Despite having been part of the pre-war Triple Alliance with Austro-Hungary and Germany, in 1914 Italy had remained neutral. Over the next few months both sides attempted to convince the Italians to join them. The British and French had a big advantage in this effort – the Italians had claims on two parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the end of the Italian Wars of Independence two major Italian speaking areas had remained within the Empire – the Trentino, north of Lake Garda, and the Littoral, the lower Isonzo valley and the area around Trieste. The Allies were able to promise that Italy would receive these areas at the end of the war; and so on 23 May 1915 Italy declared war on the Allied side.
The Italians had one major problem in 1915. Their 400 mile long border with the Austro-Hungarian Empire ran through the Alps. In some places the mountains were so rugged that no offensive could even be contemplated. The only real gap in the mountains led along the Adriatic coast to Trieste, but that was a dead end, surround by more mountains. If the Italians were to launch an effective assault on the Austrians, then it would either have to be on the Trentino, or towards the Isonzo valley.
The Italian commander in chief, General Luigi Cardorna, chose to attack on the Isonzo. A breakthrough on the Trentino would merely eliminate an Austrian salient, whereas a breakthrough on the Isonzo might lead to an advance into the heart of the Empire, and even threaten Vienna. The only problem with this grand plan was that the mountainous terrain on the Isonzo front would turn out to be ideally suited for a defensive battle.
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