In 1915, Italy signed the secret Treaty of London with France, Great Britain and Russia, agreeing to joing the Allies in exchange for land in Europe and Africa. Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary that same year, and on Germany in 1916. As their first offensive action, the Italians advanced all along the border until it extended to encompass all the territories Italy desired, especially in the Trentino of southern Austria.

In May 1916, Field Marshal Conrad von Hötzendorf's Austro-Hungarian armies took the offensive in the Trentino, forcing the Italians to fall back and call upon Russia for help. Wanting to divert some Austrian armies from the Trentino, General Alexei Brusilov's Russian troops attacked in Galicia as part of a general Russian offensive. His armies captured more than 400,000 prisoners, and advanced as much as 60 miles (97 kilometers), but the offesnive came to a halt when German reinforcements arrived. Russia ultimately suffered more than a million casualties during the offensive, but succeeded in forcing Austria-Hungary to halt its attacks in the Trentino. Italy spent most of the rest of the war engaged in skirmishes with Austria-Hungary along the border.

In 1918, however, Austria-Hungary planned a major offensive to make Italy withdraw from the war all together, but floods and resistance by the Italians forced halted that advance in June. In October, Italian General Armando Díaz launched an offensive to the northeast across the Piave River. He succeeded in splitting the Austro-Hungarian armies in two and destroying them.

F. Lee Benns. Europe Since 1914 In Its World Setting. New York:F.S. Crofts & Co., 1946.
The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago:World Book-Childcraft International, Inc., 1979.

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This page was last updated on 10/20/2011.