n the Italians below. For these there was no way
round and no question of retreat, so they all died where they stood,
struggling to climb a wall thirty feet high, clambering upon one
another's shoulders.

South of the Vippacco we held the Volconiac and Dosso Faiti, but not
Hill 464, though this had been taken and lost again, nor yet the hills
further east, nor any of the northern foothills of the Carso, except
Hill 123. To the south again the Hermada had proved a great and bloody
obstacle.

* * * * *

Three striking characteristics of the warfare on this Front impressed
themselves upon my mind--first, the shortage of ammunition; second, the
enormous natural strength of all the Austrian positions; third, the
work of the Italian Engineers.

Judged by the standards of warfare in France and Flanders, both Italians
and Austrians were very short of ammunition. For Italy, a young and poor
country, possessing neither coal nor iron and thrown largely on her own
resources for manufacturing munitions of war, this was no matter of
surprise. It was astonishing that the Italian Artillery was so well
supplied as it was. But, to bring out the contrast, one may note that,
whereas in Italy "fuoco normale" for Siege Artillery was six rounds per
gun per hour, in France at this time a British Siege Battery's
"ordinary" was thirty rounds per gun per hour. And one may note further
that the number of Siege Batteries on a given length of Front in France
was, even at this time, more than four times as great as the
corresponding number on the Italian Front. The Austrians to some extent
made up for their small quantity of guns and shells by a high proportion
of guns of large calibre. Their twelve-inch howitzers were disagreeably
numerous. It resulted, however, that neither Italians nor Austrians
could afford to indulge in continuous heavy bombardments, such as were
the rule in France. There was here on neither side a surplus of shell to
fire away at targets of secondary importance, and therefore there was
less destruction than in France of towns and villages near the lines.
Ammunition had to be accumulated for important occasions and important
targets. Thus battles were still separate and distinct in Italy, with
perceptible intervals of lull, less apt than in France to become one
blurred series of gigantic actions. So too counter-battery work on a
great scale was not practised on either side out here, partly for