October 24 – November 19, 1917 · Italian Front Theater
October 24 – November 19, 1917
A combined German-Austrian assault using new 'stormtrooper' infiltration tactics broke the Italian line completely. The Italian army collapsed, retreating 100 miles in two weeks. 275,000 Italian soldiers were captured. Ernest Hemingway, who served as an ambulance driver on the Italian front, later fictionalized the retreat in A Farewell to Arms.
Commanders