The Rapallo conference (5 November 1917) and the Peschiera conference (8 November 1917) were meetings of the prime ministers of Italy, France and Britain— Vittorio Orlando, Paul Painlevé and

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

—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 ...

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in the Italy, Italian region of Liguria. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and ...

and Peschiera in Italy following the Italians' defeat at the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Kobarid (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Caporetto or the Battle of Karfreit) took place on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central P ...

.Stefano Marcuzzi, ''Britain and Italy in the Era of the Great War: Defending and Forging Empires'' (Cambridge University Press, 2020), pp. 217–220.Edmonds, James, "History of the Great War, Vol VIII"
''pgs 24-25''
/ref> The conferences were held in Italy to reassure the Italians of the Allied commitment to them and of their status as equals. At Rapallo, the French and British premiers refused to entrust their troops in Italy to the command of 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 ...

and demanded his dismissal. Although he later presented this as a great humiliation, Orlando had made the sacking of Cadorna a condition of his accepting the premiership of Italy from the king. Cadorna was replaced by

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 ...

. The conference also agreed to the formation of a Supreme War Council at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

to co-ordinate allied plans and actions. At Peschiera, the prime ministers were joined by King

Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...

, Sidney Sonnino, Leonida Bissolati, Henry Franklin-Bouillon and

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...

. The king defended Italy's decision to defend the Piave rather than the Mincio, but the Italians were forced to accept British and French freedom of action in Italy.

Citations

Sources

* Lloyd George, David
''War Memoirs of David Lloyd George''
Vol IV, Boston: Little, Brown, 1934 * Edmonds, Sir James E
''History of the Great War, Vol VIII, Military Operations, the March Offensive, 1918''
London: MacMillan, 1935

External links

1917 in Italy 1917 in international relations 1917 conferences November 1917 in Europe 20th-century diplomatic conferences Politics of World War I World War I conferences Diplomatic conferences in Italy Rapallo Italy in World War I David Lloyd George Jan Smuts Victor Emmanuel III {{World-War-I-stub