Cape Breton's Magazine

they went across the Sava River, and we were resting up there in a part of the Aus? tro-Hungarian Empire. 1915, Italy declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Then we went to the Italian line, a place called Gorizei. Then they took the horses away from us and conscripted us into the army. They put me in a Hungarian regiment. I couldn't talk to them; they couldn't talk to me. (Why would they put you in a Hungarian reg? iment?) They didn't trust our people--the Croatians--didn't trust that they would fight for them (Austro-Hungarian Empire). So they split up our people among Czecho- slovakian, Polish, and Hungarian--most of them with the Hungarian regiment. They thought the men were going to revolt. My battalion went in the trenches. Twelve hundred men went in, and in one week 86 were left. The rest of them were captured, killed, and wounded. I was one of the 86 men to survive her. In 1915, they landed in Serbia again. The 8th of October, 1915, we crossed the Dan? ube River in Beograd (Belgrade). Early in the morning, by little boats. We were lucky; no Serbian soldier was near the wa? ter. We jumped out and landed. We fought with the Serbian army for two days. We threw them out from there, and we were go? ing after them. They didn't do anything till they came to Knjazevac near the Bul? garian border. There, they held us up a couple days. And then we pushed them back; didn't meet them again before Kosovska Mi- trovica. We captured 1700 of their sol? diers. One fellow was working in No. 12 mine in 1926. I met him in New Waterford. He was talking Hungarian; I can talk Hun? garian. I found that he's a Serbian, and he found that I am Croatian. Then I ask him how he came to talk Hungarian. He says he was in prison, he was captured at Kosov? ska Mitrovica. I.said, "I was there. My battalion captured yours." I proved to him that I was there. I told him about the wooden bridge that was between the city and land on the other side. And they had set a fire on the bridge. It was one tim? ber wide--not a board, but one big timber left. They came over that one by one, from the city outside. When we next came to the border at Monte? negro, Montenegran soldiers didn't have a line. They had made a fire, cooking tea or coffee, hollering one fellow to the other on the hill. We didn't fight with them. Next morning, a plane came over us; they dropped something to our division. Two hours after, we were called back from the line. They read the order to us, that Mon? tenegro had given up fighting. "You're go? ing to go through the country, but if any man is caught stealing anything, or making any terrorism to the civilian people--he's going to be shot on the spot." They took us to the Italian front. We went in the north, in Tyrol. We were up there till 1916. And we made the offensive in 1916, to cut Italy in two. It was the first time I saw those 42-centimeter guns shooting. They started shooting 12 o'clock. After they shoot that shell out, it's like a thousand dogs barking, "Ow-ow-ow-ow" in A Neighbourhood Store in a Beautiful Village Neil's Harbour CO-OP MASTER MEATS Phone Orders, Personal Orders, Freezer Orders Top Grade Western Red Brand Beef Cape Breton Lamb (in season) Nova Scotia Fresh Pork, Chicken, Turkey "WE DELIVER" 81 Johnstone St., Sydney 562-6174 (Furniture courtesy Bonnell-Lubetzki's, Sydney) 539-6474 ''(24) ?? Take home a memory of Cape Breton Island Crafts Visit our store for a distinctive souvenir or ft. Featuring all "Made in Breton" articles, and everything in the store is handcrafted--jams and jellies, 1007o pure wool knitwear. Mad Potters, woven items, quilts, toys, and Christmas decorations. There's much, much more, including tartan specialty items. OPEN YEAR ROUND: MONDAY TO SATURDAY, 9 TO 5; FRIDAY, 9 TO 9 329 Charlotte St., Sydney Wholesale: full line of souvenirs 564-5527