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ALLIES - defeat
This was the most famous and misunderstood battle in World War 1. This was when the Austro-Hungarians and Germans broke through the Italian line. The Italian army was halved as a result of this battle due to thousands of casualties, prisoners and people ‘Missing in Action’. The battle was simply a disastrous military defeat for the Italians, however, some originally believed that many Italian troops surrendered without standing to fight. At first, the Italians managed to seize control of the major rivers and basins and the Austro-Hungarian positions along the front line were becoming harder to maintain. The Austro-Hungarians were in desperate need of help so they requested that the Germans launch an offensive to relieve the pressure of the Italians. However, before this happened, the Italians broke through the Austro-Hungarian lines. Once the Germans found out about this, they reluctantly agreed to help. The Germans could afford to help as the Russians were now in a state of political chaos and were heading towards a civil war. The Germans and Austro-Hungarians collectively worked out the Italian (allied) tactics in battle (attacking with long artillery bombardments followed by infantry assaults) and constructed their plans around this. Their 3 main tactics were surprise, massive gas and artillery attacks on the control centers and infiltration (attacking the enemy from the rear). The 1st thing the Germans did in battle after they had joined forces with the Austro-Hungarians was destroy the Italian trenches. They then gassed the enemies with chemicals they knew the Italian gas masks would not be able to prevent. They then used open fire to overtake and defeat the Italians.
This was the most famous and misunderstood battle in World War 1. This was when the Austro-Hungarians and Germans broke through the Italian line. The Italian army was halved as a result of this battle due to thousands of casualties, prisoners and people ‘Missing in Action’. The battle was simply a disastrous military defeat for the Italians, however, some originally believed that many Italian troops surrendered without standing to fight. At first, the Italians managed to seize control of the major rivers and basins and the Austro-Hungarian positions along the front line were becoming harder to maintain. The Austro-Hungarians were in desperate need of help so they requested that the Germans launch an offensive to relieve the pressure of the Italians. However, before this happened, the Italians broke through the Austro-Hungarian lines. Once the Germans found out about this, they reluctantly agreed to help. The Germans could afford to help as the Russians were now in a state of political chaos and were heading towards a civil war. The Germans and Austro-Hungarians collectively worked out the Italian (allied) tactics in battle (attacking with long artillery bombardments followed by infantry assaults) and constructed their plans around this. Their 3 main tactics were surprise, massive gas and artillery attacks on the control centers and infiltration (attacking the enemy from the rear). The 1st thing the Germans did in battle after they had joined forces with the Austro-Hungarians was destroy the Italian trenches. They then gassed the enemies with chemicals they knew the Italian gas masks would not be able to prevent. They then used open fire to overtake and defeat the Italians.
FOCUS QUESTION RESPONSE: The collapse of many Italian armies is 1 example of how the Italians were unprepared long before they were defeated on the battlefield. The sheer fact that many Italians surrendered willingly when they were instructed to retreat showed how beaten they were, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally too. This whole Battle proved to the leaders and Allied governments that fear alone could not motivate a modern army sufficiently enough to prepare for battle and to fight with adequate strength and stamina.