ABSTRACT
German and Austro-Hungarian military leaders at the highest level had been discussing plans to launch a large-scale offensive against Italy since early 1917. The man who pressed hardest for these plans was Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf, Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army from the war 's outbreak until March 1917. However, given Austria Hungary 's almost complete dependence upon Germany, the final decision to implement the plans rested with the OHL (by 1917 Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and his First Quartermaster-General, Erich Ludendorff) .
