By the time the summits of the mountains were illumined by the rays of the rising sun the whole of the heights and slopes of Monte Nero were in the hands of the Italians—750 unwounded prisoners, a large quantity of rifles and ammunition and several machine guns. The prisoners were brought to Udine, and made a sorry spectacle as they marched through the streets. It was the first time the inhabitants had seen Austrian captives, and they produced a strange impression, as what had been seen of the war so far had been only the troops passing on their way to the front line. Most of the men were Hungarians between 17 and 25 years of age; many were slightly wounded, their uniforms were in tatters, and the majority had no boots, but wooden shoes fastened to the foot and ankle by leather straps. They were confined temporarily in an old building on the Piazza Garibaldi and I managed to get in and make a sketch and have a chat with one of them. He told me that most of them had come from the Serbian front and had had a very rough time. Looking round the motley crowd in the picturesque courtyard, I could quite believe him, but the men seemed quite reconciled to their fate and taking it very philosophically. There was a group playing cards in one corner, and lying about in the shade were others chatting and smoking long German pipes, or sleeping peacefully. The heat that day was terrific, and certainly the prisoners in their scanty attire had a better time of it than their guards in full uniform. Mentioning the tropical heat recalls to my mind a very curious incident which occurred when the prisoners were being brought into camp, and which gave a vivid idea of the awful conditions in the Austrian positions the suddenness of the Italian attack had brought about. Some soldiers were bringing up big canteens full of water to be served out in due course, when suddenly there was a veritable stampede amongst the prisoners, and before it could be stopped there was a wild fight to get at the water. So overwhelming was the rush that the carriers were literally swept aside. The struggle only lasted a few moments, as it was, of course, only a question of who was biggest and strongest; then those who had got at the receptacles flung themselves on the ground and literally buried their faces in the water, lapping it up greedily like so many animals, whilst their weaker comrades tried madly to drag them away to get at it also. It was a sickening spectacle, and proved how, under certain conditions, some human beings revert instantly to their primordial nature. The capture of Monte Nero by the Italians appeared to put the Austrians on their mettle, and they made every endeavour to re-take it. Battalion after battalion was thrown against the position, whole regiments were destroyed in the vain attempt to dislodge the _Alpini_, and as a last resource the Austrians brought up their own mountain troops, the famous “Kaiser Jagers,” but with no more success.