When war broke out in August 1914, Italy – though a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary since 1882 – declared itself neutral, arguing (tongue in cheek), that this decision could be taken on the grounds that the treaty did not oblige it to give military assistance. For some time in recent years, Italy had been moving closer to the Entente powers for both economic and military support and, at the same time, moving further away from its liaison with Austria-Hungary, marred by a string of heated border disputes. However, the Italian government let it be known that it was prepared to come to terms with the Austro-Hungarians in order to keep the Triple Alliance at full strength. It would support their plans to expand into Serbia if, for their part, they would return to Italy those Italian-speaking regions (such as Trentino and certain border areas), then in their possession. Germany was firmly in support of this proposal and did all in its power to persuade Austria-Hungary to accept it, but Emperor Franz Joseph rejected the suggestion out of hand. The empire was set on expanding, not giving territory away. He would not be drawn into what he saw as “this disgusting round of robbers’ bargaining.”
It was for that reason – plus a number of others too – why the Italian government, following secret talks at the Treaty of London in April, agreed to enter the war on the side of the Entente. They were generous terms in the extreme and could hardly be turned down! Come victory, Italy would take control of Trentino, South Tyrol as far as the Brennan Pass, and the Peninsula of Istria, together with Zadar, the northern part of Dalmatia, and a number of islands along the Austrian Littoral, the northern coast of the Adriatic (see map). This would liberate thousands of Italian-speaking people from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and unite them with their cultural homeland. For the Italian government and the Italian people in general, this substantial haul, together with the Albanian port of Valona and some territory from the Ottoman Empire, was worth a little bit of skullduggery and the waging of a war, especially when that war was against a long standing enemy and erstwhile ally!
FIGHTING IN THE ISONZO RIVER AND TRENTINO REGIONS
On May 3rd, 1915 Italy resigned from the Triple Alliance and declared war on Austria-Hungary three weeks later. This opened up the Italian Front, a theatre of war which stretched for some 400 miles, most of which was mountainous by nature and highly demanding for those who were to fight there. Without delay, the Italian army quickly set up two combat areas, advancing up to the Isonzo River (the River Sloca today), in the South Tyrol region, and taking up a mainly defensive position in the Trentino area of the Dolomites. In both regions, however, the Austro-Hungarians were already in place, and they held the high ground. This fact, plus the rugged snow-covered and highly treacherous terrain that made up these mountainous areas, virtually put an end to any significant movement, by either side. The Italians had some initial success as the two armies settled into their positions, but the battle lines were soon drawn and, save for a few exceptions, there they were to stay. Indeed, by the end of 1917 there had been no less than eleven Battles of the Isonzo River, all at a very high price in lives lost or marred, and only in two, the sixth and eleventh, did the Italians gain some measure of success.
For the most part, therefore, it was another case of static trench warfare, but at a higher altitude and with very cold winters! This said, both sides did make extensive use of explosives. As on the Western Front, they tunnelled beneath no-mans land to plant mines under the enemy’s front lines, but they also used explosive charges to construct trenches, underground shelters and “fighting tunnels” to assist in a planned attack. And, on occasions, both sides would spark off an avalanche to strike a deadly blow at their enemy!
On this front, initially at least, the Austro-Hungarians could be said to have the advantage. The success of the Gorlic-Tarnow Offensive in Galicia meant that they had been able to send a large number of battle hardened troops to this new war zone. They, together with specialist alpine forces, had managed to take and fortify the high ground which, for the most part, overlooked the Isonzo River and the line through the Dolomites. And, equally important was the fact that the Austro-Hungarian army was better equipped and supplied. For their part, the Italians also possessed mountain-trained troops, but, at this early stage (before full mobilization), their army was under strength and under equipped. In addition, the vast majority of the troops had had no war experience, and the country lacked the necessary industrial power and know-all necessary to provide the needs of a large scale war. By the end of the year the Italians had suffered 230,000 casualties and the Austro-Hungarians 165,000.
However, thexItalians did have a unexpected advantage where airpower was concerned. They possessed the Caproni Ca1, an aircraft specifically designed for bombing. At this early stage of the war, Italy was the only country to have such an airplane. With a crew of four – two pilots and a front and rear gunner – and powered by three liquid-cooled engines – it had a speed of up to 75 mph and a range of over 340 miles. Over 160 were eventually produced, but, here again, fate favoured the Austro-Hungarians. Bombing raids were carried out on specific targets, but the plane proved somewhat underpowered, and this, together with the distances involved, precluded any long-range campaign against Austria-Hungary.
Incidentally, when declaring war on Austria-Hungary, Italy agreed to take the same action against all Central Powers within a month. However, war was not declared against the Ottoman Empire until the August, and against Bulgaria until October. In the case of Germany, fearing that German troops would take part on the Italian fronts, war was not declared until August 1916, over a year later! In the meanwhile, however, the Germans had already sent troops to the Tyrol in support of the Austro-Hungarians, and had sunk an appreciable amount of Italian shipping in the Mediterranean!