about two p.m.
The Italian right was commanded by Colonel Mattei , the left by Colonel Bangoni , who did excellent work , while the other wing was not so successful . The heaviest guns had not yet arrived owing to one of those incidents always sure to happen when least expected , so that the 40-pounders could not be brought to bear against the forts until later in the day . The damage done to the works was not great for the moment , but still the advantage had been gained of feeling the strength of the enemy 's positions and finding the right way to attack them . The artillerymen worked with great vigour , and were only obliged to desist by an unexpected order which arrived about two p.m. from General Cialdini . The attack was , however , resumed on the following day , and the condition of the Monteggiana and Rochetta forts may be pronounced precarious . As a sign of the times , and more especially of the just impatience which prevails in Italy about the general direction of the army movements , it may not be without importance to notice that the Italian press has begun to cry out against the darkness in which everything is enveloped , while the time already passed since the 24th June tells plainly of inaction . It is remarked that the bitter gift made by Austria of the Venetian provinces , and the suspicious offer of mediation by France , ought to have found Italy in greatly different condition , both as regards her political and military position .