It consists of a vast series of elaborately constructed covered-in armoured trenches with protective wire entanglements, and would shelter several army corps at a pinch, though fortunately there has not been the slightest fear of their being requisitioned, and all the time and expense expended on them will, it is to be hoped, have been precautionary measures. In years to come these miles of covered-in trenches will doubtless prove of intense interest to the military student, and though they may not present the picturesque aspect of a Vauban fortification, they are certainly none the less impressive. It is certain they will long remain as evidence of the determination and method with which Italy took her part in the great war. All this, though only a side issue, serves further to convince you that in carrying out her part of the operations, she has undertaken everything in a thoroughly well-considered and skilful manner that cannot fail to have a very cogent bearing on the ultimate issue of the Allied policy of co-ordinated strategy. Before continuing on our journey we were received most hospitably by the Divisional General. In the garden of a fine old house, which he was using as his headquarters, an _al fresco_, stand-up _goûter_ awaited us. Tables had been placed under the trees on the lawn, and there were piles of dainty sandwiches, cakes and fruit, together with wines and tea, and coffee, cigars and cigarettes, all very acceptable considering how early we had started out. Amongst the group of officers with the General was Lieutenant Nathan, the wonderfully popular ex-Mayor of Rome. I had heard so much of him that I seized the opportunity of introducing myself, and found him a very cheery and sympathetic personality, speaking English as fluently as a Cockney—so well, in fact, that it seemed strange to see him in the uniform of an Italian officer. [Illustration: On one of the worst portions we passed a gang of peasant women carrying barbed wire up to the trenches (_see page 118_) _To face page 136_] From Cormons we proceeded to Caporetto via Tolmino, and thence through the valley of the Isonzo, a desolate mountainous region, which had been the scene of desperate fighting in the early weeks of the war. Now it was relatively calm, and only once and again was the silence of nature disturbed by the reverberation of a big gun in the distance. The long-prepared defensive positions of the Austrians, of which one has heard so much, availed them naught against the strategy of Cadorna and the daring of his troops. One by one they were captured, and by attacking them from the very side where attack was least expected. The principal explanation of the victorious advance of the Italians was undoubtedly that it was made from a direction where it was not looked for and which, therefore, quite upset the plans of the Austrian General.