First World War

On June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne. This event sparked the outbreak of the Great War. Tensions among European states had been simmering for years, and Europe was a powder keg ready to explode. Italy, in particular, sought to reclaim the "unredeemed territories" (Trentino, Venezia Giulia, Istria, and Dalmatia), which were still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
On July 28, Austria declared war on Serbia, triggering a chain reaction among European states. By August, much of the continent was aflame. Although tied to Austria and Germany through the "Triple Alliance," Italy remained neutral for almost a year. In April 1915, the Italian government signed the "Treaty of London" with Great Britain, France, and Russia, committing to war against Austria-Hungary within a month. On the night of May 23–24, the Italian Royal Army crossed the border: Italy was at war.
The front stretched over 600 km, crossing from east to west the mountains of Lombardy, Alto Garda, the Vicentine Prealps, Valsugana, the Dolomites, Carnia, the Isonzo, and the Upper Adriatic.
The supreme commander was Luigi Cadorna, a general with rigid methods whose defensive strategy on the mountain front contrasted with his offensive focus in the east, aiming to cross the Isonzo and swiftly target Trieste and Ljubljana. However, the emergence of the machine gun entrenched both sides in muddy trenches for months, turning each attempt to gain ground into a massacre.

The Isonzo front saw 11 battles, only a few yielding significant results: the capture of Gorizia in August 1916 and the conquest of Bainsizza in September 1917.
The Veneto-Trentino front was considered secondary, but any breach would have led to the invasion of the plain and the encirclement of the armies in Venezia Giulia. Holding the mountains of Alto Vicentino, particularly the Asiago Plateau, was crucial. This was especially true for the Alpini Battalion "Bassano," which regarded the Plateau as the "gateway to home," a barrier to be firmly secured.
In May 1915, as Italy entered the war, the "Bassano" was already in action at the head of Val d'Assa. In the early months of the conflict, it fought on Vezzena, Porta Manazzo, and Monte Calmo, repeatedly attempting to capture Austrian forts. In November 1915, it was transferred to the Upper Isonzo. Similarly, the "Val Brenta" Battalion was already deployed on the Plateau in May 1915 before moving to Trentino, where it participated in the Monte Cauriol battle in 1916.
Between May and June 1916, the Austrians launched a devastating offensive against the Asiago Plateau (Battle of the Plateaus or Strafexpedition). The enemy overran all defenses and threatened the plains. The advance was miraculously halted by late June. To contain the Austrian offensive, the Alpini Battalions "Bassano" and "Sette Comuni," stationed on the Upper Isonzo, were redeployed to the Plateau.

The following year, the Italian command planned a vast offensive to reclaim lost ground, marked by the enormous sacrifices of the Alpini on Ortigara. Battles to seize this peak, known as the "calvary of the Alpini," began on June 10, 1917, with the "Bassano" and "Sette Comuni" leading the first wave of attacks. After days of relentless attempts and thousands of casualties, the Italians were forced to retreat on June 25.
Parts of the alpine front reached or exceeded 3,000 meters in elevation. In these sectors (Ortles–Cevedale, Adamello–Presanella, Dolomites), the conflict evolved into a "white war," where the harsh mountain conditions and extreme climate severely tested the soldiers’ endurance more than the enemy did. Among glaciers, cliffs, and ravines, military operations turned into true mountaineering feats. The protagonists of this "eagles' war" were the Alpini and their Austrian counterparts, the Kaiserschützen
and Gebirgsjäger.
At dawn on October 25, 1917, after a night of intense bombardment, Austro-Hungarian and German troops attacked the Upper Isonzo front, breaking through near Caporetto and spreading inland. Italian troops hastily abandoned the right bank of the Isonzo, retreating toward the Friulian plain. Panic and confusion prevailed, with thousands of soldiers crowding roads to cross the Tagliamento. Many threw away their weapons, believing the war was over.
The military and political crisis prompted a reorganization of the Army, entrusted to General Armando Diaz. The troops regrouped on the new Grappa–Piave line. In November 1917, taking advantage of the crisis, the Austro-Hungarians launched fierce attacks on Monte Grappa's northern slopes. Battles raged on Col Caprile, Col della Beretta, Monte Pertica, Fontanasecca, Solarolo, Tomba, and Monfenera. In December, the enemy captured Valderoa and Asolone but was stopped before advancing on Bassano.