Gen Sir James E Edmunds

Italy 1915-1919. Official History of the Great War Other Theatres Gen Sir James E Edmunds

Although the third member of the Central Powers triple alliance before the Great War, Italy wisely held aloof from the conflict which began in August 1914. But pressure from the western Allies - particularly France - caused her to abandon neutrality and join the war on the Allied side. This volume recounts what followed as it affected the British troops involved in supporting our tottering ally after the disastrous defeat at Caporetto in 1917. The preliminary chapters provide a sketch of the events that brought Italy into the war and the operations that took place before the arrival of the British divisions in November 1917. In all, five British and four French divisions with supporting arms and services (including air) came to the aid of the ltalians in 1917/1918, enabling her to recover and drive her German and Austrian foes back into the Alps by the armistice in November.