1915-1918 Flashcards
How was the Italian/Austro-Hungarian war fought for the first two years after the declaration of war?
(4)
- fought in mountains bordering countries
- trench warfare
- alpine terrain (ice + snow)
- thousands of soldiers sacrificed to move a few hundred metres
In 1915 how did the Italians try and break the stalemate?
Launched four offensives against A-H that failed to change the situation
—> 62,000 Italians died
How many Italians were conscripted during WWI?
5 million men
—> majority peasants or agricultural workers
Why did Italian peasant conscripts resent the war?
(4)
- Southern peasant conscripts were over represented
- Italian expansion and reasons for fighting meant little to most
- majority of peasants spoke local dialect and couldn’t understand the orders of educated, northern commanders who spoke official Italian
- conscripts treated badly by their commanders
Why did Italian troops in general resent the war?
(3)
- extremely low rations
- horrible conditions (cholera, frostbite, etc.)
- most soldiers couldn’t understand why Italy was taking part in war
What happened as a result of the extremely low morale?
290,000 Italian soldiers were court-martialled for desertion during war
What was the Italian Supreme Commander’s (1915) solution to the lack of discipline and morale?
Luigi Cardona
—>to repress dissent though harsh discpline
How was desertion dealt with at the beginning of the war?
Military tribunals passed 4,000 death sentences on Italian soldiers throughout the war
How did the Italian government treat their soldiers who were taken as POWs?
-leaders feared that if conditions in POW camps were rumoured to be tolerable, soldiers would surrender
—> gov cut off any attempts to help captured Italians
—> 100,000 Italian POWs died of hunger-related illnesses (5X number of British or French)
What led to Salandra’s resignation as PM, 1916?
Austrian Strafexpedition = major offensive in trentaine salient, in order to open up a path to Bologna + Verona
—>Italian army regrouped and halted attack but many casualties
—>severe impact on army and morale
—>Salandra criticised by military command and parliament
Who replaced Salandra, 1916?
Paolo Boselli, 78y/o
When was the Battle of Caporetto?
24th of October 1917
What happened at the Battle of Caporetto?
(3)
A-H forces attacked the Italian front line
—> Italian army dissolved
—> chaotic retreat took place
Battle of Caporetto stats
10,000 killed
30,000 wounded
300,000 taken prisoner
400,000 vanished
Why was the Battle of Caporetto so humiliating for the Italian government?
(6)
- months before leaders claimed national unity
- revealed poor state of army + low morale
- prompted anger + debate in Italy
- seizing Trente + Trieste no longer seemed possible
- majority of parliament still backed Giolitti, the rest called for trial of Giolitti and other neutralists for treason = v divided
- senator Leopoldo Franchetti killed himself from embarrassment