page_title: Battle of Vittorio Veneto
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Vittorio Veneto / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Italian general Armando Diaz (1861-1928).
context_page_description: The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. The Italian victory marked the end of the war on the Italian Front, secured the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and contributed to the end of the First World War just one week later. The battle led to the capture of 5,000+ artillery pieces and over 350,000 Austro-Hungarian troops, including 120,000 Germans, 83,000 Czechs and Slovaks, 60,000 South Slavs, 40,000 Poles, several tens of thousands of Romanians and Ukrainians, and 7,000 Italians and Friulians.
  Some Italian authors see Vittorio Veneto as the final culmination of the Risorgimento nationalist movement, in which Italy was unified.
context_section_description: During the Battle of Caporetto, from 24 October to 9 November 1917, the Italian Army suffered over 300,000 casualties (dead, injured and captured) and was forced to withdraw, causing the replacement of the Italian Supreme Commander Luigi Cadorna with General Armando Diaz. Diaz reorganized the troops, blocked the enemy advance by implementing defense in depth and mobile reserves, and stabilized the front-line around the Piave River.
  In June 1918, a large Austro-Hungarian offensive, aimed at breaking the Piave River defensive line and delivering a decisive blow to the Italian Army, was launched. The Austro-Hungarian Army tried on one side to force the Tonale Pass and enter Lombardy, and on the other side to make two converging thrusts into central Venetia, the first one southeastward from the Trentino, and the second one southwestward across the lower Piave. The whole offensive, which became known as the Battle of the Piave River ended in a heavy defeat for the imperial army, with the Austro-Hungarians losing 11,643 killed, 80,852 wounded and 25,547 captured.
  After the Battle of the Piave, General Armando Diaz, despite aggressive appeals by Allied commanders, deliberately abstained from offensive action until Italy would be ready to strike with success assured. In the offensive he planned, three of the five armies lining the front from the Monte Grappa sector to the Adriatic end of the Piave were to drive across the river toward Vittorio Veneto, so as to cut communications between the two Austrian armies opposing them.
  Allied forces totaled 57 infantry divisions, including 52 Italian, 3 British (23rd, 7th and 48th), 2 French (23rd and 24th), and the 332nd US Infantry Regiment, along with supporting arms.  The Austro-Hungarian army had 46 infantry divisions and 6 cavalry divisions, but both sides were ravaged by influenza and malaria and the Austrians only had 6,030 guns to 7,700 Allied.
  The Italian armies in the mountains were merely to hold the front line and follow up the enemy when he retreated. The task of opening the attack and taking on the strongest positions fell to Fourth Army (Lieutenant-General Gaetano Giardino) on the Grappa. Twelfth Army, consisting of one French and three Italian divisions was commanded by the English-speaking Lieutenant-General Enrico Caviglia and he had under command Tenth Army (Lieutenant-General Lord Cavan) to protect his right flank. Lord Cavan's army consisted of two British and two Italian divisions and they too were expected to cross the Piave by breaking the Austrian defenses at Papadopoli Island. The Third Army was simply to hold the lower Piave and cross the river when enemy resistance was broken. The Ninth Army, which contained two Italian divisions as well as the 6th Czechoslovak Division (consisting of former POWs captured by the Italians)  and the 332nd US Infantry Regiment, was held in reserve. The Allies had 600 aircraft (93 Anglo-French, including 4 RAF squadrons) to gain complete air superiority in the final offensive.
caption: Armando Diaz
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