Changes

==Background==

Italy was originally allied with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire but did not join the Central Powers in 1914 in declaring war on the western allies. However, by 1915, the political elite and the intelligentsia wanted Italy to join the war. The nationalists in Italy saw the war as an opportunity for their nation to join the great powers. They also wanted to enter the war in a bid to unify the country. Some fifty years after the unification of Italy, the country was still divided upon regional lines <ref> Keegan, John, The First World War (Penguin, London, 1999), p. 123</ref>. North and South Italy were very different regions and many of the country’s citizens still place their region before their country. The nationalists believed that a war would complete the process of unification in Italy and encourage all the citizens to be patriotic Italians <ref> Morselli, M. Caporetto 1917: Victory or Defeat? Military History and Policy. London: Frank Cass, 2001), p. 17</ref>. Furthermore, they believed that the nationalist fervour that would coincide with the war would mean that the socialists, who were pacifist would be marginalised. The western allies approached Italy to join their cause. They offered the Italian government inducements such as territory from Austro-Hungary and also new colonies in Africa and Asia. This convinced the Italian government to join the western alliance </ref> Keegan, p. 124</ref>. This was despite the fact that the Italian army was poorly prepared and had little recent battle experience. The army was made up mainly of conscripts, many of who did not feel very ‘Italian’ and regarded themselves as Sicilians or Sardinians. This army was led by General Luigi Cardona who was to prove a very unimaginative and uninspiring leader and rated by one modern authority ‘as ineffectual’ <ref> Seth, Ronald, Caporetto: The Scapegoat Battle. (London: Macdonald. 1965), p. 11</ref>.

The main theatre for the Italian army was its frontier with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Italians had fought many wars with this Empire in the 19th century and many saw them as their nation’s chief enemy. Much of the fighting between the Austrians and the Italians was to take place in the Isonzo region in northeast Italy and modern Slovenia. This terrain was mountainous and the weather was often extreme, especially in winter. The Italians launched a series of offensives aimed at breaking the Austrian lines of defences in this mountainous region. The nature of the war was that the Italians attacked and the Austrians defended. However, the Italians did not manage to really break the Austrians line of defence and the war was a bloody stalemate, similar to the one on the western front. From 1915 to 1917, there had been eleven battles in the Isonzo region, especially along the Isonzo River. However, by 1917, the Italians superior firepower and numbers allowed them to gain the strategic initiative. Cardona’s strategy of launching mass attacks on the Austrian lines, though costly was beginning to make a difference. By 1917 it seemed that the Austrians could be in danger of collapsing <ref> Morselli, p. 113</ref>.