10 - The Italian Front

Summary

A history of the Italian fronts is essential in creating a more comprehensive and global interpretation of the history of the First World War. Much about the Great War becomes clearer once authors shift their attention south and east to the Italian-Austrian frontier. This chapter describes the matter of different strategies suiting different war aims. The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy had two very different military structures at their disposal. Italy and Austria were part of international alliances whose fate depended, to varying degrees, on the Italian Front. The Italian Front was not isolated from the other fronts. They were both an integral part of a wartime alliance. Italy depended heavily on economic and financial alliance, but called for little at the military level. In 1918, the demobilisation of armies took time in Italy.