The Italian front (; ) was one of the main theatres of war of World War I. It involved a series of military engagements in Northern Italy between the Central Powers and the Allies of World War I 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.
Although Italy had hoped to gain the territories with a surprise offensive, 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.
The Allied victory at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, the disintegration of Austria-Hungary and the Italian capture of Trento and Trieste ended all military operations on the front by November 1918. On the 1st of November, Mihály Károlyi's new Hungarian government decided to recall all of the troops, who were conscripted from the territory of Kingdom of Hungary, which was a major blow for the Habsburg's armies. The armistice of Villa Giusti entered into force on 4 November 1918, when Austria-Hungary no longer existed as a unified entity. Some Italians subsequently referred to the conflict as the Fourth Italian War of Independence, as it completed the final stage of the unification of Italy.
History
Pre-war period
1908 - Bosnian Crisis: Italy expected compensations in the areas of "Italia Irredenta" ruled by Austria-Hungary in exchange for its recognition of the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, as was agreed upon in the Triple Alliance treaties with Austria-Hungary. However, this did not happen and this became one of the reasons for Italy to break its alliance with Austria-Hungary in 1915. The mutual compensation clause was Article 7 of the 1909 and of 5 December 1912 versions of the same treaty:
However, if, in the course of events, the maintenance of the status quo in the regions of the Balkans or of the Ottoman coasts and islands in the Adriatic and in the Aegean Sea should become impossible, and if, whether in consequence of the action of a third Power or otherwise, Austria-Hungary or Italy should find themselves under the necessity of modifying it by a temporary or permanent occupation on their part, this occupation shall take place only after a previous agreement between the two Powers, based upon the principle of reciprocal compensation for every advantage, territorial or other, which each of them might obtain beyond the present status quo, and giving satisfaction to the interests and well-founded claims of the two Parties.
1911 - Libyan war: The war is regarded as a major escalation stage on the way to the First World War. The weakening of the Ottoman Empire alienated Italy from its previous partners in the Triple Alliance, as Germany viewed the Ottomans as an ally and Austria-Hungary's position was further complicated by the subsequent Balkan Wars, which Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro ignited by the prospect of an Italian victory.
1914 - 28 June, Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo. The Archduke was heir to the throne and the main representative of Trialism. Such reforms would have transformed the dual monarchy Austria-Hungary into a tripartite state Austria-Hungary-Croatia, which competed with Serbia's interest in founding a South Slavic kingdom under Serbian leadership.
1914 - 1 July, Alberto Pollio, the Chief of Staff of the Italian army since 1908, dies unexpectedly and is replaced by Luigi Cadorna. According to Alfred von Kleist, German military attaché in Rome, in a dispatch from April 1914, Pollio was considered up most stable, loyal and fully commited to the Triple Alliance and its military prospects.
1914 - July Crisis: Berchtold deliberately failed to inform the (officially) allies Italy and Romania of the intended action against Serbia, breeching Article 7 of the Triple Alliance, since he foresaw that consent would only be given in exchange for compensation.
1914 - 2 August, Salandra declares Italy's neutrality, in conjunction with Article 3 of the Triple Alliance.