Battle of the Piave

Second Battle of the Piave River
Part of the Italian Front (World War I)
Map of the Second Battle of the Piave River
Date 15–23 June 1918 Location Piave, Italy 45°49′50″N 12°12′34″E / 45.83056°N 12.20944°E / 45.83056; 12.20944Coordinates: 45°49′50″N 12°12′34″E / 45.83056°N 12.20944°E / 45.83056; 12.20944 Result Decisive Italian victory
Belligerents
Italy  France  United Kingdom	Austria-Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Armando Diaz	Arthur Arz von Straußenburg Conrad von Hötzendorf Svetozar Boroević
Strength
57 divisions: 52 divisions 3 divisions 2 divisions 7,000 guns 2,400 mortars 676 aircraft	58 divisions 946,000 6,830 guns
Casualties and losses
87,000: 8,396 dead 30,603 wounded 48,182 captured	118,000: 11,643 dead 80,852 wounded 25,547 captured

57 divisions:

The Second Battle of the Piave River, fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. Though the battle proved to be a decisive blow to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and by extension the Central Powers, its full significance was not initially appreciated in Italy. Yet Erich Ludendorff, on hearing the news, is reported to have said he 'had the sensation of defeat for the first time'. It would later become clear that the battle was in fact the beginning of the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

With the exit of Russia from the war in 1917, Austria-Hungary was now able to devote significant forces to the Italian Front and to receive reinforcements from their German allies. The Austro-Hungarian emperor Karl had reached an agreement with the Germans to undertake a new offensive against Italy, a move supported by both the chief of the general staff Arthur Arz von Straußenburg and the commander of the South Tyrolean Army Group Conrad von Hötzendorf. In the autumn of 1917, the Germans and Austrians had defeated the Italians at the Battle of Caporetto. After Caporetto, the Italians fell back to the Piave and were reinforced by six French infantry divisions and five British infantry divisions as well as sizeable air contingents.

Italy's defeat at Caporetto led to General Luigi Cadorna's dismissal and General Armando Diaz replaced him as Chief of staff of the Italian Army. Diaz set up a strong defense line along the Piave. Up until this point in the war, the Italian army had been fighting alone against the Central Powers; with the defeat at Caporetto, France and Britain sent small reinforcements on the Italian front. These, besides accounting for less than a tenth of the Italian forces in theater, had however to be redirected for the major part to the Western Front as soon as the German Spring Offensive began in March 1918.

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Wikipedia