Domestic tensions in Austria-Hungary, caused by the growing desire for autonomy among the empire’s many nationalities, made it imperative to seek victory as quickly as possible. Germany had agreed to support its ally in what was hoped would be a decisive attack on Italy before winter made campaigning impossible. They had barely reached the front-line in the early hours of 24 October when an intense enemy bombardment began along the entire north-eastern line.Īt dawn, though Pisani and his men did not know it, nine Austro-Hungarian and six German divisions under Otto von Below had launched a major offensive. Pisani led his men towards divisional headquarters at Caporetto overnight through torrential rain and thick fog. The units under his command were struggling with large numbers of green, poorly trained soldiers.
He hoped Caporetto would be a quiet posting. His brigade had been involved in heavy fighting during the summer in the successful conquest of the Bainsizza plateau, and was now in a state of disarray. We can witness its opening stage through the eyes of Colonel Francesco Pisani who, as acting general of the Foggia Brigade, found himself and his division part of the Italian drive for reinforcement when he was ordered to Caporetto on 23 October 1917. When the expected offensive was launched on 24 October, the resulting battle lasted over a month and was a disaster tantamount to a national trauma. Caporetto had been selected by the Central Powers as the target for a major offensive because of the weakness of the Italian defence there. By October 1917, the front lines ran some six or seven miles east of the river, along the heights of mounts Ursig, Nero and Rosso. The town was positioned on the western side of the Isonzo River, which had partially formed the boundary between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire before the war. As rumours of an imminent Austro-Hungarian attack circulated, the Italian army sought to reinforce the mountainous north-eastern battle lines around the town of Caporetto (today Kobarid in Slovenia). Soldiers in the Italian army hoped that the winter of 1917 would offer some respite. Little apparent progress had been made on any front, casualties were high and the country’s economy was suffering badly. ‘Italians want a greater Italy, by conquest not by purchase, not shamefully but through blood and glory’, proclaimed the firebrand poet Gabriele D’Annunzio.īy late 1917, however, fatigue had set in even among the war’s supporters. Nationalist rhetoric held that acquisition of these areas – along with parts of Dalmatia – would complete the process of unification which had taken place in the second half of the 19th century. It hoped to seize the largely Italian-speaking regions around Trento and Trieste at the country’s north-east border. When Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on, it did so fuelled by optimistic visions of territorial conquest.