WWI - Battle of the Piave River - Monte Grappa area - Austrian trenches on the Asolone

The First Battle of Monte Grappa, also known as First Battle of the Piave in Italy ( it, Prima battaglia del Piave), was a battle fought during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

between the armies of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

for control of the

Monte Grappa Monte Grappa ( vec, Mónte Grapa) (1,775 m) is a mountain of the Venetian Prealps in Veneto, Italy. It lies between the Venetian plain to the south and the central alpine areas to the North. To the west, it is parted from the Asiago upland by t ...

massif, which covered the left flank of the new Italian Piave front. The Italian Army was in all-out retreat after 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 general, Marshal of Italy and Count most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914-1917 of World War I. Early career Luigi Cado ...

, had ordered the construction of fortified defenses around the Monte Grappa summit in order to make the mountain range an impregnable fortress. When the Austro-Hungarian offensive routed the Italians, the new Italian chief of staff,

Armando Diaz Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, (5 December 1861 – 28 February 1928) was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy. He is mostly known for his role as Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito during World War I from November 1917. He ...

, ordered the Fourth Army to stop their retreat and defend these positions between the Roncone and the Tomatico mountains, with the support of the Second Army. The Austro-Hungarians, despite help from the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

Alpenkorps The Alpenkorps was a provisional mountain formation of division size formed by the Imperial German Army during World War I. It was considered by the Allies to be one of the best in the German Army. Formation After experiencing considerable diffic ...

and numerical superiority, failed to take the mountain's summit during the first battle of Monte Grappa, which lasted from November 11, 1917 to December 23, 1917. Armando Diaz allowed his local commanders much more freedom of manoeuvre than his predecessor, which resulted in a more elastic and effective Italian defense. Thus the Italian front along the Piave river was stabilized and the Austro-Hungarians failed to enter the plains beyond and to take the city of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

References

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Monte Grappa
*Cutolo, Francesco: ''Monte Grappa, Battle of'' , in: ''1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War'', ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2018-06-22. DOI: 10.15463/ie1418.11278. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/monte_grappa_battle_of

References

See also