Vittorio Veneto October– November 1918

Italian morale had been bolstered by the emphatic repulse of the Piave Offensive (15–23 June 1918) , but their Chief of Staff, Armando Diaz, with memories of the disaster of Caporetto still vivid, initially resisted Allied pressure to mount a counteroffensive. When events on the western front made it clear the Germans would no longer be able to come to Austria-Hungary’s aid, Diaz was finally spurred into action. His attacks began on 23 October around Cismon at the western end of the front; this pulled in enemy troops from the rest of the front, leaving them exposed when Diaz mounted his main attack on the lower River Piave on 25 October. Soon two bridgeheads had been established across the river, and the Italian armies’ advance split the Austro-Hungarian front line in two, surging to take Vittorio Veneto on 30 October. An armistice was then signed at Padua, concluding hostilities on 4 November.