While Capello was leading his offensive to the northeast of Gorizia, the Duke of Aosta launched sixty battalions against the line of Vallone, convinced that the numerical superiority of men and fire power would be clear. However, surprisingly, not only were the Austrian battalions greater in number but they were also more accurate. The advance of the Third Army slowed down immediately and in only a couple of days 25,000 soldiers were put out of action.
Cunning and experienced, general Borojevic did not fall in Cadorna's trap and sensed that the action on the Upper Isonzo by the Second Army was only meant to distract attention. It was only when the Italian battalions attacked Mount Santo on 19th May that the Austro-Hungarian general sent five divisions to the Bainsizza Plateau.
After a day of rest, the Italian bombardment started again with great intensity on 23rd May. The soldiers advanced two kilometres, overwhelming the first three Austro-Hungarian defensive lines and bursting through the right side of the enemy formation. The next day the Tuscany Battalion reached the mouth of the Timavo, a small river in the Karst whose scenery provided the background for many old legends (including the one where the Argonauts were in search of the Golden Fleece). This was the southernmost part that had been reached so far by the Italian army. Besides the awe evoked by these classical myths, the enthusiasm that arose at being so close to the city of Trieste and the continuous search for heroic action, this river provided the setting for a tragic war episode that was created by Gabriele D'Annunzio. The episode involved crossing the river (surrounded by marshes and without any trees) and the conquest of a small hill (Height 28) followed by the advance with an Italian flag up to the castle of Duino. Here the Italian flag was raised high to persuade the Italian population in Trieste to rise against the Austro-Hungarian authorities.
On a practical level, however, this plan was hardly feasible. The entire zone was in fact controlled by a large number of Austro-Hungarian soldiers. Moreover, the idea that Italian citizens in Trieste could see the Italian flag being waved was impossible to be realized given the distance to Duino (some 20 kilometres). Even Giovanni Randaccio, at the head of the 77th Tuscany Battalion (whose men were called "The Wolves of Tuscany") was almost sure that it was impossible to achieve this feat. Nevertheless, it was decided to go ahead with the plan on the night of 28th May.
The operation was actually a total disaster. The soldiers who succeeded to cross the walkway and reach the other side had to fight tenaciously to be able to reach the top of Height 28. Once they had reached the top of the small hill, the "wolves" were blocked. Some decided to mutiny while the others withdrew in haste amid a hail of bullets that were fired by the Austro-Hungarian troops. Many men were killed including Randaccio himself who, according to some witnesses, fell in the arms of D'Annunzio who wrote a famous funeral elegy for him at the Cimitero degli Eroi (Heroes' cemetery) in Aquileia.
