ABSTRACT
The Allied offensive had opened brilliantly. Alexeiev, who was virtually Commander-in-Chief, had originally intended to open his campaign a little later. But the concentration of many Austrian divisions in the Trentino, and the beginning of an offensive there, had led him to anticipate the date. On June 17th, the Italians, after some local counter-attacks, opened their main counter-offensive in the Trentino, which was continued until July 7th, with some local successes. On June 25th, the bombardment began on the Somme, and on July 1st, the long-prepared Anglo-French offensive in that region started. The first lines of the enemy's defensive system were obliterated by the bombardment; the broken, unrecognizable ground was occupied by our troops, but only at the cost of heavy losses. The losses inflicted by the extended submarine campaign, and the German hammer strokes at Verdun, these Russian successes were peculiarly welcome, the more so as they were unexpected. Nor was this satisfaction confined to the general.
