#4th battle of the Isonzo

[thearmedchairhistorian]

Got put into the 4th battle of the Isonzo…

[today-in-wwi]

Austria Exits the War

Some of the 360,000 Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war captured on the last day before the armistice took effect.

November 4 1918, Villa Giusti--On October 28, as the Allies had broken across the Piave and the Austro-Hungarian army was beginning to fall apart, the Austrians requested an immediate armistice.  The Italians were in little hurry to accept--they wanted to win their great victory and to occupy as much territory as possible.  After some delay, they presented their terms: Austria would immediately and completely demobilize and would evacuate all Italian territory, as well as South Tyrol and the Austrian Littoral (including Trieste); all German troops would be evacuated within 15 days.  The Allies could occupy strategic points within Austria, and had the right of passage through Austrian territory to attack Germany from the south.

After some debate, the Austrians agreed to the terms; Emperor Charles formally stepped down as commander-in-chief so that he would not have to sign the armistice personally.  The armistice was signed at Villa Giusti on the afternoon of November 3, but at the last moment the Italians added a stipulation that it would not go into effect until twenty-four hours later, at 3PM on November 4.  Most Austrian troops were not aware of this stipulation and believed the war to be over.  As a result, in the last twenty-four hours before the armistice took effect, the Italians took over 360,000 PoWs, most of whom were from parts of Austria-Hungary that had already declared independence.  More than 30,000 of these men would die in Italian captivity.  

Meanwhile, the Italians tried to secure as much territory as they could.  An Italian ship landed at Trieste on the afternoon of the 3rd, declaring that Trieste was now an Italian possession.  The one American unit on the Italian front had its first and only action of the war on the 4th, capturing Austrian machine guns on the far bank of the Tagliamento.  Advance units of the Italian army entered Gorizia once more just before the armistice; over the next week, per the armistice terms, the Italians occupied the South Tyrol up to the Brenner Pass.  The Allies soon began making plans for an advance through Austrian Tyrol into Bavaria for 1919, outflanking the Western Front by moving over the Alps.  

With what remained of his army, Boroević made plans to march on Vienna to secure Emperor Charles’ rule.  But the call never came; Charles did not want further bloodshed.  Within a week, the army had demobilized and Emperor Charles had passed from power.

The Armistice of Villa Giusti mainly concerned the Italian Front; the situation in the Balkans was less clear, largely due to Hungary’s recent declaration of independence.  While those complications were being resolved, Franchet d’Espèrey continued his advance north, hoping to eventually proceed through Hungary and Czechoslovakia and approach Berlin from the south.

Earlier Today: Battle of the Sambre

Sources include: John R. Schindler, Isonzo; Mark Thompson, The White War; Alan Palmer, The Gardeners of Salonika.

[today-in-wwi]

Italians Begin Retreat to the Piave

November 4 1917, Cornino--Falling back from Caporetto and the Isonzo, the Italians attempted to hold a new line behind the Tagliamento.  However, the Italians had had little time to prepare any defenses, and had been demoralized by the retreat.  On November 2, Bosnian troops were able to force a crossing of the Tagliamento around Cornino, over a bridge constructed under fire by Austrian engineers.  By November 3, the Bosnians had established a secure bridgehead, and the Germans had established another one further south.  Early on November 4, Cadorna ordered another withdrawal, this time to the river Piave, another thirty miles to the west.

The Italian situation was growing more desperate; Cadorna even hinted that a separate peace would be possible if the defeats continued.  The Allies, desperate to shore up the Italians, began sending troops their way, with the first crossing into Italy on the 3rd; it would be some time, however, before they reached the front lines.  The British and French Prime Ministers left their capitals on November 4th, bound for an emergency conference at Rapallo to address the crisis.  The Germans and Austrians were growing more bullish; while they had already succeeded far beyond their initial expectations, there was now talk of capturing Venice.  Conrad, commanding Austrian troops in Tyrol, talked of launching an offensive south to try to cut off the bulk of the Italian army.  Ludendorff, however, still considered Italy to be a sideshow, and refused to commit any additional German troops.

Today in 1916: Betting Markets Narrowly Favor Wilson Today in 1915: Kitchener Departs For Gallipoli Today in 1914: “Battle of the Bees”