The Battles of Monte Grappa were a series of three battles which were fought during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

between the armies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 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 Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

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 ...

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 Austrian summer 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 Cador ...

had ordered to construct fortified defenses on the Monte Grappa summit to make the mountain an impregnable fortress. When the Austrian summer offensive of 1917 routed the Italians, Cadorna's foresight saved Italy from total defeat, as the Austrians, with help from the German Army's

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 ...

failed to take the mountain's summit during the first battle of Monte Grappa from November 11, 1917, to December 23, 1917. Thus, the Italian front along the Piave river was stabilized and, although the Austrians could see

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

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 October 24, 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 October 28, when

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

declared independence from

Austria-Hungary 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 ...

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 Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

' 2016

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...

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. The map also appears in the game as part of the singleplayer campaign under the nam
Avanti Savoia

References

External links

Monte Grappa
Battles of World War I involving Austria-Hungary Battles of World War I involving Italy {{Austria-hist-stub

Popular culture

See also

References

External links