Unfortunately it seems obvious that this exploit, if not ordered by the
Italian Government was, at any rate, permitted by them. How otherwise
could the automobile containing these men have got past the sentries at
the Sušak bridge and two other Italian sentry posts? Moreover, these
men were in possession of documents which proved that official Italian
circles at Rieka were privy to their undertaking, and that they proposed
to investigate the Yugoslav military positions on the frontier....
These five fascisti brigands--who were also lieutenants of the Italian
army--would therefore have to be tried not only for attempted murder but
for attempted espionage. They were put into a train and transported to
the prison at Zagreb. "If once we begin to march," so the Italian
soldiers at Rieka had over and over again been telling the Croats, "then
we shall not halt before we come to Zagreb, your capital." Those five
will perhaps some day explain to their comrades how quickly Zagreb can
be reached.... As yet those whom they left behind them had not lost
their bombast: a manifesto was issued by them which declared that five
true patriots had sallied forth to Saint Anna, for the purpose of
parleying with the Constituent Assembly, and that in a barbarous fashion
they had been arrested, maltreated and possibly killed. Let the people
avenge the shedding of such noble blood. Everything, everything must be
done in order to liberate the captured brethren. And so, towards eleven
at night, about sixty fascisti and legionaries came together. Armed to
the teeth, they designed to cross over into Yugoslav territory, but when
they noticed that the sentry posts had been strengthened they went home
to bed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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