he 14 ttts.
act of ome.
nterprise of the Italian manufacturers and the organizing and chnical genius of Gen. Dallolio. On Feb. 8 1918 Gen. Giardino vas appointed to Versailles in the place of Gen. Cadorna, who was placed on the retired list, and on the 2oth Gen. Alfieri signed from the War Ministry, to which Gen. Zupelli returned, /aluable work was done by the American Red Cross, whose elief workers penetrated into every corner of Italy, and not only gave the most generous and efficient material assistance to the needy, but carried on a most vigorous political propaganda, he British Red Cross was also extremely active, especially at he front. At the same time both the Government and numerous Italian private committees set to work with energy to care for he comfort of the troops at the front and in the rest camps. On Jan. 8 1918 President Wilson published his Peace pro- gramme containing the famous 14 points. Those which referred to Italy and the Adriatic question were of a nature Italy and ^ o ra i se some doubts as to his policy. He spoke in fact of " rectifications of the Italian frontiers on clear- ly recognized national lines," a phrase which has no meaning where the population is mixed. Point 10 speaks " autonomy " for the peoples of Austria-Hungary which might nply the maintenance of the Dual Monarchy; but as long as that lonarchy existed Italy could never hope to retain peacefully ven Trieste. To Serbia he offered no more than a free outlet to he sea, which might have been obtained outside the Austro- lungarian dominions; this point also implied an unspoken esire to preserve the Monarchy. In Italy, even among the most ardent interventionists, there were a few who did not wish for he total destruction of Austria-Hungary, but their desire was obviously incompatible with the realization of Italian aspirations. Between April 8 and 10 the congress of nationalities oppressed by Austria-Hungary was held in Rome, and, although organized by a private committee, its delegates were received on the nth by the premier, to whom they presented the so-called "Pact of Rome." Sig. Orlando had previously received in private the Yugoslav delegation to the Congress headed by M. Trumbich. The Pact of Rome, if arried out, meant the death-knell of the Dual Monarchy, nasmuch as it provided that each of the peoples subjected vholly or partly to Austro-Hungarian rule "proclaim its right constitute its nationality and state unity and to complete it and attain full political and economic independence." The Italian and Yugoslav delegates recognized further that "the unity and independence of the Yugoslav nation are a vital aterest for Italy, as the completion of Italian unity is a vital nterest of the Yugoslav nation." They also agreed " to settle itnicably the various territorial controversies on the basis of the principle of nationality and of the right of self-determination of peoples, and so as to avoid causing prejudice to the vital nterests of the nations, which will be defined at the moment of making peace." Guarantees for the maintenance of their anguage, culture and moral and economic interests were promised to the racial minorities which might be included in each state. This agreement was an earnest of mutual good-will and the result of the tendencies of Bissolati and certain political men and writers who wished Italy to assume the leadership of the movement for the liberation, of Austria-Hungary's subject peoples. But it eally had no binding force, and it failed to offer a definite olution for the practical territorial problems which were des- tined later to assume so acute a character. The Nationalists aimed that the attitude of certain Italian representatives, who seemed prepared to give up Dalmatia, was responsible for the future intransigeance of the Yugoslavs. 1 At the same time the Yugoslav propagandists were conducting an active campaign to induce Britain and France to go back on the territorial agree- ments with Italy contained in the Pact of London, and they tried to enlist the support of the United States, which was not a party to that convention. In Sept. 1918 they actually proposed that, Italy remained obdurate, Britain, France and the United States should force her to give way by cutting off her supplies of
1 See the whole correspondence on the subject in La Vita Italiana, July-Aug. 1919, p. 120.
food and coal. It need hardly be said that this suggestion was not accepted by the Allies.
Italy had already sent a number of territorial troops to France to form labour corps (about 70,000 in all). But now, in view of the very serious situation on the French front caused by the successful German offensive of March and April, and as a return for the assistance of Allied forces on the Italian front, it was decided to send an Italian fighting force to the western front, consisting of an army corps under Gen. Albricci. The announce- ment was made in the Chamber on April 18. In May there were certain Cabinet changes: Gen. Dallolio left the Munitions Ministry, and Senator Villa succeeded Sig. Bianchi at that of Transport, and on the 22nd Sig. Crespi was appointed to the new- ly created Ministry of Supply. On the 24th the third anniversary of Italy's declaration of war was celebrated in Rome, and the Prince of Wales took part in the ceremony.
After the great German offensive in France the Supreme Command received information that another Austrian offensive on the Italian front was in preparation. Although the spirit of the army and of the country as a whole was much higher than it had been before Caporetto, and it was generalfy believed that the enemy would be ulti- mately held up, it was feared that the enemy push would result in at least a temporary occupation of more Italian terri- tory, containing rich industrial and agricultural areas which the country could not afford to lose. Fortunately the re- organized intelligence service was able to obtain full details of the enemy's plans in good time. This was partly due also to the Italian and Allied air forces, which had now acquired a complete mastery of the air on the Italian front, and to some extent to the work of propaganda carried out among the Austrian troops belonging to the oppressed nationalities. Among the Austrian prisoners captured, those of Czechoslovak, Rumanian and Polish nationality were formed into special units to serve at the front the Czechoslovaks eventually constituted a division which took part in the fighting. Negotiations were also opened with a view to raising a Yugoslav force, but the plan failed. On June 15 1918, the Austrian offensive was launched on the Asiago plateau and on the Piave-Grappa front, and on the 23rd, after eight days' desperate fighting, the Austrians were completely driven back to their old positions, defeated and in disorder. This victory, in which the Anglo-French divisions had an important share, produced a general sense of relief.
The internal economic situation was difficult enough, but the public were ready to support all necessary privations. Bread, rice, macaroni paste, meat, sugar and many other food-stuffs were strictly rationed. The bread ration was reduced to 250 grammes per day per head, meat could be obtained only twice a week, and the manufacture of cakes and sweets was prohibited. Coal, which had risen enormously in price, was so scarce that the railway service for passengers had to be greatly curtailed on all lines. The size of newspapers was strictly limited so as to avoid wastage of paper. On the other hand, war industries assumed an enormous develop- ment, and the whole country became one huge arsenal, in spite of the fact that practically all the raw material had to be im- ported. Some mines, however, such as the iron-mines of the Val d'Aosta and several lignite-mines, which had remained idle for many years because it did not pay to run them, were now reopened and proved valuable war assets. The shipping losses were very serious, as the enemy submarines were partic- ularly active in the Mediterranean and Adriatic, and by the end of the war Italy had lost just over half of her mercantile ton- nage. This, together with the losses of British and other Allied shipping, enhanced the supply difficulty.
Italy had now contingents on five fronts outside Italy France, Albania, Macedonia, Palestine (since June 1917) and Libya. Before the war ended other detachments were to be sent to the Murman coast and to East Siberia. The Albanian force had not taken part in important operations since the end of 1916, but in the spring and summer of 1918 it came in for a good deal of fighting and extended the occupied territory considerably, in
