32nd Battle of the Isonzo - Infantry Assault - part 2

 or:   In The Soup?  

The final instalment of this particular game.

As we return to the mountain, the surviving Bersaglieri and Arditi have consolidated on the plateau...

...while the heroic Alpini - though somewhat reduced in numbers - have succeeded in taking the bunker.

But it's not all good news for the Italians - here come the KUK stormtroops in a desperate counterattack!  The Alpini are in possession of the bunker but the Austrians are well tooled up with new-fangled automatic weapons.  Could go either way really.

The Austrian company dug in on Hill 49 - still strangely inactive.

In yet another feat of heroism the Alpini beat off the counterattack - but from the original battalion only a platoon remains!  At this point we drew the action to a close and agreed on the following:

The Alpini, while clearly victorious were in no position to repel another attack, so they'd sneak back down the mountain after dark.

The Bersaglieri were in no condition to advance further and would also slip away after nightfall.

The A-H reserve Co would continue to hold Hill 49 and might dispatch a platoon towards Hill 171, hoping to hold the line until reinforcements arrive.

The mule train goes forward to retrieve casualties.

And finally - the real reason the attack faltered?  Here we see excited Bersaglieri queueing for the minestrone ration.