ATTACK ON BRITISH.

There is a lull at present on this mountain sector, but the attack will quite likely be renewed before many hours go by. Four divisions were used by the enemy yesterday in his attack on the British sector of the Italian front, two of them being brought up with every precaution of secrecy in the early hours of the morning of the attack. Of these the 52nd, which is chiefly Austrian, with a smattering of Bosnians, and the 38th, which is Hungarian, had especially heavy losses from our machine-gun fire and batteries firing short. The enemy casualties are estimated in thousands; our own are slight. The number of prisoners has increased to 420, with two mountain guns and about a dozen machine guns. The captured Austrians show no signs of ill-nourishment. Our line is now completely re-established. The Austrians seem to have aimed at reaching Kaberlaba, the height at the foot of which our trenches run, by eleven yesterday morning. Cima di Fonte and Monte Pau, three miles farther back, were to have fallen by last night, and the occupation of Monte Cengio and Monte Cavaletto, the last heights of all, looking straight down on to the plain, was to have been the day’s work to-day. As a matter of fact, the situation is one of “as you were,” with our patrols pushing out into No Man’s Land towards the enemy. The Royal Air Force, as usual, did excellent work, bringing down seven machines and two balloons on our front. The piling up of clouds prevented them from flying after the morning. On the Piave they smashed two bridges and machine-gunned the Austrians as they crossed from a height of 50ft, making them prefer a plunge into the swift stream to remaining on the bridge.