The greatest shock came from the North, where the Isonzo was first crossed by the enemy.  At this point there occurred a weakening of certain troops of the second Italian army, which gave the overwhelming German contingents an opportunity to pass forward between a portion of the army on the North and that on a line farther South.  Then began the double exposure of the Southern force to fire in the front and on the flank which required a steady falling back until the entire Italian army was moving towards newly-established positions farther West.  The commanding height of Monte Nero, which the Italians had occupied after deeds of great valor, was defended against onslaughts from three sides which gradually resulted in envelopment and the capture of many thousands of Italian troops and hundreds of guns.

A general retreat of the Italian forces was then carried out, with shielding operations by rear guards, and the main body of General Cadorna’s army retired to the Tagliamento.  The Germans encountered stubborn resistance on the Bainsizza Plateau and heaps of enemy dead marked the lines of their advance.  In one of the mountain passes a small village, commanding the pass, was taken and retaken eight times during desperate artillery, infantry and hand-to-hand fighting.

Goritz was shelled heavily and what remained of the city was further reduced to a mass of debris.  One of the main bridges from Goritz across the Isonzo was blown up by the Italians and the enemy movement thus was further impeded.

West of Goritz the town of Cormons also was shelled heavily.  The great German guns opened enormous craters and literally tore the towns to pieces.

The heaviest pressure began to be felt on the Carso front on Friday, October 26.  The Teutons then increased their bombardment to deafening intensity and supplemented this with huge volumes of poison gas and tear-shells.  The humid air and light winds permitted great waves of the deadly gases to creep low toward the Italian lines, the rear guards protecting themselves with gas masks and by hiding in caverns.

Amid the onslaught of overwhelming masses of the enemy, the Italians fell back slowly.  The retreat, as in other instances of the war, was the most terrible for the civilian inhabitants.  There was an enormous movement Westward.  All the roads were packed with dense traffic, with four or five lines abreast of teams, automobiles, motor trucks, pack mules, artillery wagons, and ox carts.  The soldiers marched or rode, singly, in groups, in regiments, in brigades, or in divisions.

“It was such a time as the world has seldom witnessed,” said a Red Cross spectator.  “Even fields and by-roads were utilized for the colossal migration.  The only wonder was that the great army was able to withdraw at all and establish itself along the new line of defense.

“Many heartrending scenes were witnessed along the route, as the torrential rain and the vast zone of mud increased the misery of the moving multitude.  Food was scarce and many went without it for days, while sleep was impossible as the throng trudged westward.  The military hospitals were evacuated, with all other establishments, and pale and wounded patients obliged to join in the rearguard march or fall into the hands of the enemy.  The roads were strewn with dead horses.