Appendix A — Letter From Voivod Michich to General Petitti di Roreto Concerning the Fighting on Hill 1050 in February 1917
“The magnificent exploit of your gallant troops, who, in spite of the desperate resistance of the enemy and their infernal fire, in spite of the enormous difficulties of the ground, yesterday, with irresistible dash, captured Hill 1050 by assault, has filled me with admiration; the two columns of your heroic 162nd Infantry Regiment have covered themselves with glory, inscribing a new and splendid page in the annals of the Italian Army, which are already so glorious. Under your high leadership your officers and men have given brilliant proof of their great valour.
“I congratulate you with all my heart, my dear General, and I beg you to inform them all of the deep homage of my admiration and of that of my whole army. I am really heart-broken, my dear General and dear comrade-in-arms, that a terrible accident, impossible to foresee and to prevent, should have obliged you to evacuate the positions captured so gallantly and at such cost. I deeply regret with you the death of all the dear and gallant comrades-in-arms who have so heroically fallen on the soil of my Fatherland, and I bow my head with the most profound respect before their sublime self-sacrifice, before their proud contempt of death in the struggle for the Great Common Cause. If you have had to abandon temporarily the positions occupied, it is a material loss easy to make good with troops such as yours. The great moral result so brilliantly obtained yesterday by your intrepid troops remains intact.
“Happy and proud to fight by your side, I beg you, my dear General, to accept the assurances of my high consideration and of my best sentiments.
(Signed) “Michich.”