
The Battles of Monte Grappa were a series of three battles which were fought during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
between the armies of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
and the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
for control of the
Monte Grappa massif, as it covered the left flank of the Italian
Piave front.
The first of these battles became the most famous as it brought the Austrian advance to a halt following
the Austro-Hungarian autumn offensive of 1917. The Italian Chief of the general staff general
Luigi Cadorna
Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna, (4 September 1850 – 21 December 1928) was an Italian people, Italian general, Marshal of Italy and Count, most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914 until 1917 during World War I ...
had ordered to construct fortified defenses on the Monte Grappa summit to make the mountain an impregnable fortress. When the Austro-Hungarian autumn offensive of 1917 routed the Italians, the Austrians, with help from the
German Army
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
's
Alpenkorps failed to take the mountain's summit during the first battle of Monte Grappa from 11 November 1917 to 23 December 1917. Thus, the Italian front along the Piave river was stabilized and, although the Austrians could see
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
from their positions, they would never reach it. Italian casualties totaled 12,000 and Austrian casualties 21,000.
The second battle of Monte Grappa was complementary to the wider
Austrian summer offensive of 1918, which was the last offensive operation of the
Austro–Hungarian Army in World War I.
The third battle of Monte Grappa started on 24 October 1918, as part of
the final Italian offensive of the war, when 9 Italian divisions attacked the Austrian positions on Monte Grappa. The Austrians answered by increasing their forces on the mountain from 9 to 15 divisions and thus committing all remaining reserves. But the worn down Austrian Army began a general retreat on 28 October, when
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
declared independence from
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
.
In popular culture
Monte Grappa appears in
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
' 2016
first-person shooter
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
video game ''
Battlefield 1'' as a multiplayer map. The map is set during the final Italian offensive in the Third Battle of Monte Grappa pitting Austro-Hungarian forces against the Kingdom of Italy. The map is part of the "Iron Walls" operation set during the 1918 Italian offensive. In Single Player, you play as an
Arditi named Luca Vincenzo Cocchiola. In Multiplayer, you play either as a regular Italian Army soldier or an Austro-Hungarian, depending on who you choose to side.
The map also appears in the game as part of the singleplayer campaign under the nam
Avanti SavoiaIt has also appeared in 2022
Multiplayer video game
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
Isonzo (video game) as a playable map.
See also
*
Monte Grappa
References
External links
Monte Grappa
Battles of World War I involving Austria-Hungary
Battles of World War I involving Italy
Battles of the Italian Front
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