hen Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May 1915, it did so fuelled by optimistic visions of territorial conquest. It hoped to seize the largely Italian-speaking regions around Trento and Trieste at the country’s north-east border. Nationalist rhetoric held that acquisition of these areas – along with parts of Dalmatia – would complete the process of unification which had taken place in the second half of the 19th century. ‘Italians want a greater Italy, by conquest not by purchase, not shamefully but through blood and glory’, proclaimed the firebrand poet Gabriele D’Annunzio.
By late 1917, however, fatigue had set in even among the war’s supporters. Little apparent progress had been made on any front, casualties were high and the country’s economy was suffering badly. Soldiers in the Italian army hoped that the winter of 1917 would offer some respite. It did not. As rumours of an imminent Austro-Hungarian attack circulated, the Italian army sought to reinforce the mountainous north-eastern battle lines around the town of Caporetto (today Kobarid in Slovenia). The town was positioned on the western side of the Isonzo River, which had partially formed the boundary between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire before the war. By October 1917, the front lines ran some six or seven miles east of the river, along the heights of mounts Ursig, Nero and Rosso. Caporetto had been selected by the Central Powers as the target for a major offensive because of the weakness of the Italian defence there.
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