appeared and disappeared among the white curls did not let itself be surprised; at times it made some daring evolutions and seemed as if it were going to nose-dive forever but retook its position and answered with brief rallies to the prolonged bursts of fire from the enemy guns. The Austrians in accord with their usual tactics tried to keep our plane in play with a concentration of their forces so that finally one of them could attempt a fatal volley, but our pilots did not lose heart and with repeated tricks and wiles endeavored to escape the net. There!—five planes had surrounded it, and one all painted red, the swiftest, a “D 5,” tried to take position on its tail. I held my breath; the enemy plane was but a few yards from our plane and fired lengthy bursts at it but ours answered only with a brief volley. Suddenly the Austrian plane reeled and seemed to go out of control; for a time it spun downward like a dead leaf, and finally nose-dived in a great flame. I raised my arms in the air; I wished to express to that little speck with the tricolor all my joy, all my satisfaction. The other planes, who had viewed the havoc, divided and turned towards their aerodromes. Our planes remained lords of the air. One flew several times over our signals as if the observer wished to take many negatives so as to make certain that one good photograph would result. I looked into the eyes of Bottecchia who was near me, and I could not conceal the emotions I felt within me.
Within a few hours the staff would know of our signals; of what was about to happen; it would be certain that the offensive was imminent and that it was about to be loosed against the sector of the Montello. From that moment I was certain that events favored us. From the combat which took place above our heads I had received another proof of the superiority of our race and from this I derived pleasant predictions for the future. In the sky, as always, we were absolute masters, in this sky which they had tried to take from us but which remained ever ours. Soon, I was certain this mastery would extend even to the land. We would win, absolutely we would win! And how could a nation, which in enemy territory exhibits such feats as those I had just witnessed, do otherwise than win? And furthermore, my modesty did not forbid me to forget that I too was a sample of the country which would win. Even on land Italy was not unworthily represented.
XII
Now that we had announced that the offensive was imminent, it was all the more necessary for us to gather as much information as possible; it was all the more necessary to have carrier-pigeons with which to send the information we already had at hand. Through the refugee I sent a notice to the secretary at Vittorio that I was waiting for him, that he must try to send me all the information he had, that above all he must not delay in coming to me. We decided to meet somewhere, for he feared he might be tracked and therefore wished to avoid going to a place whither he could not find a logical excuse for going. Our meeting was to take place near a farmhouse of the present mayor of Vittorio, Cav. Troier, and were the Austrians to inquire the reason for his journey he would be able to say that he went for business reasons to see some peasants we had talked about.
While we were eating we were surprised by hurried steps and as we were trying to hide we saw the refugee approaching with a tall, slender man, clothed in civilian garb and very pale.
“This is the Italian officer I mentioned to you,” said the refugee, “and this is Mr. Brunora.” (Even in the woods in enemy territory introductions are made!)
“I beg you to pardon my clothing which has nothing military about it, but I hope you will recognize me under other circumstances, without this deceptive apparel. Please be seated and tell me quickly what you know.”
The secretary sat on a rock, looked about in a preoccupied fashion and then said, “I did not want to come here; I wished to wait till to-morrow and see you at the established spot but I have received such detailed exact information, so important, that after appealing to such courage as I still possess after many months of privation and hunger, I decided to come to you at once to communicate what I know. This information I received from an Austrian Captain from Trieste. He is a very important person on account of the relations he has with the command of the Sixth Army. I think he knows Archduke Joseph very well and I know he is very intimate with the wife of one of the Staff Officers. From the information he gave me I understand that he is informed not only of the situation at the front as regards this army, but that he also has information about other sectors. I do not know if he be prompted by the desire to tell our command what the Austrians are preparing or whether his talk be merely due to lightness. This one thing is certain: he has told me things so extraordinary that I wanted to refer them to you at once.”
“Tell me them, tell me them,” I added, not understanding why he bothered me with so much detail before coming to the points which really interested me. He drew forth slowly from his pocket a tobacco pouch and opened it. It was full of tobacco but under the tobacco there was a small piece of tissue paper which he took out with great precaution and I saw there were many ciphers on the paper. He then continued: