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. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

—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, ...

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

and Peschiera in Italy following the Italians' defeat at the

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

.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 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 C ...

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. ...

. The conference also agreed to the formation of a

Supreme War Council The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the US and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian revolution an ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

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

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

Sidney Sonnino Sidney Costantino, Baron Sonnino (11 March 1847 – 24 November 1922) was an Italian statesman, 19th prime minister of Italy and twice served briefly as one, in 1906 and again from 1909 to 1910. In 1901, he founded a new major newspaper, ''Il Gior ...

, Leonida Bissolati, Henry Franklin-Bouillon and

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian 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 Prime Minister of South Africa, prime m ...

. The king defended Italy's decision to defend the Piave rather than the

Mincio The Mincio (; Latin: Mincius, Ancient Greek: Minchios, ''Μίγχιος'', Lombard: Mens, Venetian: Menzo) is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The river is the main outlet of Lake Garda. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Minci ...

, 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

Politics of World War I World War I conferences Diplomatic conferences in Italy 20th-century diplomatic conferences 1917 in Italy 1917 in international relations November 1917 events 1917 conferences Rapallo {{World-War-I-stub