Map of northeastern Italy, the border with Austria-Hungary, and the northern Adriatic. Red lines mark railroads and red dots forts.

Südl. Kriegsschauplatz, 1. Italienisch-Österr.-Ungarn Grenzgebiet



Southern theater of operations. 1. Italian-Austrian-Hungarian border area



Reverse:

Postkarte des südlichen (Ital.-Österr.-Ungar.) Kriegsschauplatzes Nr. 1. Import.

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Facing Austria-Hungary, the Italian Front lay across northern Italy from neutral Switzerland across Trentino and Alto Adige, the Dolomite Alps then roughly following the Isonzo River as it flowed south to the Adriatic Sea.

Trentino and Alto Adige was the site of the 1916 Asiago Offensive. The Isonzo saw twelve Battles of the Isonzo, the last of them the Battle of Caporetto (October 21 to November 12, 1917) in which Austro-Hungarian and German forces drove the Italians back to the Piave River, nearly reaching Venice. The French and British deployed units to Italy to help prevent further collapse.

Pressed by Germany, Emperor Karl pressed his commander Field Marshal Svetozar Boroević for an attack. Boroević reported his troops were in no condition to strike, but complied. On June 15, 1918, Austria-Hungary launched its final offensive, the Battle of the Piave, squandering what power it had retained. The offensive was suspended after one week.

With the end of the war in sight, and fearful of losing leverage at the negotiating table, Italy launched the Battle of Vittorio Veneto on October 24. Austro-Hungarian forces fought for two days, and then, like the Empire itself, dissolved, rebelling and leaving for home.

The Italian and Austro-Hungarian navies battled in the Adriatic, with the Italians struggling to prevent Austro-Hungarian and German submarines them passing through the narrow Strait of Otranto to the Ionian Sea and the open Mediterranean.

The Italian Front is a battle front in Europe.

Some books about Italian Front (7)

Title	Author Last Name	Author First Name
Notturno	D'Annunzio	Gabriele
A Farewell to Arms	Hemingway	Ernest
Italy in the War	Low	Sidney
Sardinian Brigade	Lussu	Emilio
Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign: The Italian Front 1915–1918	MacDonald	John
The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919	Thompson	Mark
Italy, France And Britain At War	Wells	H. G.