Map of the Trentino, part of "Italia Irredenta," unredeemed Italy: Venezia Tridentina (Trentino and Alto Adige)

Venezia Tridentina (Trentino and Alto Adige)

Confine del Regno d'Italia

Conf.[ine] Geografico d'Italia

Confine fra Trentino e Alto Adige

Ferrovie

Tramvie

Ist. Geogr. De Agostini-Novara - Riproduzione Interdetta

Venezia Tridentina (Trentino and South Tyrol)

Border of the Kingdom of Italy

Geographic boundary of Italy

Border between Trentino and Alto Adige

Railways

Tramways

Geographic Institute of Agostini-Novara - Reproduction prohibited

Reverse:

Message dated December 14, 1917

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Thursday, June 13, 1918

"Conrad had received information from a deserter that the Italians knew the exact time and date of the planned attack on the Asiago, so he launched his attack on 13 June, two days earlier than scheduled. The opening bombardment of mixed poison gas and high-explosive shells caught the Italians by surprise, and the accuracy of the barrage heavily damaged the defensive fortifications. There were heavy casualties among troops caught in the open.

At 7.30am the attacking Sturmtruppen swarmed across the Piave and made deep in-roads across the high pastures of the Asiago Plateau until they were brought to a halt by British artillery hidden along the edge of a wood. Attack after attack was thwarted by resolute defence from Italian, British and French machine-guns and artillery. Conrad committed his remaining reserves, but his troops were suffering terrible casualties and they were running out of ammunition. As on the lower Piave, the Habsburg Army was forced to retreat to the east bank of the river."

Quotation Context

The Austro-Hungarian Piave Offensive Piave Offensive was fought across Trentino and the Asiago Plateau, and along the Piave River to the floodplain and mouth of the Piave River on the Adriatic Sea. Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf commanded the northern armies in the mountains. After the Italian disaster of the Battle of Caporetto the French and British sent troops to Italy to help prevent another collapse. Other sources make no mention of the early start to the offensive on June 13, but reference only June 15 as the first day.

Source

Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign: The Italian Front 1915–1918 by John MacDonald with Željko Cimprić, pp. 181–182, copyright © John MacDonald, 2011, 2015, publisher: Pen and Sword Books, publication date: 2011

Tags

1918-06-13, 1918, June, Battle of the Piave, Piave, Trentino and Alto Adige