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Battle of the Piave River
Part of the Italian Front (First World War)
Date June 15-June 22, 1918 Location Piave River, Italy Result Decisive Allied victory
Combatants
Italy France United Kingdom	Austria-Hungary
Commanders
Armando Diaz	Arthur Arz von Straussenburg
Strength
58 Italian divisions, 6 French divisions, 5 British divisions	57 divisions
Casualties
80,000 dead or wounded	60,000 dead, 90,000 wounded, 25,000 captured

The Battle of the Piave River, known in Italy as Battaglia del Solstizio (Battle of the Solstice), Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno (Battle of Middle June), or Seconda Battaglia del Piave (Second Battle of the Piave River, as the last part of the Battle of Caporetto is considered to be the first), was a decisive victory for the Italian Army during World War I. The defeat directly led to the downfall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Army. The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Italy and Austria Hungary along with their allies in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. ... This article is becoming very long. ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Piave (from Latin Plavis ) is a river in north Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946)_crowned. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Austria-Hungary-flag-1869-1918-naval-1786-1869-war. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946)_crowned. ... General Armando Diaz Armando Diaz (December 5, 1861–February 29, 1928) was a Marshal of Italy. ... Arthur Freiherr Arz von Straussenburg 1917 Arthur Arz von Straussenburg (June 16, 1857, Hermannstadt, present day Sibiu – June 1, 1935, Budapest) was the last military leader of the Austro-Hungarian Army, until the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ... The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Italy and Austria Hungary along with their allies in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. ... The First Battle of the Isonzo was fought from June 23 through July 7 of 1915 between Italy and Austria. ... Combatants Italy Austria-Hungary Commanders Luigi Cadorna Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Aosta Conrad von Hötzendorf Svetozar Boroević Strength 260 battalions 840 guns 105 battalions 420 guns (25 other battalions arrived later) Casualties 42,000 46,000 The Second Battle of the Isonzo was fought between Italians and Austro-Hungarians... The Third Battle of the Isonzo was fought from October 18 through November 3 of 1915 between Italy and Austria. ... Combatants Italy Austria-Hungary Commanders Luigi Cadorna Conrad von Hötzendorf Strength 172 battalions + 800 guns 300 battalions + 2,000 guns Casualties 150,000 (of whom 50,000 prisoners) 200,000 (estimates vary) The Battle of Asiago or Battle of the Plateaux (in Italian: Battaglia degli Altipiani), nicknamed Strafexpedition (Punitive... The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo also known as the Battle of Gorizia was a decisive Italian victory along the Isonzo River during World War I. Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf had reduced the Austro-Hungarian forces along the Isonzo front to reinforce his Trentino Offensive. ... Combatants Italy Austria-Hungary Commanders Luigi Cadorna Arz von Straussenberg Strength 300,000 + 1,600 guns 100,000 + 500 guns Casualties 23,000 - 30,000 (estimates vary) 9,000 The Battle of Mount Ortigara was fought from June 10 to June 25, 1917 between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies... Combatants Italy Austria-Hungary Commanders Luigi Cadorna Luigi Capello Svetozar Boroević Strength 600 battalions + 5,200 guns 250 battalions + 2,200 guns Casualties 40,000 KIA, 108,000 WIA, 18,000 MIA 10,000 KIA, 45,000 WIA, 30,000 MIA, 20,000 POW, 28,000 sick The Eleventh Battle... Combatants Austria-Hungary German Empire Italy Commanders Otto von Below Luigi Cadorna Strength 35 divisions 41 divisions Casualties 20,000 dead or wounded 40,000 dead 20,000 wounded 275,000 captured Difficult Progress In Alps The Battle of Caporetto (or Battle of Karfreit as it was known by the... Combatants Italy United Kingdom France United States Image:Flag of Austria-Hungary. ... Combatants Austria-Hungary German Empire Italy Commanders Otto von Below Luigi Cadorna Strength 35 divisions 41 divisions Casualties 20,000 dead or wounded 40,000 dead 20,000 wounded 275,000 captured Difficult Progress In Alps The Battle of Caporetto (or Battle of Karfreit as it was known by the... This article is becoming very long. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ...

Background

With the exit of Russia from the war in 1917, Austria-Hungary was now able to devote significant forces to the Italian Front. At the Battle of Caporetto the Austrians had decisively defeated the Italians who fell back to the Piave River. Year 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Italy and Austria Hungary along with their allies in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. ... Combatants Austria-Hungary German Empire Italy Commanders Otto von Below Luigi Cadorna Strength 35 divisions 41 divisions Casualties 20,000 dead or wounded 40,000 dead 20,000 wounded 275,000 captured Difficult Progress In Alps The Battle of Caporetto (or Battle of Karfreit as it was known by the... Piave (from Latin Plavis ) is a river in north Italy. ...

Italian Forces

Italy's defeat at Caporetto led to General Luigi Cadorna's dismissal and General Armando Diaz replaced him as Chief of Staff of the Italian Army. Diaz set up a strong defence line along Piave River. Up until this point in the war, Italian army had been fighting alone against the Central Powers; With the defeat at Caporetto, France and Britain sent reinforcements on the Italian front. This article needs to be wikified. ... General Armando Diaz Armando Diaz (December 5, 1861–February 29, 1928) was a Marshal of Italy. ... The chief of staff is the chief aide to the commander of larger military formations and units. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Triple Alliance. ...

Austro-Hungarian Forces

The Austro-Hungarian Army had also recently undergone a change in command, and the new Austrian Chief of Staff, Arz von Straussenberg, wished to finish off the Italians. Staussenberg's army group commanders, Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf (the former Austrian Chief of Staff) and Svetozar Boroević von Bojna, both wished to make an assault along Piave River. Conrad and Boroević had a dislike for each other, and Straussenberg divided the army equally between them. Straussenberg modeled the attack after Erich Ludendorff's offensive on the Western Front. An army group is a military organization (formation) consisting of several armies, and is supposed to be self-sufficient for indefinite periods. ... Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf, or Count Francis Conrad von Hötzendorf. ... Field Marshal Svetozar Boroević Svetozar Boroević (or Borojević) von Bojna (December 13, 1856 – May 23, 1920) was a successful defensive military leader in the Austro-Hungarian Army and the first non-German field marshal in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ... Ludendorff in 1918 Erich Ludendorff (sometimes given incorrectly as Erich von Ludendorff) (April 9, 1865 – December 20, 1937, Tutzing, Bavaria, Germany) was a German Army officer, noted as a general during World War I. // Ludendorff was born in Kruszewnia near Posen, Prussia (now PoznaÅ„, Poland). ... Combatants Belgium, British Empire, France, United States, other Western Allies of WWI Germany Commanders No unified command until 1918, then General Ferdinand Foch Kaiser Wilhelm II Casualties ~4,800,000 Unknown though considerably higher Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the German army opened the Western...

The battle

General Diaz learned the exact timing of the Austrian attack: 3:00am on 15 June. The Italians opened fire all along their front and inflicted heavy casualties. However the Austrians still attacked. Boroević launched the first assault, moving South along the Adriatic Coast. The Austrians were able to cross the Piave and gained ground against the Italians in the face of heavy resistance, before Boroević was finally forced to order a retreat. On 17 June, Boroević returned to the Piave but recent floods had washed away many of the river's bridges and the Austrians were held up trying to re-cross. On 18 June Diaz counterattacked and hit Boroević in the flank inflicting heavy casualties. Conrad had attacked along the Italian lines west of Boroević on the 15th, with the objective of capturing Verona. Little came of Conrad's assaults except a further 40,000 casualties to the Austrian total. By 22 June Diaz had recaptured all territory south of the Piave and the battle was over. June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... A satellite image of the Adriatic Sea. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... Verona is a city and provincial capital in Veneto, Northern Italy. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 192 days remaining. ...

Results

The Battle of the Piave River was the last great military offensive of Austria-Hungary. The battle signalled the disintegration of its army as an effective fighting unit, which was finished off at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, four months later. Combatants Italy United Kingdom France United States Image:Flag of Austria-Hungary. ...

Trivia

Still today, to the Italian public two mottos recalls the battle: those written upon broken walls of destroyed rural houses: "E' meglio vivere un giorno da leone che cent'anni da pecora" ("(It is) Better to live one single day as a lion than a hundred years as a sheep") and "Tutti eroi! O il Piave o tutti accoppati" ("Everyone a hero! Either (we reach) the Piave, or let all of us get killed"). The two pieces of wall are preserved in the military shrine of Fagaré della Battaglia, a frazione of San Biagio di Callalta. A frazione, in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other subdivisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere. ... San Biagio di Callalta is a town in the province of Treviso, Veneto, Italy. ...

Sources

• Tucker, Spencer The Great War:1914-18 (1998)
• Battles: The Battle of the Piave River, 1918