Following the disastrous Battle of Caporetto on the Italian Front, Second Army HQ and several of its sub-formations were sent to reinforce the Italian Army; 171st Siege Bty was selected as part of these reinforcements, and went to support the First Italian Army. In April 1918 the British artillery was concentrated for a planned offensive, but finding level sites for the howitzers was difficult in the wooded mountainous terrain. The Allied offensive was postponed when it became clear that the Austrians were planning their own: the howitzers were ready when the Austrian assault began on 15 June (the Second Battle of the Piave River). The heavy howitzers systematically destroyed the Austrian guns on the Asiago Plateau and the offensive failed all along the front.