First Battle of the Piave River



The First Battle of the Piave River (Prima battaglia del Piave), was fought during World War I between the armies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire supported by the German Empire against the Kingdom of Italy along the Piave river.

The Italian Army was in all-out retreat after the Austro-Hungarian autumn offensive of 1917. The Italian Chief of the general staff, general Luigi Cadorna, had ordered the construction of fortified defenses around the Monte Grappa summit in order to make the mountain range an impregnable fortress. When the Austro-Hungarian offensive routed the Italians, the new Italian chief of staff, Armando Diaz, ordered the Fourth Army to stop their retreat and defend these positions between the Roncone and the Tomatico mountains, with the support of the Second Army.

The Austro-Hungarians, despite help from the German Army's Alpenkorps and numerical superiority, failed to take the mountain's summit during the first battle of Monte Grappa, which lasted from November 11, 1917, to December 23, 1917. Armando Diaz allowed his local commanders much more freedom of manoeuvre than his predecessor, which resulted in a more elastic and effective Italian defense.

Thus the Italian front along the Piave river was stabilized and the Austro-Hungarians failed to enter the plains beyond and to take the city of Venice.