ABSTRACT
On 24 October 1 9 1 7, a combined force of 15 German and Austro Hungarian divisions attacked the Italian 2nd Army between Tolmino and Plezzo in a short section of the upper Isonzo Valley. This attack marked the beginning of the Caporetto offensive, which, in a matter of a few days, was to lead to Italy ' s worst ever military catastrophe . 1 And yet, despite the gravity of this defeat, Italy continued to fight. In this book, I will investigate why the Austro-German forces failed to remove Italy from the war in the autumn of 1 9 1 7 in the same way as they had dispensed with Rumania shortly before.
