questions simpel really- what did it do, what did it do right, what did it do wrong, and how could have done all of it better.

questions simpel really- what did it do, what did it do right, what did it do wrong, and how could have done all of it better.

it was allied to germany/austria hungary ,ect but remained neutral till 1915 [ i think ] the betrayed them and joined the allies. they fought about 10 battles on the isonzo river [ losing most ] their biggest defeat was due to german aid at caporetto. the boundary between them and austria hungary was all mountainus--much easlier for the defender. they were the weakess of the great powers

well, not quite seems the itallian were able to crush the ;ast strong vesitige sof the Austrio-Hungarian army at Vittorio Veneto...

From Wikipedia

"In general, the Italians enjoyed numerical superiority, but were poorly equipped; instead, the Austro-Hungarian defense took advantage of the mostly mountainous terrain. So, the 1915 Italian offensives on the Soča (Isonzo) front (the part of the border which was closest to Trieste, a major Italian objective) was repelled. The Austro-Hungarians counter-attacked from the South Tyrol in the spring of 1916 (Strafexpedition), but they made little progress. In the summer, the Italians took back the initiative, capturing the town of Gorizia. After this minor victory, the front remained practically stable for over one year, despite several Italian offensives. In the fall of 1917, thanks to the improving situation on the Eastern front, the Austrians received large reinforcements, including German assault troops. On October 26, they launched a crushing offensive that resulted in the victory of Kobarid (Caporetto): the Italian army was initially routed, but after retreating more than 100 km, it was able to reorganize and hold ground on the Piave river. In 1918 the Austrians repeatedly failed to break this Italian line, and surrendered to the Entente powers in November."

well, not quite seems the itallian were able to crush the ;ast strong vesitige sof the Austrio-Hungarian army at Vittorio Veneto...

they had french and british aid there.

questions simpel really- what did it do, what did it do right, what did it do wrong, and how could have done all of it better.


Should have stayed out of the war as it didnt even really gain anything after it either :p

The entered the war after a bidding contest. Of course the entente could outbid the allies, since they were offering the Italians the parts of the Austrian empire they considered as parts of Italy anyway: "Italia irredenta".

What they did get was parts of the Italian Alps (Bozen/Bolzano), Trieste and a bunch of Greek islands (Rhodes) from the Ottomans. It was exactly the kind of territorial losses/gains that everyone was envisaging as the normal outcome of a war at the time. (Like Alsaçe-Lorraine or Schleswig-Holstein.) The Italians got the best deal immaginable at the time. Like everyone else they seem to have underestimated the cost of a war.

They already held Rhodes having taking it during their 1912 war with the Turks were they also took Libya.

They already held Rhodes having taking it during their 1912 war with the Turks were they also took Libya.
My mistake. So we are down to the Italian Tyrol and Trieste.
Which would be what Italy asked for in 1915, except Fiume/Rijeka.

Hi, as a lurker, I seldom post in this forum, but I'm really interested in this thread, 'cause I live in a city (Udine) which was the centre of operations in the nord-east and often I go in the trenches here (there are some in really good conditions).
I'll try to answer your questions in my poor english (I'm not an expert btw, only an... "hobbist" :) ), starting with 2 things... the WWI is considered the 4 indipendence war and, as every italian war,you'll not find 2 persons telling the same version :)
Italy enter war for Trento and Trieste, the cities "irredente"... the decision to side with France and England was 'cause the central empires offered only the 2 cities, England offered also Istria... of course Italy accepted and signed the London treaty.
Despite the successful start (some kms in the austro-ungarian territor, actual zone of Gorizia), very soon here, as in the west front, the war become static and the austro-ungarian, who controlled the mountains, easly managed to defend their positions.
As stated in another post, the italian offensives in the NE are named as the river, Isonzo, and was more defeats than victories, and for the few victories a great blood tribute was paid, so it's hard calling them "victories".
The situation was a stall btw, unitl Caporetto, when the austro-germans breaked the line and flow in the Padania plain until Piave river ("The Piave mumbled: the stranger can't pass") and from here started the counterattack, maked easier by a general weakness of austroungarians weared down by long war.
what did it do wrong? The head general was inept, he kept on sending the tropps to massacre vs an opponent better equipped, trained and better placed on the ground... that was the cause for Caporetto.
what did it do right? Italy obtained Trieste, Trento and Istria despite few victories in the war... surely a great gain.

I hope it's clear.. I'm sorry about my english :(

A last note... when, after Caporetto, italians were fleeing, the passed through a village (former austroungarian, but speaking italian) and they saw some children in the road... "Run, enemy is approaching"... and a child "But... but... YOU are the enemy". :)

Very interesting.

The only thing I could possibly add is that I've heard that, since Woodrow Wilson was against secret treaties, Italy only got part of the territory it had wished to gain after the war.

Very interesting.

The only thing I could possibly add is that I've heard that, since Woodrow Wilson was against secret treaties, Italy only got part of the territory it had wished to gain after the war.
Didn't they miss out on Fiume/Rijeka on the Istrian pennisula? Which meant that Gabriele d-Annunzio, patriotic poet and self-styled war hero (he lost an eye from the falk over Vienna when bombing it with flyleafs of his poems), formed a "freikorps", occupied it and set himself up as ruler for a while?

Fiume wasn't in the London treaty, in the original treaty it was part of the Jugoslavia, only after the collapse of Austro-Ungarian Empire, Italy claimed the possession of Fiume for a better control of Adriatic sea.
Anyway, on Semptember 12 1919 D'Annunzio marched on Fiume ("Fiume o morte", Fiume or death) and occupied it in name of Italian Kingdom as regent (was based on the fact that in 1910 24.000 of 50.000 abitants were italians) until 24 december 1920.

If Italy has decided to join the Entente against Austria-Hungary, it's simply because many Italian-speaking regions were under the rule of the Habsburgs before the war. Italian independentists from Trento or Trieste were considered as terrorists by the Austrians.

By the way, Italy didn't win nothing from the war, it has won the Italian speaking parts of Austria-Hungary (Trento and Trieste). That's not nothing. It was by the way totally legitimate for these regions to join the freshly unified Italy.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWinItalyP.jpg

Italy also won South Tyrol (Südtirol), where the clear majority spoke (and still speaks) German...

If Italy has decided to join the Entente against Austria-Hungary, it's simply because many Italian-speaking regions were under the rule of the Habsburgs before the war

Don't forget that Trento and Trieste would joined Italy anyway, even if Italy was remained neutral. Simply put, Italy joined the side that promised greater gain.

Italy also won South Tyrol (Südtirol), where the clear majority spoke (and still speaks) German...

Sure, but consider that in every part of ex Empire there are at least 2 main languages (here 4 for example), sometimes official, sometimes no (anyway spoken)