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STATISTICS FOR INTERNATIONAL
SOCIAL WORK AND OTHER
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
 Statistics for
International Social
Work And Other
Behavioral Sciences
Serge C. Lee
Maria C. Silveira Nunes Dinis
Lois Lowe
and
Kelly Louise Anders

1
 1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.

© Oxford University Press 2016

First Edition published in 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form

and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lee, Serge C., author.
Statistics for international social work and other behavioral sciences / Serge C. Lee,
Maria C. Silveira Nunes Dinis, Lois Lowe, Kelly Louise Anders.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–19–937955–2 (alk. paper)
1. Social service—Statistical methods. 2. Social sciences—Statistical methods. I. Title.
HV29.L44 2016
519.5—dc23
2015025939

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

Printed by Sheridan, USA

This book is dedicated to my beautiful wife, Kia, and to our four wonderful
children: Pheng, Tou, Maly, and Chong Dylan—Serge Lee.

I dedicate this book to my family, friends, and colleagues—with

thanks to Dr. Serge Lee for the opportunity to work
with him—Maria C. Silveira Nunes Dinis.

Thank you, Dr. Lee, for the privilege of working with you and the other
authors. It has been a very rewarding experience for me—Lois Lowe.

Thank you to Dr. Lee and the other authors for the opportunity
to collaborate on this book. The experience was very fulfilling
and intellectually stimulating—Kelly Anders.
 CONTENTS IN BRIEF

List of Figures xvii

List of Tables xxi
Preface xxiii

1. Brief Introduction to Research and Statistics 1

2. Variables, Levels of Measurement, and Ethical Responsibilities 7

3. Descriptive Statistics: Frequency Distributions 17

4. Descriptive Statistics: Measures of Central Tendency and Variability 25

5. Normal Distribution and Z Score 35

6. Probability and Hypothesis Testing 47

7. Inferential Statistics: Cross Tabulation and Chi-square 61

8. Inferential Statistics: Correlation 73

9. Inferential Statistics: The T Tests 87

10. Inferential Statistics: Simple Linear Regression 105

11. Inferential Statistics: One-Way Analysis of Variance 115

12. A Snapshot of Qualitative Research 125

Appendix A: Introduction to Spss 135

viii    CONTENTS IN BRIEF

Appendix B: Nonparametric Statistics and Post Hoc Tests 157

Appendix C: How to Use Microsoft Excel Analysis ToolPak 167
Appendix D: Critical Values of F 187
Glossary 197
References 203
Index 205
 CONTENTS IN DETAIL

List of Figures xvii

List of Tables xxi
Preface xxiii

1. Brief Introduction to Research and Statistics 1

Overview 1
Statistical Concepts 1
You as the Researcher 2
Types of Statistics 2
Descriptive Statistics 2
Inferential Statistics 2
Evidence-Based Practice and Statistics 3
Relationship Between Research Methods and Statistics 3
The Research Cycle 4
Problem Identification 5
Operationalization 5
Methodology 5
Statistical Analysis 5
Summary 6
General Class Discussions 6
2. Variables, Levels of Measurement, and Ethical Responsibilities 7
Overview 7
Variables 7
What is a Variable? 7
Variable Value and Value Category 8
Variable Classification 9
x    CONTENTS IN DETAIL

Types of Variables 9
Two Types of Data 10
Quantitative Data 11
Qualitative Data 11
Levels of Measurement 11
Nominal Variable (Nominal Data) 12
Ordinal-Level Variable (Ordinal Data) 12
Interval-Level Variable (Interval Data) 13
Ratio-Level Variable (Ratio Data) 14
Ethical Issues in Social Science Research and Statistics 15
Informed Consent 15
Anonymity 15
Confidentiality 15
Sensitive Information 16
Reliability and Validity 16
Summary 16
3. Descriptive Statistics: Frequency Distributions 17
Overview 17
Frequency Distributions 17
Frequencies 17
Percentage and Valid Percentage 18
Cumulative Frequency and Cumulative Percentage 19
Graphs 19
Bar Graphs (Bar Charts) 20
Pie Graphs (Pie Charts) 20
Histograms 21
Frequency Polygon (Line Graph) 21
Summary 22
Study Questions 23
Answers to Study Questions 23
4. Descriptive Statistics: Measures of Central Tendency and Variability 25
Overview 25
Measures of Central Tendency 25
The Mean 26
Trimmed Mean 27
The Median 27
The Mode 28
Important Note About Outliers 28
Measures of Variation 29
The Range 29
Properties of Mean and Mean Deviation 29
 CONTENTS IN DETAIL   xi

The Variance 30
The Standard Deviation 31
Coefficient of Variation 32
Summary 33
Study Questions 33
Answers to Study Questions 34
5. Normal Distribution and Z Score 35
Overview 35
Background of the Normal Distribution 36
Properties of the Normal Curve 37
Areas Under the Normal Curve 38
Understanding the Z Score 39
Calculate the Z Score and Convert to Percentile Rank 41
Additional Note About the Z Score 43
Summary 45
Study Questions 45
Answers to Study Questions 45
6. Probability and Hypothesis Testing 47
Overview 47
Population and Sample 47
Population 47
Sample 48
Probability and Sampling Distribution of Mean 48
Probability 48
Sampling Distribution of the Mean 49
Hypothesis and Hypothesis Testing 50
Types of Hypotheses 51
Research Hypothesis 51
The Null Hypothesis 52
Direction of the Hypothesis 52
Directional (One-Tailed) Hypothesis 52
Nondirectional (Two-Tailed) Hypothesis 53
Constructing the Confidence Interval 54
What Is the Confidence Interval? 54
Decision-Making Using the Confidence Interval 55
Interpreting Results of Tests of Statistics 56
Constructing the Confidence Interval Using the Z Score 57
Statistics Rules in Converting Proportion into a Z Score 57
Errors in Hypothesis Testing and Alternative Explanations 58
Type I and Type II Errors 59
Alternative Explanations 60
xii    CONTENTS IN DETAIL

Summary 60

7. Inferential Statistics: Cross Tabulation and Chi-square 61

The Meaning of Bivariate Analysis 61
Overview of Cross Tabulation and the Chi-square 61
Constructing a Contingency Table 62
Understanding the Chi-square Statistic 63
Organizing the Cross-Tabulation Table Into Its Respected
Columns and Rows 64
Formula for Chi-Square 65
Calculating Chi-Square 67
Interpreting Chi-Square 68
Chi-Square for a 2 × 2 Study 70
Calculating Chi-Square for a 2 × 2 Study 70
Summary 71
Study Questions 71
Answers to Study Questions 72
8. Inferential Statistics: Correlation 73
Overview 73
Introduction to Correlation 73
What Is a Correlation? 73
Graphical Display of Different Types of Correlation 74
Direction of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient 74
Is a Positive or Negative Correlation a Better Coefficient? 75
Correlation Is Not Causation 77
Use of Correlation by Health and Human Services Workers 77
The Correlation Coefficient 77
Calculating the Pearson Correlation Coefficient 78
Formula for the Pearson r 78
Practical Example 8.1 79
Practical Example 8.2 82
The Correlation Coefficient Range 84
What is the Coefficient of Determination? 84
Summary 85
Study Questions 86
Answers to Study Questions 86
9. Inferential Statistics: the T Tests 87
Overview 87
The Meaning of T Statistics or T Tests 88
Three Types of T Tests 89
Various Statistical Assumptions About the t Tests 89
 CONTENTS IN DETAIL   xiii

The One-Sample T Test or T Statistic 89

Practical Situation Using the One-Sample t Test 91
The Independent Samples t Test 92
Independent Samples t Test and Its Relation to Health
and Human Services 92
Hypothesizing the Difference Between Two Independent
(Unrelated) Samples 92
Calculating the Child Recidivism Treatment Helpfulness
for Independent Samples 96
The Dependent Samples t Test 97
The Dependent Samples t Test and Its Relation to
Health and Human Services 98
Effect Size 100
Summary 101
Study Questions 102
Answers to Study Questions 102
10. Inferential Statistics: Simple Linear Regression 105
Overview 105
The Meaning of Linear Regression 106
The Meaning of Prediction in Health and Human Services 107
Statistical Requirements/Conditions for Linear Regression 107
Computational Formula for Linear Regression 108
Practical Example Using Linear Regression 109
Other Statistical Symbols (Notations) 111
Summary 112
Study Questions 112
Answers to Study Questions 114
11. Inferential Statistics: One-way Analysis of Variance 115
Overview 115
The T Test and F Ratio 115
Statistical Assumptions 116
Overall Meaning of the F Ratio 116
Two Sources of Variability for Anova 117
Variability Between Group Means 117
Variability Within Group Means 117
Practical Situation 117
Steps in Calculating the F Ratio 118
Computing the Practical Situation 119
Interpreting Results From ANOVA 123
Summary 123
Study Questions 123
xiv    CONTENTS IN DETAIL

Answers to Study Questions 124

12. A Snapshot of Qualitative Research 125

Overview 125
What is Qualitative Research? 125
Qualitative Data Collection Procedures 126
Qualitative Data Recording 127
Narrative Data 129
Qualitative Data Analysis 129
Discovering Patterns 130
Content Analysis 132
Semiotics 132
Conversational Analysis 133
Computer Applications and Online Resources 133
Summary 134
Study Questions 134
Appendix A: Introduction to SPSS 135
Overview 135
Why Computerized Programs? 135
Introduction to IBM SPSS/PASW 136
Data Entry Using SPSS 136
Creating Variable Names 136
Constructing Variable Value for Any Variable 139
Research Questionnaire 140
Saving Data 144
Frequency Distributions Using SPSS 144
Preparing the Data for Analyses 145
Suggested Steps in Preparing the Obtained Scores for Analyses 145
Using SPSS to Compute Descriptive Statistics 148
Using SPSS to Compute Inferential Statistics 150
The Pearson Correlation 151
The Chi-Square Test of Independence 151
Linear Regression 153
The One-Sample T Test 154
Summary 156
Appendix B: Nonparametric Statistics and Post Hoc Tests 157
Overview 157
The Logic of Rank Order 157
Types of Alternative Nonparametric Statistics 158
SPSS for Inferential Nonparametric Statistics
and Post Hoc Tests 159
One-way Anova Post Hoc Tests 162
 CONTENTS IN DETAIL   xv

Appendix C: How to Use Microsoft Excel Analysis ToolPak 167

Overview 167
Getting Started with Excel 168
Data Entry 168
Difference Between Excel and SPSS in Data Entry 169
Data Analysis Using Excel 2007–2015 177
Frequency Distributions: The Histogram Graph 178
Measures of Central Tendency and Variability:
Descriptive Statistics 181
Correlation 183
Linear Regression 184
t Test 186
Summary 186
Appendix D: Critical Values of F 187
Glossary 197
References 203
Index 205
 LIST OF FIGURES

1.1 The research cycle 4

3.1 Simple bar graph 20
3.2 Simple pie graph 21
3.3 Overall GPA of the students 22
3.4 Frequency polygon with a single variable 22
5.1 (a) Symmetrical bell-shaped curve. (b) Positively skewed distributions.
(c) Negatively skewed distributions 36
5.2 Normal distribution curve 37
5.3 Standard deviation on proportion of the normal curve 38
5.4 Calculate the z score and convert to a percentile 40
5.5 Chances that the couple in this situation can reunite with their children 43
6.1 Example of a directional hypothesis 53
6.2 Predicting nondirectional hypothesis for treatment compliance 54
6.3 (a) Confidence interval for nondirectional hypothesis (both sides).
(b) Confidence interval for directional hypothesis (right side) 59
7.1 The Chi-Square Statistic Computation Procedures 65
8.1 Positive correlation 75
8.2 Scatterplot depicting a positive correlation between skills
of children and their family size 76
8.3 Inverse correlation between domestic violence knowledge
and spousal abuse 76
8.4 Scatterplot depicting negative correlation 76
8.5 Scatterplot depicting no (zero) correlation 76
11.1 Visualizing total variability for the F ratio 119
11.2 Computation formula for SS terms 120
xviii    LIST OF FIGURES

A.1 SPSS blank screen 137

A.2 Appearance after Variable View is clicked 137
A.3 Values column 141
A.4 Miniwindows for Values column 142
A.5 Variable View for table 142
A.6 Data View for the completed variable 143
A.7 Data View for the name of the variable 143
A.8 Dislike statistics or Like statistics 146
A.9 Recode into Different Variables 147
A.10 Recode into Different Variables: Recode Old Value and New Value 147
A.11 Descriptive statistics computations 149
A.12 Selecting measures of central tendency and variability 150
A.13 Computing the chi-square test of association 152
A.14 Screen for Linear Regression 154
A.15 One-Sample T Test screen 156
B.1 Nonparametric statistics 159
B.2 The Mann–Whitney U test. 160
B.3 The Wilcoxon test 161
B.4 One-Way ANOVA screen 164
B.5 The post hoc test screen 165
C.1 Excel screen at startup 169
C.2 Screen with data entry 170
C.3 Using the formula, Step 1: choose the cell 171
C.4 Using the formula, Step 2: enter the equals sign 171
C.5 Using the formula, Step 3: type the formula 171
C.6 Using the formula, Step 3: type the formula using the cell addresses 172
C.7 Using the formula, Step 4: results 172
C.8 Using the formula: complicated formula with actual values 173
C.9 Using the formula: complicated formula with cell addresses 174
C.10 Manually inserting the function 175
C.11 Statistical function in Excel 2013 175
C.12 Use the Insert Function 176
C.13 (a) Excel with the Analysis ToolPak. (b) Highlighted area shows
Data Analysis 177
C.14 Defining the bins 179
C.15 Results of the Frequency Function 179
C.16 Analysis ToolPak Statistical Function 180
C.17 Histogram dialog box 180
C.18 Histogram result 181
C.19 Descriptive Statistics dialog box 182
C.20 Descriptive Statistics result 182
 LIST OF FIGURES   xix

C.21 Correlation dialog 183

C.22 Correlation result 184
C.23 Regression dialog box 185
C.24 Regression results 185
 LIST OF TABLES

2.1 Race and Steps One Walks Per Day 9

3.1 Research Data 18
3.2 Formula for Percentage and Valid Percentage Calculations 19
4.1 The Sample Mean Computation 26
4.2 Data Illustrating the Properties of the Mean 30
4.3 Mean Deviation Computational Formula 31
4.4 Properties of the Mean Deviation and the Variance 32
5.1 Distance Between the Sample Mean (X )and the Standard Deviation (SD) 39
5.2 Percentage Area Under the Normal Curve Between the Mean and z 42
6.1a Sample p Value for the Chi-Square Produced by SPSS 56
6.1b Significant Finding Result 57
6.2 The Four Possible Outcomes Associated With Hypothesis Testing 60
7.1 Cross-Tabulation Table for the Variables Gender and Race of Social
Worker 62
7.2 Preference of Social Worker Ethnicity by Client Gender 63
7.3 Understand Rows and Columns in a Cross-Tabulation Table 64
7.4 The Chi-Square Statistic 66
7.5 Cross-Tabulation Display of Observed and Expected Data 67
7.6 Critical Values of Chi-Square. Reprinted from Welkowitz, Cohen,
and Lea (2012) 69
7.7 Observed and Expected Frequencies Between Gender
and Voting Opinion 71
8.1 Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient r 78
8.2 Data Set for Children Socialization Skills and Family Size 80
8.3 Expanding the Data Set Into Segments for the Pearson r Calculation 80
8.4 Critical Values of Pearson r. Reprinted from Welkowitz,
Cohen, and Lea (2012) 81
xxii    LIST OF TABLES

8.5 Domestic Violence Educational Training 83

9.1 Critical Values of t. Reprinted from Welkowitz, Cohen, and Lea (2012) 93
9.2 Behavior Modification for Asian and Caucasian Youth 96
9.3 GAF Score of Clients Before and After Treatment 99
9.4 Self-Assertiveness Training Evaluation 102
10.1 Socialization Skills (Y) and Family Size (X) of Children 110
10.2 Ideal Family Size That Female and Male High School Would
Like to Have 113
11.1 Numbers of Combined Tardiness and Unexcused Absences 118
11.2 Numbers of Combined Tardiness and Unexcused Absences 121
11.3 Display Table for ANOVA 123
11.4 Reaction Time (Seconds) 124
12.1 Example of Magnitude 130
12.2 Semiotics Example 133
A.1. Research Data 140
A.2 How Students Felt About Statistics 144
A.3 Frequency Distribution for the Recode Variable “Like” 148
A.4 Age of the Students 150
A.5 Computing the Pearson Correlation Coefficient (Pearson r) 151
A.6a Dislike or Like Statistics * Gender of the Students Cross Tabulation 153
A.6b Chi-Square Tests 153
A.7 Linear Regression Between Self-Esteem and Family Relationship 155
B.1 Alternative Rank-Order Statistics Tests for Nonparametric Statistics 158
B.2 Result of the Mann–Whitney U Test 161
B.3 The Wilcoxon test. 162
C.1 Demographic Characteristics of Students in a Statistics Class 168
C.2 Excel Operators, Symbols, and Formula Examples 173
C.3 Grouped Frequencies for Age Category 178
 PREFACE

T
his book presents statistics using conversational English and universally understandable
concepts. Thus, students are enabled to readily understand statistics in social services and
health settings as well as in behavioral sciences such as psychology and sociology. This
book’s course contents, organization, as well as statistical techniques, tools, and proce-
dures are presented as we have been teaching our students over the years. Our goal is to provide
students and practitioners a user-friendly, practical, quality textbook to enable them to make
sense of, organize, analyze, and interpret data. In addition, it incorporates two powerful statisti-
cal software programs, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel
ToolPak, into statistical computations.
A distinct feature of this book is the use of illustrative diagrams throughout, mostly sys-
tematic illustrations regarding how to conceptualize the statistical concept, prepare data for the
calculations, and interpret findings. The course contents have been organized pedagogically so
students can see the progression of concepts and hand calculations in conjunction with comput-
erized statistical analysis tools.
Overall, the book is organized as follows: Chapters 1 through 3 focus on methodological
concepts. There is a discussion of the correlation between research and statistics, and informa-
tion pertaining to frequency distributions is provided. Chapters 4–6 address the measures of
central tendency, measures of dispersion, normal distribution, and hypothesis-testing proce-
dures. Chapters 7–11 cover basic inferential statistics. The last chapter, Chapter 12, highlights the
meaning of qualitative research and provides guidelines to assist with qualitative data analysis.
Four important appendices follow the chapters. Appendix A gives instructions on prepar-
ing data for data entry, constructing variable names, and data analysis using SPSS (a statistics
program available worldwide). Appendix B provides guidelines to nonparametric statistics and
post hoc comparisons, which this book does not cover. Appendix C focuses on Microsoft Excel
ToolPak, which is available for most personally owned computers and handheld devices such as
tablets and smartphones. Appendix D provides a table for critical values of F.
Finally, the book includes high-quality PowerPoint slides. This is certainly the importance
of the book. The PowerPoint slides are detailed, and one could easily understand the chapters’
contents without reading them.
STATISTICS FOR INTERNATIONAL
SOCIAL WORK AND OTHER
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
 C H A P T E R 1

BRIEF INTRODUCTION
TO RESEARCH AND STATISTICS

OVERVIEW

In this chapter, statistical concepts are introduced, along with the types of statistics and their
relationship to research methodology. Statistical terminology is introduced in the description
of the research cycle.

STATISTICAL CONCEPTS
A concept is an abstraction formed by generalizing from particulars. A concept becomes opera-
tional by identifying variables that can be used to measure a social issue. Essentially, social sci-
ence concepts are the mental images that symbolize perceptions, categories, personality traits,
ideas and thought processes, objects, and events.
In research, statisticians (researchers) may wonder which statistical concepts will likely
prove useful in finding a solution to a project. The researcher will likely begin thinking about
words having both numerical and nonnumerical meanings, especially those of possible use in
presenting the results of a study. Example questions might be “How was your summer?” “On
a scale from 1 to 5, how happy are you with your current job?” or “How long have you been
working with the county?” Possible responses are “I had a wonderful summer.”; “My level of
happiness with my current job is a 5.”; and “I have been a county employee for 20 years.” The
responses “wonderful,” “5,” and “20” are statistical concepts. In simple terms, statistical concepts
comprise statistical data. In this book, the terms statistical concepts and statistical data are used
interchangeably.
2    Statistics for International Social Work

YOU AS THE RESEARCHER

Students often ask one of the following questions in our classes: “Why do I have to study statistics?”
or “Why do I need to know statistics in my field of practice?” A quick response is that statistical
concepts are already used in everyday life. When thinking about research and statistics, consider
that social scientists are constantly experiencing private matters as well as interacting with others
in public. Private matters include such things as the relationships that we have with others, our
investments in education, years spent with a job, and decisions about family size. Public matters
include the effectiveness of working relationships with clients, the degree of collegiality felt toward
others with whom we come in contact, the new knowledge produced, the affiliations formed with
local health and human services agencies, or the number of volunteer hours spent per week in
community activities. With both private and public matters, our performance is sometimes excel-
lent, good, average, or poor. While we can never casually predict the results of our performance or
evaluate our degree of effectiveness, we can offer explanations or predictions based on statistical
outcomes by applying the concepts and tools of research methodology and general statistics.

TYPES OF STATISTICS

The two types of statistics useful in data analysis are descriptive and inferential, such as the
numerical scores obtained from a research project on factors attributed to child abuse. The two
types are not mutually exclusive. For example, information from descriptive statistics, such as
the mean and standard deviation, is needed to conduct the inferential t tests.

DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
Descriptive statistics are used to organize and summarize typical numerical values within a data
set. The principle of descriptive analysis is to describe the data by reducing the amount of infor-
mation in the data set through a process called data summary or data reduction. Descriptive
analyses commonly consist of compiling frequency distributions (i.e., percentage tables, graphs,
and figures); computing measures of central tendency (i.e., mean, median, and mode); and cal-
culating measures of dispersion or variability (i.e., range, quartile, mean deviation, variance, and
standard deviation). For example, when conducting research, information is compiled from
questions such as the following: What is the typical age of the sampled group? What are the
typical risk factors for spousal abuse? What is the typical hourly or monthly wage for a master’s
degree recipient in a specific field? To report findings from the research project, descriptive
statistics may be used to summarize the data in a meaningful way. Researchers may then reduce
a large amount of data into tables, graphs, or figures that are more understandable to both lay-
persons and educators. In Chapters 3 and 4, descriptive statistics are discussed in greater detail.

INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
Inferential statistics, through hypothesis testing, utilize more complex procedures and calcu-
lations to generalize and draw conclusions about a population based on a sample from that
population. Tools used in inferential statistics are commonly referred to as statistical tests.
Another random document with
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 Unfortunately, in a place like Venice, which is such a veritable
conglomeration of artistic treasures, it is obviously very difficult to
protect all, and with a thoroughly ruthless and barbaric enemy like
Austria it is to be feared that a lot of irreparable damage will be done
before the end of the war.
Life in Venice during the daytime was practically normal—
sunshine engenders confidence; it was after nightfall that you
realised the high state of tension in which everyone was living; it
could scarcely be described as terror, but a “nervy,” “jumpy”
condition, which was very uncanny. Everyone seemed to be on the
qui vive, though curiously enough the fear of the Venetians, as far as
I could judge, was not so much for themselves as for the safety of
their beloved city.
The most extraordinary precautions were taken to ensure its being
shrouded in impenetrable obscurity at night—a ray of light shewing
through a window meant instant arrest for the occupant of the room.
Even smoking out of doors at night was strictly forbidden. The
doorways of restaurants, cafés, and shops were heavily draped with
double curtains, and after eight o’clock the electric light was turned
off and only candles allowed.
It would be difficult to describe the weird effect of Venice in total
darkness on a moonless night.
It is said that more people have lost their lives by falling into the
canals than through aeroplane bombs, and I can quite believe it, for
it was positively dangerous to go a yard unless one was absolutely
certain of one’s whereabouts.
Added to this was the risk of being mistaken for a spy. One had to
get a permis de séjour from the Police, but even with this in your
pocket one was never really safe, for they had “spy fever” very badly
indeed when I was there, and even old and well-known inhabitants
were not immune from suspicion at times.
I heard of several cases of hair-breadth escapes from the clutches
of the angry crowd which would gather on the slightest suggestion.
To be heard speaking with a foreign accent was often sufficient to
attract unpleasant attention, so you were inclined to be chary of
venturing far from the Place St. Marc at any time, however much
your papers might be en règle.
Apart from the defensive work that was being undertaken to
protect Venice from Austrian air attacks, there was nothing of interest
in the way of military or naval activity to be seen. Destroyers and
torpedo boats occasionally came into the lagoon, but seldom
remained long.
The position of Venice makes it a sort of cul de sac, and of no
importance whatever from the point of view of land and sea
operations, and it is quite at the mercy of Austrian aeroplanes or
seaplanes operating from Pola or Trieste.
The sole object the Austrians can have in attacking it therefore is
to cause wanton damage to its historic buildings and art treasures,
for it is not a place forte in any sense of the word; and if there is one
thing more than another calculated to stiffen the backs of the Italians
against their enemy and to make them the more determined to do all
in their power to crush Austria for ever, it is this cold-blooded
onslaught on their national artistic heirlooms, for which there is no
military justification whatever.
At that time the nearest point of the Front was some 40 miles from
Venice, in Friuli, and after a few days marking time, I decided that
this was where I must make for if I wanted to see anything of what
was going on in this early stage of the war.
The courteous and genial British Vice-Consul, Mr. Beak, who had
just taken over the post, proved a veritable good Samaritan, and did
his best to help me.
I have not mentioned, I think, that when in Rome I had been given
an important letter of credentials by the British Embassy
recommending me for any facilities the Italian military authorities
might be prepared to grant me, and the letter now proved invaluable.
Mr. Beak got a translation made of it, to which he affixed the
consular stamp, and, armed with this, I paid a visit to the
Commandant of Venice, at the Arsenal.
 He received me with the utmost cordiality, but when I suggested
his giving me permission to go to the Front he informed me that he
had no power to do this; that my best plan would be to go direct to
Headquarters at Udine, where doubtless I would get what I wanted
on the strength of my letter from the Embassy. I said nothing, but
with the recollection of what General Elia had told me in Rome, I had
my doubts. Anyhow, it gave me the idea of going to Udine and trying
my luck; if the worst came to the worst, I could but be sent back, and
in the meantime I should have seen something of the Front.
The following day a new rescript of the Generalissimo appeared in
the papers to the effect that until further orders no correspondents
were allowed in the War Zone. This was awkward for me, as, of
course, I was already in it, but I made up my mind to run the further
risk of getting up to the actual Front if it were possible. But how,
without speaking Italian, for, of course, the “interpreter” element had
disappeared from Venice since there were no longer any tourists to
interpret for.
My ever faithful pipe as usual helped me to solve the difficulty
(what I owe to Lady Nicotine for ideas evolved under her sway I can
never be sufficiently grateful for).
There was a very intelligent young waiter at the hotel who spoke
English fluently, and it occurred to me that he would make a useful
guide if he would go with me. He not only jumped at the idea, but
actually offered to come for a few days for nothing if he could get
permission from the manager, and if I paid his expenses, so anxious
was he to see something of the military operations.
There was no difficulty in getting the consent of the manager as
the hotel was practically empty; and then my friend, the Vice-Consul,
again good-naturedly came to my assistance by giving me a letter to
the Military Commandant of Udine, in which he stated fully my object
in coming to the front, and the fact that I was carrying a special letter
of credentials from the Embassy.
These two important documents, together with my passport, were,
I felt, sufficient to frank me some distance unless unforseen trouble
arose; so I made arrangements to start at once; and in order not to
be hampered with baggage, as I did not know where my venture
would take me, decided to leave my bulky luggage behind at the
hotel, only taking with me what I could carry on my back in my
“ruksak.”
Before I left I was introduced to a very nice fellow who had just
arrived in Venice, and a somewhat amusing incident occurred. I did
not catch his name at first, and, as he spoke English so fluently and
looked so much like an Englishman, I was somehow under the
impression that he was a correspondent of a London paper. He
appeared mystified when, after a few casual remarks, I asked him
how long he had been in Italy.
“How long?” he exclaimed. “Why, I live here.” “But you are not an
Italian?” “Well, you see my grandfather was,” he replied with a touch
of humour which I was only able to appreciate, when I heard later
that my “English journalist” was Peppino Garibaldi, a nephew of the
great patriot. He had just come from the Front, where he had been to
see the King to offer his services in raising a regiment of volunteers
similar to the one he had recently commanded on the French front in
the Argonne. His offer, it appeared, was not accepted, but afterwards
I learned he was given a commission in the Army, and he has since
so distinguished himself in action that he has risen to the rank of
Colonel. I believe his brothers have also done equally well in the
Army, thus proving that they are all real “chips of the old block.”
 CHAPTER III

From Venice to Udine—Reservists rejoining—Interesting crowd—

Delays en route—Endless procession of military trains—Drawn
blinds—The Red Cross train—Arrival Udine—Scene on platform—In
search of an hotel—A little incident—The well-dressed civilian—The
obliging guide—My suspicions—Awkward questions—The best hotel
in Udine—A little “Trattoria” close by—A cheap room—First
impressions of Udine—At the Police Office—The permis de séjour—
The Carabinieri and the local police—The fascination of the big guns
—The “Military Commandant of Udine”—A difficult proposition—The
luck of the undelivered letter—My guide has to leave me—I change
my quarters—The Hotel “Tower of London”—Alone in Udine—An
awkward predicament—A friend in need—Still more luck—Dr.
Berthod—I am offered a studio—I accept—The delight of having this
studio in Udine.
 CHAPTER III
The train service between Venice and Udine was apparently running
as usual, and there was no difficulty in getting tickets in spite of the
drastic regulations with regard to passengers. Possibly it was
assumed that anyone already inside the War Zone had permission to
be there, so no further questions were asked.
My guide, of course, got the tickets, so I had no trouble in that
matter; perhaps if I had gone to the booking office myself with my
limited vocabulary of Italian it would have been different. As it was, it
all seemed ridiculously simple, and there appeared to be no difficulty
whatever.
In Venice they are so accustomed to Englishmen, and artists are
such “common objects of the seashore,” that I attracted no particular
notice, in spite of my rucksack and my Norfolk jacket, breeches and
leggings.
The train left Venice at 8 o’clock in the morning, and was crowded
with officers in uniform and reservists in civilian attire, going to join
their regiments. Every class of Italian life was to be seen amongst
them—from the peasant with his humble belongings in a paper
parcel to the smart young man from Venice with his up-to-date suit
case and other luggage.
All were in the highest possible spirits, and it gave me more the
impression of a holiday outing of some big manufacturing company
than a troop-train as it virtually was.
I now began to realize how handicapped I was in not speaking
Italian; it would have been so interesting to have been able to chat
with these enthusiastic young fellows.
It was supposed to take three hours to get to Udine, but we were
two hours and a half longer, as we were continually being held up for
trains with troops, artillery and every description of materiel to pass.
It was an endless procession, and the soldiers in them seemed as
happy as sand-boys, and cheered lustily as they passed us.
The blinds of our windows and doors had to be kept drawn down
the whole way, and no one except the officers was allowed to get out
of the train at the stations under any pretext. Still there was not much
that we did not see; the blinds did not fit so tight as all that.
At one place we passed a long Red Cross train full of badly-
wounded men just in from the Front. This was the first time there had
been any evidence of the fighting that was taking place on ahead. It
was almost a startling sight, and came in sharp contrast to the
cheering crowds of healthy boys in the troop trains that had gone by
a few minutes previously.
There was a big crowd of officers and soldiers on the platform at
Udine, which was the terminus of the line, and one realised at once
that it was an important military centre. Outside was a large
assemblage of vehicles, motor waggons, and ambulance cars, and
altogether there was a scene of military activity that presented a
sharp contrast to sleepy Venice.
 Rugged and threatening, visible for miles around is the frowning pinnacle of bare
rock known as Monte Nero (see page 40)
To face page 26

The station is some little distance from the town, so we set off in
search of a small hotel we had been recommended to where we
could get quiet lodgings for a day or two as I did not want to put up
anywhere where we should attract undue attention. I had thought it
would be advisable to drop the “War Correspondent” for the time
being and to call myself simply a wandering artist in search of
Military subjects, and my intelligent young guide quite entered into
my idea—it was only a harmless little fib after all.
A few hundred yards from the station a little incident occurred
which, curiously enough, turned out to be the commencement of the
run of luck which, with one exception, of which I shall tell later, I had
during the whole of my stay in Udine. It came about in this wise.
A good-looking, well-dressed man in civilian attire caught us up as
we were walking along, and, noticing that we seemed uncertain
which way to take, asked pleasantly if we were looking for any
particular street. My companion unhesitatingly told him we had just
arrived in Udine, and were looking for lodgings.
The stranger, noticing I could not speak Italian, addressed me in a
very good French, and obligingly offered to accompany us part of the
way. I could not well refuse, but I recollect how the thought instantly
flashed through my mind that he was perhaps a police official in
mufti or a detective, and my suspicions seemed to be confirmed by a
question he put to me bluntly.
“Are you journalists?” he enquired suddenly.
My first impulse was to ask what business it was of his what we
were, when it flashed through my mind that it was better not to
resent his query, which might after all mean no harm. So I replied
that I was a travelling artist in search of military subjects, and that my
companion was my interpreter. “But why do you ask if we are
journalists?” I continued.
“Because journalists are forbidden to come to Udine, and only
yesterday the famous Barzini himself was arrested and sent back to
Milan for coming here without permission. Of course there may be
no objection to you as an artist if all your papers are in order.”
I assured him they were, but nevertheless I did not feel very
reassured after what he had told me; it seemed a sort of hint that
unless I was very sure of my position I had better not think of taking
lodgings at Udine, otherwise I was asking for trouble. However, I had
weighed all this in my mind beforehand, and was well aware of the
risk I was taking.
It makes me smile even now when I recall how curtly I answered
him, and how every remark he made only increased my early doubts
as to his bona-fides, for he turned out to be as good and genuine a
fellow as I ever met, and had it not been for this chance meeting, my
early impressions of Udine would have been very different to what
they were, apart from the result it had on my work whilst there, but of
all this more anon.
The modest hotel we had been recommended to put up at was
merely modest in comparison with Danielli’s at Venice, for it was the
Hotel d’Italie, one of the best and most frequented in Udine, and the
very last place I should have chosen for seclusion. As it turned out,
they had not a room vacant, so we had perforce to seek
accommodation elsewhere.
Meanwhile the obliging stranger had left us to our own devices,
much to my relief, as I was not over keen on his knowing where we
put up.
There happened to be a little “trattoria” close by, and we went in to
get something to eat. It was late for lunch, so we had it to ourselves,
and the proprietor, seeing we were strangers, came and had a chat
with us.
It turned out that he had a room to let for 1.50 per night with two
beds in it; it was large and very clean, so, to avoid walking about
trying to find something better, I told him that I would take it. But it
was more easily said than done.
“You must go to the Questura (the police) and get their permission
to stay in Udine before I can let you have it,” he told us. This was a
bit awkward, but there was no help for it but to go at once and get
the ordeal over, so we made our way at once to the police station.
We had to pass through a main street, and I realised at once that
Udine, although the “Front” and the Headquarters of the Army, was
only a small Italian garrison town, with perhaps more soldiers about
than there would have been in normal times.
Considering how close it was at that moment to the actual opening
operations of the war, it was distinctly disappointing from my point of
view, considering I was looking for military subjects. In this respect it
was even less interesting than many of the French towns such as,
for instance, Epinal or Langres, I had been in during the early days
shortly after the commencement of hostilities.
This was my first impression of Udine—I had reason to modify it
considerably in a very short time, in fact during the first day I was
there. The echo of the big guns convinced me that although life in
Udine was outwardly normal, the war was very near indeed.
 At the Questura, to my surprise, the Commissaire made but little
difficulty in giving me a permis de séjour, on seeing my passport and
my last permis from Venice, and on my guide explaining that I might
be remaining some little time, he readily made it out for one month.
As I came away I could not help wondering why it should have
been so easy for me to obtain this permission to remain in Udine
when Barzini had been arrested and sent away a couple of days
previously.
I had yet to learn that in the War Zone the civil authorities and the
local police take a very back seat, and that the permis de séjour I
had just been given would prove of no value whatever if the
Carabinieri—i.e., the military police—took exception to my being in
Udine. Fortunately I did not learn this until some days later, and in
the meantime, confident in the possession of my police permit, I had
no hesitation in walking about the town freely.
The sound of the big guns, however, which one heard unceasingly,
soon began to exercise the curious fascination over me that they
always have, and I was not long making up my mind that I must lose
no time in Udine.
It was a delightfully quaint old town, with cafés and restaurants,
and altogether a pleasant place to spend a few days in, but this was
not what I had come for. So I immediately set about making
enquiries for the quarters of the “Military Commandant of Udine” in
order to present my letter from the Consul, and ask for permission to
go out to the scene of operations.
It seemed on the face of it a perfectly simple matter to find out
where he was staying, but we spent several hours going from place
to place without success.
The long official envelope with “On His Majesty’s Service” on it
proved an open sesame everywhere, and I was received with
marked courtesy by all the staff officers I showed it to, and the
envelope itself seemed to inspire respect, but not one of them could
(or as I thought “would”) give me the information of the
Commandant’s whereabouts. It struck me as being very strange all
this mystery as it appeared.
Well, after having spent two hours going from one staff building to
another, we had to give it up as a bad job—it was evidently a very
difficult proposition to present a letter to the “Military Commandant of
Udine”—and the envelope was beginning to show signs of wear after
being handled so much, so there was nothing for it but to have the
letter always handy and chance coming across him sometime—in
the meantime, if any questions were asked me as to the reason of
my being in Udine I felt I had always the excuse of this document
which I was waiting to hand personally to the “Military Commandant.”
As it turned out I owed all my luck in remaining in Udine as long as
I did to this undelivered letter in its official envelope. Whenever I was
asked any awkward questions as to why I was there, out it would
come, and the mere sight of it seemed to afford me protection. It was
a veritable talisman. How its spell was eventually broken I will
narrate in due course.
To get out to the scene of operations without a permit appeared
hopeless, for the moment; one realised it would take some time to
work it, so the only thing to do was to chance it and to remain on in
the hope of something turning up—that Udine was the place to stay
in if one could was evident. I therefore decided not to budge till they
turned me out, and I never had cause to regret my decision.
My guide had only been given a few days holiday, so when he saw
that there was no immediate chance of getting out to see anything of
the fighting he told me he thought he had better return to Venice.
This, of course, meant my remaining on alone—a somewhat
dreary prospect, since I knew no one, and, as I said, could scarcely
make myself understood, but there was no help for it.
Before he left I managed, with his assistance, to find a better room
in a small hotel in the main street (curiously enough the hotel was
named “The Tower of London”), and arranged to have my luggage
sent from Venice.
 It would be difficult to describe my feelings when I found myself
alone outside the station after my guide had gone. I felt literally
stranded, but my lucky star was in the ascendant, and in a few
minutes a little incident occurred that made me feel that I might get
used to Udine after all.
There is a tramcar running from the station to the town, so I got on
it as a sort of first attempt at finding my way about without
assistance, but when the conductor apparently asked me where I
wanted to go I was at once non-plussed, and could only gesticulate
my ignorance and offer him a lire to take the fare out of.
I might have been in an awkward predicament and have attracted
more attention than I desired, when a big stout man, who was also
standing on the platform of the car, turned to me and in excellent
English asked me where I was going and if he could be of any
assistance since he saw I was an Englishman and could not speak
Italian.
Needless to add, that this led to a conversation, and I learned that
he had lived for many years at Cairo, hence his speaking English so
well. He was a very genial fellow, and a genuine admirer of the
English nation and our methods in Egypt.
Before we parted it was arranged that I should meet him the
following day at the principal café in the town, and that he would
introduce me to a young fellow, a friend of his, who also spoke
English fluently, and who would doubtless be glad to show me
around. So within five minutes of the departure of my guide I had
fallen on my feet.
My luck even then was not out: just as I got off the tram I ran into
the affable stranger who had walked with us from the station on the
day of our arrival. He seemed so genuinely pleased to meet me
again that my suspicions of him vanished at once, and I
unhesitatingly accepted his offer of an “Americano” at the café close
by; the fact of my being alone seemed to interest him immensely,
and he expressed astonishment at my risking remaining in Udine
without understanding Italian.
 In the course of conversation I learned he was Dr. Berthod, the
President of an Agrarian Society, with a big warehouse and office in
Udine. He asked me where I proposed to do my work, and when I
said in my bedroom at the hotel, he told me that in his building there
was a large room with a north light which he, speaking on behalf of
his members, would be pleased if I would make use of as a studio
whilst I was in Udine.
This was so unexpected that I was quite taken aback—such
friendliness from a stranger quite overwhelmed me.
He would take no refusal, and insisted on my going with him to
see if it would suit me.
It turned out to be a capital room, and I told him it would answer
my purpose admirably, so he got some of his workmen to clear it out
for me at once, in readiness for me to commence work, and
promised to find me an easel and everything I required.
He refused to discuss the idea of my paying anything for it, saying
they were only too pleased to help an Englishman, and that they
would be delighted if I would consider it as my studio as long as I
was in Udine. This was eighteen months ago, and the room is still
reserved for me.
Without this studio, as I soon realised, life up at the Front for any
length of time would have been terribly fatiguing and monotonous. It
is difficult to convey an idea of the delight it was, having a quiet place
to come back to work in after rushing about in a car for hours and
probably having been under fire all the time.
To get away for a while from the turmoil of war when you were in
the midst of it was a relief, like going from blazing sunshine into the
cool interior of a cathedral.
 CHAPTER IV

The wonderful system on which everything was worked—Udine “the

Front”—The commencement of hostilities—The 24th May—The first
day of operations auspicious for Italy—Redemption of the province
of Friuli—New Italian Front—Cormons—The inhabitants of Italian
origin—A good practical joke—The moral of the troops—
Unpretentious attempts at wit—High spirits of the men—The road
from Udine to Cormons—Wonderful sight—Italian flags everywhere
—A mystery where they came from—Wild triumphant advance of the
Italian troops—Women kiss the ground—But a lever de rideau—
Italians cross the Isonzo—Austrians on Monte Nero—Monte Nero—
The capture of Monte Nero—Incredible daring of the Alpini—The
story of the great achievement—Number of prisoners taken—The
prisoners brought to Udine—Their temporary prison—The tropical
heat—An ugly incident—Austrian attempt to re-take Monte Nero—
Success follows success—Capture of Monfalcone and Gradisca;
Sagrado and Monte Corrada—Commencement of the attack on
Gorizia—Subjects for my sketch book—Touches of human nature—
High mass in the mountains—The tentes d’abri—Cheerfulness of
men in spite of all hardships.
 CHAPTER IV
Everything seemed to go as though by routine in the early
operations, and from the moment war was declared and the Italian
army made its “Tiger spring” for the Passes on the night of May 23rd-
24th it was manifest that General Cadorna had well-matured plans,
and, that they were being carried out without a hitch anywhere.
During the six weeks I managed to stay in Udine I had ample
opportunity of observing the wonderful system on which everything
was worked, and how carefully pre-arranged were the movements of
troops and material. Certainly no army—not even excepting the
German—ever started a war under better conditions.
Udine in the early weeks of the war was right up at “the Front,” so
to speak, and therefore an extremely important centre. It was
practically from here that the commencement of hostilities was
made.
At four o’clock in the morning of the 24th of May the Italian army
crossed the Indrio, a tributary of the Isonzo, overcame a feeble
resistance and entered Austrian territory.
During the entire day the onward march continued. After a
preparatory attack in Monte Quirino, the important town of Cormons
surrendered and a few hours later Caporetto, Cervignano, Terzo,
Medea, the ancient city of Aquileia and Grado, the “Austrian
Ostend,” in the Adriatic. The first day of operations, therefore,
dawned auspiciously for Italy.
Some fears were expressed at the time that the hasty withdrawal
of the Austrians was a ruse, and that the Italians might find
themselves in a fix later on, but, as was soon proved, this was not
the case, and nearly the whole of the province of Friuli, that the
Austrians had held since 1866, had been redeemed with no
opposition worthy of the name, and the Italian front extended from
Tolmino to the sea.
I was in Cormons shortly after the entry of the troops, and it was
difficult to realise that the Italians had not always been there. The
inhabitants of Italian origin helped to remove as many traces as
possible of the Austrian occupancy—the hated names disappeared
as if by magic from shop fronts and street corners; in fact, in a very
few hours it was an Italian town again, and the good folk of Cormons
had cast off their hated thraldom.
In the centre of the town is a statue of the Emperor Maximilian (it
looks exactly like Beckmesser in the “Meistersingers” singing his
pricelied), and on the day of the entry of the Italian soldiers some
wag conceived the happy idea of placing a sack over the head and
an Italian flag in one of the hands, an indignity that must have
caused the Austrian inhabitants to gnash their teeth with impotent
rage, but there were touches of humour discernable everywhere
which conveyed to you more perhaps than anything else an idea of
the moral of the troops.
Notices roughly scrawled on walls in the villages which one
passed—“This way for Trieste,” “Nearest road to Monfalcone,”
“Straight on and the second to the right for Gorizia,” and so forth—
unpretentious little attempts at wit which have remade their
appearance again and again in every war probably from time
immemorial. All this, added to the wonderful patriotic ardour and
enthusiasm one saw on all sides, was very impressive.
 It meant practically scaling a cliff of rock (see page 41)
To face page 38

It is certain that no troops ever went to battle in higher spirits than

these splendid fellows. One heard them marching along singing and
laughing as though they had not a care in the world.
The road all the way from Udine to Cormons was a wonderful
sight, and looked like a defile of troops on some national fête day
rather than the opening of hostilities.
I saw the French armies on their way to the Front at the beginning
of the war, flower-bedecked and bubbling over with enthusiasm, but
somehow that was different to this advance of the Italians. The world
war had not then commenced; its horrors were as yet unknown—
here there was no question as to what was going to happen if Italy
did not “make good,” so the confidence and empressment was the
more stirring to my mind.
Italian flags seemed to blossom forth everywhere. It was quite
remarkable the numbers of them one saw. Where they all came from
was a mystery, as it was well known that the Austrians never
tolerated them anywhere in the province. It was suggested that the
three different colours of material were purchased separately and in
different places so as not to arouse suspicion, and held in readiness
to be sewn together to form the flags when the time at last arrived.
The successful operations of the first day of the war were
immediately followed up by a vigorous offensive, and the Italian
troops practically swept everything before them during the next few
days in their wild triumphant advance, all of which, in the language of
the Ring, proved the value of being ready and getting in the first
blow.
Everywhere the soldiers were received with open arms by the
peasantry of the redeemed province, and many touching scenes
were witnessed in the villages through which they passed, villages
that had long given up hope of ever being under the Italian tricolour
again. In one place the women said they would always kiss the
ground the Italians were marching over.
Of course, however, all this was but a lever de rideau, and the
merest prelude to what was going to take place in the near future
when the opposing armies got to grips. The Austrians did not intend
to submit to a walk over by any means, as was discovered when, a
few days later, the Italians crossed the Isonzo and endeavoured to
establish themselves on the slopes of Monte Nero preparatory to
capturing the mountain itself, but the Austrians were found to be
formidably entrenched, supported by heavy artillery and a great
number of machine guns.
The chief operations for the next few weeks, therefore, were
confined to the mountainous region on the left bank of the Isonzo,
about six miles west of Tolmino.
 Here, towering nearly 7,000 feet high, rugged and threatening,
visible for miles around, is the frowning pinnacle of bare rock known
as Monte Nero, for the possession of which so many gallant lives
were to be sacrificed. That it was of the utmost importance it should
without undue delay be captured was patent from the very start.
From its northern slope the Austrian artillery commanded the entire
zone of operations in the vicinity right and left.
It is almost impossible to describe the terrible nature of the
enterprise the Italians found themselves up against, but which had to
be carried out at all costs. One must have seen Monte Nero to form
a conception of the courage that was requisite to accomplish it, yet it
was eventually achieved, and under conditions which will ever
redound to the glory of the Italian army.
The whole story of the capture of Monte Nero is a veritable epic of
heroism and endurance. It started with a series of stubborn conflicts
for the possession of the spurs leading to the summit; these were
gradually taken, and then came the crucial moment when only the
actual summit remained in the possession of the Austrians. This had
been transformed into a veritable fortress, and its eventual capture
was probably one of the most thrilling episodes in the history of war.
The Austrians were so strongly entrenched and fortified that they
had every reason to consider themselves in complete security from
any attack except by long range artillery fire, and the front of their
positions was further protected by nature, the side of the mountain
being almost perpendicular for some distance from the top.
Many an experienced climber would hesitate to negotiate so
precipitous an ascent in daylight. The Alpini, with almost incredible
daring, undertook it on a moonless night.
It meant practically scaling a cliff of rock in pitch darkness,
encumbered with rifle and munition; however, amongst the men, all
of whom were hardy mountaineers, there was no hesitancy. In order
to lessen the danger of making any noise which might arouse the
suspicions of the Austrian sentries, they removed their boots and
bound rags round their feet to prevent them being cut on the rocks.