In the Mediterranean, Italy joined the Allies in May. The Italians had
been courted by both sides. Led by Foreign Minister Sidney Sonnino, the
Italian government got a pledge of extensive territorial gains to be won at
the expense of Austria-Hungary. These included the South Tirol and vast
regions along the eastern coast of the Adriatic. Sonnino expected to wage a
limited war in conjunction with Italy's new allies, fighting only against
Austria-Hungary and confining military operations to the areas where Italy
sought its territorial rewards.
The mountainous border between the two antagonists offered few possibilities
for an effective offensive. General Luigi Cadoma, like his counterparts
elsewhere a fervent believer in the decisive offensive, hurled his forces
against Austrian territory at two points: northward into the Trentino and
eastward through the region of the Isonzo River toward Gorizia and Trieste.
In June, the poorly equipped and badly led Italians experienced the first of
numerous bloodbaths assaulting Austria's mountain defenses along the
Isonzo. As in France, the war here bogged down in costly stalemate.
World History
