ABSTRACT
The final year of the war on the Italian front saw a series of renewed attacks by the Austro-German forces against the well-prepared defences along and behind the River Piave: their initial small gains were, however, eliminated by successful counter-attacks and by the summer of 1918 the whole war machine of the multi-ethnic Habsburg empire was beginning to unravel. A final ‘hunger offensive’ in the mountains north of Venice was beaten back in August, partly because of the excellent intelligence provided by the growing number of deserters from the discontented Croatian, Slovenian, Czech and Romanian units whose loyalty to the Habsburg Emperor had frayed beyond repair. But General Diaz, Cadorna’s ultra-cautious successor, still felt unready to attack and it was only in October 1918, on the anniversary of Caporetto, that he ordered a general offensive. After a few days’ resistance the Austrian front crumbled and the Italian campaign was concluded with the victory of Vittorio Veneto, achieved against an army whose disintegration was already well advanced for internal reasons.
