[i][b]Extracts taken from the personal journal of Capitano Salvi Callocci, officer of the 14th Infantry Regiment, of the 5th Imperial Guard Infantry Division.[/b][/i] 

[b]31st of May, 1905 [/b]

[i]It has been weeks since this god-awful battle began. I’ve heard that it’s been dubbed the ‘Battle of Zilorno’, although we’re miles from the town itself. I can still remember the slaughter of when we first encountered the Julian’s. We hadn’t been expecting heavy resistance, all our reports had been telling us that the Viscount of Julia had ordered all his men to remain within his precious city, so we were surprised when our forward scouts reported enemy movements ahead. 

At the time it had only been the 5th, supported by the 4th Artillery, but our spirits were high, and Generale Crimi ordered us to charge them. We knew that the Julian’s were a step or two ahead of us with their guns, but by the angel did we not know how far ahead they were. 

It was the 13th Regiment that was sent in first, with us and the 15th staying back in support. That meant we were just watching as the men of the 13th were cut down. Wasn’t long before Crimi ordered the fall back, but not before over a thousand Imperial Guardsman were dead, the regiment all but crippled.

After that, we dug in, rolling out the guns, just as they did the same. That was three weeks ago, and still the infernal bombardment continues. The 10th Infantry and the 3rd Artillery have moved to support us, even old Generale Altieri has arrived, taking full command over the Battle, but neither side has wanted to make the opening move. Instead these damned guns just keep firing, day and night. By my count, I’ve lost eighty four men from my company alone, with seventeen more needing attention from the Medical Squadron. I’ve needed stitches myself on a gash in my leg, caused by a shrapnel shell that caught us unawares late at night some two weeks ago, and it still aches. 

The air is hot and thick, and the smoke from the artillery hangs like an eerie mist over the churned up mud, but there are rumours among the men that a major offensive is planned in June, to end this battle at whatever cost. Even as I write this, the night air seems to him in anticipation. [/i]

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[b]1st of June, 1905[/b]

[i]In the early hours of the morning, the 12th and the 14th Infantry arrived, and by the angel were they a welcome sight. My brother, Maffeo, is an officer in the 12th, and I almost wept with joy when we found each other in the officers mess tent. But the celebrations did not last long. The Julian’s had obviously been preparing to make a move of their own, and the guns started to roar even louder than before. 

It was well-known amongst the officers that the Julian artillery was superior to our own, their guns, called ‘Thambers’, had better range over our Puccio’s, but we had the greater number, and eventually that won out. After nearly five hours of near constant fires, at times the individual shots merging into a never-ending roar, the guns finally fell silent, the Artillery crews cheering and singing as the last of the Julian guns was put to rest. 

Half an hour had passed before the trumpets sounded to bring us back to the front lines, warning of a full scale assault. We all ran to our posts, and as I looked out over the no-mans-land, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. 

There were just short of 40,000 soldiers of the Imperial Guard holding the line, but there couldn’t have been more than 3,000 Julians towards our lines. I almost felt sorry for them. I knew that they were men, just like us, with families, and memories, and hopes, but they had been ordered to death, and I had no choice but to give the order for my company to fire, just as the rest of the First Army did, and watch the Julian’s get slaughtered like cattle. Only fifteen minutes later, we were given the order to cease fire, and then a regiment from the 10th Division to the left of my possession, and two regiments from the 14th Division to the right of my position, engaged in a counter-offensive. 

The straggling Julian’s that still held the line found bravely, but we could see that their spirit was broken, and it was only a matter of hours before their left flank was broken by the 14th, quickly followed by the rest of their line. 

The 5th Division has been ordered to advance and consolidate the position, so I write this from a foxhole, the hot evening sun beating down on us in a brief moment of respite, before we continue to hunt down the Julian stragglers. I hope for their sake that this war is over soon.
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