MONTELEONE 



5502 



MONTELLO 



Upper Piave did not give good 

 defensive positions, the new front 

 was drawn from the Montello, on 

 the middle Piave. then N. of the 

 massif of Monte Grappa, to the 

 Val Sugana, in the Trentino, 

 where it joined up with the right 

 of the first army N. of Asiago, on 

 the W. side of the Brenta. By 

 Nov. 11 the Italians were on this 

 line from the Piave to the Brenta, 

 and as the Austrians drove first at 

 the Asiago region, some little time 

 was obtained for consolidating it. 



On Nov. 14 the enemy took 

 Monte Tomatico, N.E. of Monte 

 Grappa, and above Quero. On 

 Nov. 15 he unsuccessfully attacked 

 the Cornelia height eight times, 

 but the Italians, being outflanked, 

 had to retire next day. On Nov. 17 

 the Austrians were attacking the 

 positions on Monte Tomba, about 

 3 m. N.E. of Monte Grappa, and 

 trying hard to turn them from the 

 Piave. On Nov. 18 they made a 

 great effort from Quero, which 

 they had captured, and obtained 

 a footing on the ridge. German 

 picked troops were thrown into the 

 battle, but the Italians retained 

 most of their ground. On Nov. 22 

 the enemy captured the crest, but 

 the Italians held on to the S. slopes, 

 and, counter-attacking, once more 

 gained possession of the mountain. 

 Then their reserves came up, and 

 the enemy was completely checked. 



Meanwhile the Austrians had 

 advanced on the N. and W., and on 

 Nov. 21 attacked the ridge from 

 Monte Grappa N.E. to Monte 

 Fontana Secca. During a week's 

 fighting they took and lost 

 Spinoncia, took and lost and took 

 again Monte Pertica, a little N.W. 

 of Monte Grappa, but did not 

 succeed at any point in breaking 

 through the Italian line, nor in cap- 

 turing Monte Grappa. 



In the second week of Dec., an 

 Austro-German force began the 

 second battle by launching an 

 assault N.W. of Monte Grappa, 

 against the Solario salient and the 

 Italian front by the Col della 

 Berretta and the Col Caprile to the 

 Brenta. The battle began on Dec. 

 11, and lasted for about ten days. 

 On Dec. 11 the Italians were 

 forced S. somewhat, losing part of 

 the Col della Berretta and the 

 whole of Monte Spinoncia. Next 

 day they counter-attacked in the 

 vicinity of Berretta, and regained 

 most of the lost ground, but before 

 nightfall were again pressed back. 



After a brief lull the battle was 

 resumed, and on Dec. 18 the 

 Austrians took the summit of 

 Monte Asolone and one of the two 

 summits of Monte Tomba, thus 

 outflanking Monte Grappa on both 

 sides. It looked as if the Italians 



must lose their strong positions on 

 Monte Grappa, but they rallied 

 magnificently, counter-attacking 

 on Dec. 22, and winning the S. 

 slopes of Asolone. 



There was another pause, which 

 lengthened out as the French 

 moved into the Grappa region to 

 support the Italians. Next the 

 French, with whom were British 

 batteries, advanced and drove the 

 Austrians from a large part of 

 Monte Tomba on Dec. 30, taking 

 about 1,400 prisoners. Shortly 

 afterwards the enemy was com- 

 pelled to withdraw from his bridge- 

 head at Zenson on the Piave. 



In mid- June, 1918, the Austrians 

 began the third battle of Monte 

 Grappa by attacking from S.W. of 

 Asiago to the sea. After a heavy 

 bombardment on June 14, the 

 Austrian infantry advanced in 

 masses. They carried the forward 

 positions of the Italians defending 

 Col Caprile and Monte Asolone, 

 captured part of the Italian second 

 line of trenches, and taking Col 

 Moschin, S.W. of Asolone, looked 

 across the pass to the Brenta. They 

 then pressed S. to the Col Raniero, 

 thus outflanking the Grappa massif 

 on the W., and reaching a point 

 within two or three miles of the 

 plain. Early in the afternoon the 

 Italians counter - attacked, and 

 their reserves were brought into 

 action. Before the day closed the 

 Austrians had lost most of the 

 ground they had gained. 



The fourth battle in the Grappa 

 area began on the night of Oct. 24- 

 25,1918. Around Monte Grappa the 

 attack was made by the fourth 

 Italian army on the slopes of 

 Monte Pertica ; ground was gained, 

 and 4,000 prisoners taken. On Oct. 

 26 the Italians captured Pertica. 

 The Austrians counter-attacked in 

 front of this height, as well as at 

 Asolone and the Solarolo salient, 

 and positions changed hands several 

 times on Oct. 27. Next day the 

 Italians advanced a short distance 

 in a terrific conflict S. of Fontana 

 Secca. Six days from the start the 

 battle fluctuated, the Austrians 

 bringing up their reserves, and 

 resisting with stubbornness, but 

 they were forced backward, except 

 around Monte Spinoncia, where they 

 made some slight gains. Farther 

 E., on the W. side of the Brenta, 

 where the twelfth army cooperated 

 with the fourth, the Italians pro- 

 gressed in the Alano basin. See 

 Italy; Montello; Piave, Battles of 

 the; consult also Italy and the 

 World War, T. N. Page, 1921. 



Monteleone (anc. Hipponium). 

 Town of Italy, in the prov. of 

 Catanzaro. It stands on a hill, alt. 

 1,575 ft., overlooking the Gulf of 

 Santa Eufemia, 70 m. by rly. N.E. 



of Reggio. It has a castle built by 

 Frederick II. Monteleone was i 

 built on the site of the Roman 

 Vibo Valentia, which succeeded 

 the older Greek town. Traces of 

 both still remain. Monteleone was 

 shattered by an earthquake in 

 Sept., 1905. Pop. 10,100. There is 

 another Monteleone in Italy, in 

 the prov. of Avellino. Pop. 13,100. 



Montelimar. Town of France, 

 in the dept. of Drome. It stands on 

 a hill on the left bank of the Rhone, 

 93 m. by rly. S. of Lyons, and has 

 industries in silk and flour-milling, 

 and local trade in agricultural pro- i 

 duce and wine. There are remains 

 of a 12th century keep. Capital of 

 Valdaine in the Middle Ages, it was 

 united with the Dauphine to the 

 French crown. Pop. 14,000. 



Montello, BATTLE OF THE. 

 Fought between, the Italians and 

 the Austrians, June, 1918. The 

 Montello, which gives its name to 

 the battle, is an isolated ridge, 

 nearly 8 m. long and about 3 m. in 

 width, which runs roughly E. and 

 W., with the R. Piave on theN. and 

 E., from Nervesa to Cornuda, N.E. 

 of Asolo, Italy. This hog's back, 

 which is partly farmed and partly 

 forested, was not seriously at- 

 tacked until the Austrian offensive 

 of June, 1918. For some months 

 between Nov., 1917, and June, 

 1918, it had been occupied by the 

 British, and strongly fortified. 



In March, 1918, the British were 

 transferred to the Asiago area, and 

 the Montello was taken over by 

 the Italian eighth army, under 

 Pennella, its line also including the 

 middle Piave to the point where 

 the front was held by the third 

 army, under the duke of Aosta, 

 down to the sea. Like the rest of 

 the front attacked by the Aus- 

 trians in mid-June, 1918, the 

 Montello was heavily bombarded 

 on June 14, and next day under 

 cover of gas-shells and a smoke 

 barrage they forced the crossings 

 of the Piave. They drove the 

 Italians out of their first entrench- 

 ments, and advanced S.W., gain- 

 ing a good deal of ground in the 

 centre and W. part of the Montello. 



By the close of June 16 the 

 greater portion of the ridge was in 

 the hands of the Austrians, their 

 line running from Ciano on the W. 

 to San Andrea on the E. The rly. 

 from Asolo through Montebelluna 

 to Treviso was seriously in jeo- 

 pardy. But the Italian reserves 

 were thrown into the battle, and 

 after a bitter struggle the Austrians 

 were checked, and slowly forced 

 back. On June 17-19 the Italians 

 regained more ground, and by 

 June 20 the Montello was practi- 

 cally cleared of the enemy. See 

 Piave, Battles of the. 



