General Luigi Cadorna, chief of staff of the Italian Army
Reverse:Postmarked October 10, 1916Generale Luigi Cadorna
"As late as 20 October [1917], Cadorna did not expect an Austrian offensive before 1918. On the 21st, two Romanian deserters told the Italians the time and place of the attack. They, too, were ignored. Next day, Cadorna escorted the King to the top of Mount Stol, one of the ridges above Caporetto that link the Isonzo valley to Friuli. They agreed there was no reason to expect anything exceptional. On the 23rd, he predicted there would be no major attack, and said the Austrians would be mad to launch operations out of the Flitsch basin."
After suspending the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo on September 12, 1917, Italian commander in chief Luigi Cadorna went on vacation with his wife, returning on October 19. Despite the numerous reports of an imminent Austro-Hungarian offensive, Cadorna and Italian King Victor Emmanuel felt no cause for alarm or additional defensive measures. On October 24, German and Austro-Hungarian forces launched the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Caporetto.
The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919 by Mark Thompson, pp. 298–299, copyright © 2008 Mark Thompson, publisher: Basic Books, publication date: 2009
1917-10-21, 1917, October, Cadorna, Luigi Cadorna, Caporetto
