Already for some time the Austrian commander-in-chief, General Conrad von Hötzendorf, had been proposing the idea of a Strafexpedition that would lethally cripple Italy, Austria-Hungary's ex-ally, claimed to be guilty of betraying the Triple Alliance, and in previous years he had had the frontier studied in order to formulate studies with regard to a possible invasion.
Selama beberapa waktu Komandan Austria, Jenderal Conrad von Hötzendorf, telah mengusulkan gagasan Strafexpedition yang melumpuhkan sekutu Italia, mengaku bersalah karena telah mengkhianati Triple Alliance, dan pada tahun sebelumnya ia mempelajari studi perbatasan untuk merumuskan kemungkinan invasi.