https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/the-german-blow-at-italy-qvjhgsc9t
October 27, 1917
The German blow at Italy
The news from all other theatres of war is eclipsed by the reports arriving from Italy. On the Middle and Upper Isonzo the Germans and Austrians have massed huge fresh forces and have compelled the Italians to retire on a front of between 25 and 30 miles. The enemy claim to have taken 30,000 prisoners and more than 300 guns. The dispatches we publish today contain grave warnings. The Germans have not hitherto taken part in the operations on the Italian front, but they have now formed a 14th Army for this special purpose, and have placed in it “a number of good divisions of the Active Army”. The correspondents on the lsonzo say that the enemy seem to have transferred “the whole of their Russian front here”, and though the statement need not be taken literally, it is clear that the inactivity of the Russian Army is the true cause of the Austro-German advance. We are told that the enemy aim at far more than the recovery of the ground won from Austria on the Isonzo. They intend to invade the Italian plains, and already they claim to be across the Italian frontier “at many points”.
The reasons which have led the Germans to launch this swift blow are presumably both military and political. The military possibilities are obvious. The political reasons are twofold, and relate both to Italy and to Austria. The Austrian Army on the Italian front has never been under direct German control, and Germany may have had reasons to think a continuance of its autonomy undesirable. The civil population in Austria is dispirited, and the internal economic conditions are bad. Should Germany gain military successes on the Isonzo, as she is doing, she may be able to revive the moral of the Austrian Army and the spirits of the people of Vienna and Budapest.
The immediate military possibilities of the Austro-German offensive are of a character which Allies must instantly take into account. The weight of the thrust against General Cadorna is heavy, but he is stanch of heart and deft of hand. He met and countered in the Trentino last year a peril which, at first, seemed almost equally menacing. It must be said though that an extensive invasion of Italy at this juncture would affect the whole Allied cause. In that spirit measures must be taken should the need arise.
The immediate military possibilities of the Austro-German offensive are of a character which Allies must instantly take into account. The weight of the thrust against General Cadorna is heavy, but he is stanch of heart and deft of hand. He met and countered in the Trentino last year a peril which, at first, seemed almost equally menacing. It must be said though that an extensive invasion of Italy at this juncture would affect the whole Allied cause. In that spirit measures must be taken should the need arise.
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