Battle of Monte Grappa

{{Short description|1918 WW1 battle}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Battles of Monte Grappa (1917–1918)

| partof = the Italian Front of the First World War

| image =

| caption =

| date = End of 1917 (1st battle), June 1918 (2nd battle) and end of 1918 (3rd battle)

| place = Monte Grappa, Italy

| casus =

| territory =

| result = Italian victory

| combatant1 = {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}
{{flagcountry|German Empire|Germany}} (1917 only)

| combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy|Italy}}
{{flagdeco|Kingdom of Romania}} Romanian Legion

| commander1 = Archduke Eugen of Austria (1st)
Arz von Straußenburg (2nd and 3rd)

| commander2 = Armando Diaz

| strength1 = 143,000

| strength2 = 134,000

| casualties1 = 21,000 during the first battle, 34,000 during the third battle

| casualties2 = 12,000 during the first battle, 17,000 during the third battle

| notes =

}}

{{Campaignbox Italian Front}}

File:Vista dal monte grappa.JPG

The Battles of Monte Grappa were a series of three battles which were fought during World War I between the armies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy for control of the Monte Grappa massif, as it covered the left flank of the Italian Piave front.

The first of these battles became the most famous as it brought the Austrian advance to a halt following the Austro-Hungarian autumn offensive of 1917. The Italian Chief of the general staff general Luigi Cadorna had ordered to construct fortified defenses on the Monte Grappa summit to make the mountain an impregnable fortress. When the Austro-Hungarian autumn offensive of 1917 routed the Italians, the Austrians, with help from the German Army's Alpenkorps failed to take the mountain's summit during the first battle of Monte Grappa from 11 November 1917 to 23 December 1917. Thus, the Italian front along the Piave river was stabilized and, although the Austrians could see Venice from their positions, they would never reach it. Italian casualties totaled 12,000 and Austrian casualties 21,000.Silvestri, Mario. (2006). Caporetto, una battaglia e un enigma. Bur, Bergamo. {{ISBN|88-17-10711-5}}.

The second battle of Monte Grappa was complementary to the wider Austrian summer offensive of 1918, which was the last offensive operation of the Austro–Hungarian Army in World War I.

The third battle of Monte Grappa started on 24 October 1918, as part of the final Italian offensive of the war, when 9 Italian divisions attacked the Austrian positions on Monte Grappa. The Austrians answered by increasing their forces on the mountain from 9 to 15 divisions and thus committing all remaining reserves. But the worn down Austrian Army began a general retreat on 28 October, when Czechoslovakia declared independence from Austria-Hungary.