Headstones in the Portuguese Cemetery in Neuve Chapelle, France. Portugal joined the Entente Allies in 1917. They were on the front line in Operation Georgette, the German Lys Offensive, the second German drive of 1918. The Cemetery is across a field from the Indian Memorial visible in the background. Nearby is the Laventie German Cemetery. © 2014 by John M. Shea

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Allied Commander-in-Chief Ferdinand Foch pressed Italian Commander Armando Diaz to launch an offensive against Austro-Hungarian forces. As the peoples of Austria-Hungary began establishing their own national states — Czechoslovakia, Hungary, an Austria of German speakers, Poland — from the Empire, and fearful of having its own expansionist ambitions ignored at a peace conference, Italy finally launched an offensive on October 24, 1918, the first anniversary of the Battle of Caporetto.

Austro-Hungarian troops fought tenaciously for two days, but the Empire was collapsing behind them and the Army began to dissolve itself. On October 21 the parliament of Lower Austria voted to create a new German-Austrian state. Two days later Croation soldiers rebelled in Fiume. Croatian, Bosnian, Czech, Magyar, and Romanian began to leave for home. On October 24, Hungarian leaders called for Honvéd (the territorial or national guard) soldiers to return.

Start Date: 1918-10-24

End Date: 1918-11-04