The Italian front was one of the main theatres of war of World War I. It involved a series of military engagements along the border between the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary from 1915 to 1918. Following secret promises made by the Allies in the 1915 Treaty of London, the Kingdom of Italy entered the war on the Allied side, aiming to annex the Austrian Littoral, northern Dalmatia and the territories of present-day Trentino and South Tyrol. The front soon bogged down into trench warfare, similar to that on the Western Front, but at high altitudes and with extremely cold winters. Fighting along the front displaced much of the local population, and several thousand civilians died from malnutrition and illness in Italian and Austro-Hungarian refugee camps.
Marmolada is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites. It lies between the borders of Trentino and Veneto. The Marmolada is an ultra-prominent peak (Ultra), known as the "Queen of the Dolomites".
The Südtirol Offensive, also known as the Battle of Asiago or Battle of the Plateaux, wrongly nicknamed Strafexpedition "Punitive expedition", was a major offensive launched by the Austro-Hungarians on the territory of Vicentine Alps in the Italian Front on 15 May 1916, during World War I. It was an "unexpected" attack that took place near Asiago in the province of Vicenza after the Fifth Battle of the Isonzo.
Pordoi is a pass in the Dolomites in the Alps, located between the Sella group in the north and the Marmolada group in the south. The pass is at an altitude of 2,239 m (7,346 ft), and the road crossing the pass connects Arabba with Canazei. It is the second highest surfaced road traversing a pass in the Dolomites, after the Sella Pass.
Corvara in Badia is a comune (municipality) and a village in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Bolzano.
Vintl is a comune (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about 45 kilometres (28 mi) northeast of Bolzano.
The Valparola Pass is a high mountain pass in the Dolomites in the province of Belluno in Italy.
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo, also called the Drei Zinnen ; pronounced[ˌdʁaɪˈtsɪnən] ), are three distinctive battlement-like peaks, in the Sexten Dolomites of northeastern Italy. They are one of the best-known mountain groups in the Alps. The three peaks, from east to west, are:
The Alpenkorps was a provisional mountain formation of division size formed by the Imperial German Army during World War I. It was considered by the Allies to be one of the best in the German Army.
Although a member of the Triple Alliance, Italy did not join the Central Powers – Germany and Austria-Hungary – when the war started with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. In fact, the two Central Powers had taken the offensive while the Triple Alliance was supposed to be a defensive alliance. Moreover the Triple Alliance recognized that both Italy and Austria-Hungary were interested in the Balkans and required both to consult each other before changing the status quo and to provide compensation for whatever advantage in that area: Austria-Hungary did consult Germany but not Italy before issuing the ultimatum to Serbia, and refused any compensation before the end of the war.
Tofane is a mountain group in the Dolomites of northern Italy, west of Cortina d'Ampezzo in the province of Belluno, Veneto. Most of the Tofane lie within the Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park.
Cristallo is a mountain massif in the Italian Dolomites, northeast of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the province of Belluno, Veneto, northern Italy. It is a long, indented ridge with four summits higher than 3,000 metres. The mountain range is part of the Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park.
Monte Cimone di Tonezza is a mountain of the Veneto, Italy. It has an elevation of 1,226 metres (4,022 ft).
The mines on the Italian front during the First World War comprised a series of underground explosive charges of varying sizes, secretly planted between 1916 and 1918 by Austro-Hungarian and Italian tunneling units beneath their enemy's lines along the Italian front in the Dolomite section of the Alps.
Viktoria Savs served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War disguised as a man. She was one of two known female soldiers on the Austrian front lines. She served with the knowledge of her superiors, but virtually unrecognized as a woman, on the Dolomite front from 1915 to 1917. After a severe injury in May 1917, she was hospitalized, and her biological sex was discovered, ending her military career. She was awarded several medals for her dedication and bravery. She was known as the "Heroine of the Drei Zinnen."
The White War is the name given to the fighting in the high-altitude Alpine sector of the Italian front during the First World War, principally in the Dolomites, the Ortles-Cevedale Alps and the Adamello-Presanella Alps. More than two-thirds of this conflict zone lies at an altitude above 2,000m, rising to 3905m at Mount Ortler. In 1917 New York World correspondent E. Alexander Powell wrote: “On no front, not on the sun-scorched plains of Mesopotamia, nor in the frozen Mazurian marshes, nor in the blood-soaked mud of Flanders, does the fighting man lead so arduous an existence as up here on the roof of the world.”
Ludwig Goiginger was an Austro-Hungarian Lieutenant Field Marshal who notably served in World War I.
The Battle of Monte Piana was a long and bloody series of clashes that took place on the summit of Monte Piana which is part of the Sexten Dolomites massif. Between 1915 and 1917 some of the most violent clashes took place between Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers who fought for two years on the flat top of this mountain. It was one of the bloodiest and most static theaters of the entire war, and despite the clear superiority of men and armaments of the Royal Army, the Italian commands were never able to conquer the dominant positions on the mountain occupied by the Austrians, both for tactical errors and for incompetence of a new and unusual battle in the high mountains.
The 59th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Cividale. The regiment is named for the region of Calabria and part of the Italian Army's infantry arm. The regiment was one of ten infantry regiments formed by the Royal Italian Army on 16 April 1861. In 1866, the regiment participated in the Third Italian War of Independence. During World War I, the regiment fought on the Italian front. During World War II, the regiment was assigned to the 31st Infantry Division "Calabria", which remained on the island of Sardinia throughout the war.
The 60th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Trapani. The regiment is named for the region of Calabria and part of the Italian Army's infantry arm. The regiment was one of ten infantry regiments formed by the Royal Italian Army on 16 April 1861. In 1866, the regiment participated in the Third Italian War of Independence and in 1911–12 in the Italo-Turkish War. During World War I, the regiment fought on the Italian front. In 1935-36 the regiment fought in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. During World War II, the regiment was assigned to the 31st Infantry Division "Calabria", which remained on the island of Sardinia throughout the war.
