Second Battle of the Piave River

A June 1918 World War I battle in which Italian forces stopped an Austro-Hungarian offensive across the Piave River, helping weaken the Habsburg war effort.

Piave River: A river in northeastern Italy that reaches the Adriatic Sea near Venice. Its swollen, shifting channels disrupted Austro-Hungarian crossings and resupply.
Battle of Caporetto: The October–November 1917 Austro-German offensive that drove Italian forces back from the Isonzo front. Its defeat pushed Italy to the Piave line and shaped the defensive position attacked in 1918.
Armando Diaz: An Italian general who served as chief of staff from November 1917 until the end of World War I. Diaz directed Italy's defense and avoided risking the army in a premature counteroffensive.
Battle of Vittorio Veneto: The October–November 1918 Italian offensive that precipitated the collapse of Austro-Hungarian forces on the Italian Front. The June defeat had depleted and demoralized the army that Italy attacked again in the autumn.
Austro-Hungarian June Offensive: The Austro-Hungarian operation launched in June 1918 against Italian positions along the Piave and in the Asiago sector. This offensive was the larger operation of which the river battle formed the central contest.
Italian Front (World War I): The theater of World War I fighting between Italy and Austria-Hungary, chiefly along the Alps and northeastern Italian border. The Piave battle was a decisive episode on this wider front.
Luigi Cadorna: The Italian chief of staff from 1914 until his replacement after the Battle of Caporetto. His command decisions before Caporetto formed the backdrop to the army Diaz inherited.
Armistice of Villa Giusti: The 3 November 1918 armistice between Italy and Austria-Hungary, ending hostilities on the Italian Front. The failed June offensive preceded the military crisis that ended in this armistice.
Italian Army: Italy's national armed force, which fought on the Allied side in World War I. Its defense of the river line and counterattacks forced the invaders back.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: The March 1918 treaty that ended Russia's war with the Central Powers. It freed Austro-Hungarian forces from the Eastern Front for redeployment against Italy.

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Battles of the IsonzoRelated: After Caporetto, the Italian defense shifted west to the Piave, where the front stabilized.