This scenario will cover at strategic level the battle of Caporetto and the following defensive battles of Monte Grappa and Piave, quite considering the entire italian front from Garda Lake to Adriatic Sea. With the breakout of Caporetto you will engaged in one of the few battles of movement of the first world war and you will find many strategic options to consider and choose either as defender that as attacker.
(see the doc file for further player notes and
images)

The battle of Caporetto (twelfth battle of the Isonzo) - Historical notes.
1917, for Europe in war, it is one year of big events. Above all one will be destined to change the history of the world: the red revolution in Russia. Another decisive event is the intervention in the conflict of the United States, gone out in the open to side of the allies.
On the Italian front, in the August and the September 1917, the eleventh battle of the Isonzo has been fought. From when Italians have entered in war, May 24 th 1915, that between the Carnia and the sea has been the sector chosen by the commander in head, Luigi Cadorna, to try of to win the hostile secular Austria-Hungary.

With immense sacrifices of blood and at the price of heavy sufferings of the soldiers, the Italian army has fought ten following battles stubbornly on the Isonzo and on the Carso, to arrive to Trieste, the great one Austrian port of the Adriatic, the greatest naval base of the empire, the unredeemed city. Successes have been a little satisfactory: the taking of Gorizia, some important tops conquered with a waste of proportional non certain blood to their strategic importance. Months and months in trench, soldiers buried in the mud and between the stones, with the alone alternative of new assaults to the bayonet, of duels of artilleries and attempts of staving in destined to become exhausted for the tenacious hostile resistance.

Now, of those battles it is note in progress eleventh. Austria-Hungary, not less tried of Italy, it hears again of strive him of to reject the Italian infantries of the Second army, that they advance slowly on the plateau of the Bainsizza. He has been fought for days and days. The Austrians don't surrender terrestrial. The plateau of the Bainsizza will be conquered by Italians, but it will be paid with the usual tribute of blood: for more, without concluding nothing. To this point Austria has realized that is the case to try a last gigantic effort to try of to resolve the problem of the war breaking down the Italian front.

On this front, to Fourteenth Army with the general von Below is opposed the Second Army with the general Luigi Capello, the conqueror of Gorizia. The line up is the following: 4° army corps (general Alberto Cavaciocchi), between the basin of Plezzo and the coast Raunza; 27° army corps (general Pietro Badoglio), from the coast Raunza to the Bainsizza; 24° army corps (general Henry Caviglia), on the Bainsizza; 2° army corps (general Alberico Albricci), from the Bainsizza to Gorizia; the 6° army corps (general Stephen Lombardi) and l 8° army corps (general Francis Grazioli), from Gorizia to the Vipacco, where they are connected with the Third army, commanded by the duke Emanuele Filiberto of Aosta cousin of the king Vittorio Emanuele III. In second line, to disposition, they are found the 7° army corps with the general Luigi Bongiovanni, the 14° army corps with the general Pier Luigi Sagramoso and the 28° army corps with the general Alexander Saporiti.
The Italian supreme commander, on which the Second Army also depends with the general Capello, is the general Luigi Cadorna.

The day October 20th 1917 is introduced a czech official to the Italian lines deserter. It removes of pocket the complete and detailed plan of the imminent Austro-German attack between Plezzo and Tolmino and it delivers them. Never in the history of the big battles one of the two parts had been informed in very exact and capillary way preventively on the intentions and on the programs of the other.

It arrived you to know that the decisive attack had to unwind between Plezzo and Selo, and with great violence in the plain one of Tolmino; that an army corps would have acted in the basin of Plezzo; that 17 ^ slesian division would have tried of to go up again the Isonzo; that more to south quite a lot other corps would have operated; that the principal objective of the competing actions from Plezzo, from Monte Nero and from Tolmino it had to be the occupation of the line Mia-Matajur-Kolovrat. It also resulted that the attack would have been preceded by a draught of four hours with brooms to gas against the positions of artillery, followed a violent draught of destruction of ninety minutes. It learned you then from a wire tapping, that the beginning of the offensive had fixed for the 2 of the morning of on October 24.
This was the last of a series of skirmishes that the Italian commands thought of not to take in consideration, confiding that the Austrians were not able to effect big offensive.Therefore has been maintained an offensive line up of the troops of the 2° army but above all they had not predisposed suitable reserves to face possible dangers.

The night in 23 and on October 24 on the front of the Isonzo is dismal, misty and beaten by violent you roar of rain. It is cold and visibility is almost void. With teutonic punctuality, really according to the plans delivered by the czech official, at 2 o'clock on October 24 the bombardment started from the Rombon to the sea. Cadorna was found to the general quartier to Udine. Capello in the hospital in Padua, in license of illness . Badoglio, that had to be to his place of first line, to Ostri Kras, has been surprised to the place of behind command of Cosi.

The first austro-German draught is to gas, but case nobody almost does you except the unfortunate stricken regiments. While Capello, envoy to the current one of the events, is lifted from the bed and without minding the conditions in which he pours arrived to his command of Cormons to take back in his hands the army, the fire of the artilleries is instigated with a devastating violence. Then, to the eight of the morning, here is to go off the hostile infantries on a front of 32 kilometers, between Plezzo and Tolmino. The first two Italian divisions invested are 51 ^, general Giovanni Arrighi, of the 4° army corps and 19 ^, general Francis Villani, of the 27° army corps with the general Badoglio.

The Germans, with game and revolutionary tactic, from that open door advanced directly in the valley. To midday the troops of Krauss are to Saga, while those of Stein are attaching the Kolovrat and the slesian division , commanded by the general von Lequis, after a brilliant march of twenty-seven kilometers, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon it enters to Caporetto.

In an only hit has remained so cut out 43^ Italian division that defended the Merzli and Monte Nero. Then the general Alberto Cavaciocchi, commander of the 4° army corps, fearing the complete trickery of his troops, orders to the survivors of 50 ^ division, that they tried less worse to stop the hold of Saga to retire. It falls so one of the hinges of the Italian defensive system.

At 9 o'clock in the evening of on October 24 Cadorna starts to realize the course of the disaster. Without losing the head it commands the retreat behind the Isonzo. But it is slow. 25 falls the line Uccea-Stol, the austro-Germans take the Kolovrat mountain and Globocak, they spread toward the Natisone; the whole 2nd Italian armed has to start to refold from Monte Maggiore to Gorizia. Capello, weakened by the illness, races to Cadorna in Udine, reporting him that by now it is necessary to retire behind the Tagliamento. In the meantime, in the hostile hands they fall the Monte Maggiore, the Madlesena, the Korada, the Kuk, the Vodice, the Monte Santo and above all the key position of the Matajur, conquered by the young lieutenant Rommel to the command of few men, with the capture of over two thousand Italian prisoners.

On October 27 also refolds Third army with the duke Emanuele Filiberto of Aosta not to stay isolated and encircled. Leaved Cividale and Cadorna orders the retreat to the Tagliamento river. On October 28 the austro-Germans enter to Udine, the center of the Italian Supreme Command, and the whole front is to consider collapsed . In the night of 29 the austro-Germans cross the Tagliamento, 30 occupies Codroipo and San Daniele of the Friuli, while they are being let jump the bridges and the disaster assumes enormous proportions.
The order to refold on the Tagliamento is given with one day of delay in comparison to the necessities, and so it is not possible to form a line of resistance on that river. By now either the Second either the Third army are in full refolding. For the Second been drawn of an euphemism. Really it is a real rout. The panic has picked up officers and soldiers.

On November 4, with drastic decision, Cadorna commands the retreat on the Piave river, extreme defense to prevent the winning troops of to see been opened wide the Venetian lowland in front of them. On November 9 the Italian government exonerates Luigi Cadorna from his functions and replaces him with the quite unknown general Armando Diaz, commander of one of one army corps to the dependences till now of the duke of Aosta.

His mission is to reorganize the feared armies and to withstand on the Piave and on the Grappa Mountain. Especially in December on the Grappa Mountain there will be hard fights between the austro-germans and the italian troops; the imperial troops almost arrived to conquer the very aspired top but nothing were able against the brave resistance of italians also helped from a division of French Chasseurs.

Krafft von Dellmesingen writed: "the offensive rich in hopes was halted to little distance from own objective and the Grappa Mountain became the sacred mountain of Italians, that they can go proud to have maintained against the heroic efforts of the best imperial troops ."

Only one year later, after the Piave and the Grappa, Italians would have upset the fates of their war and they would have won. This was a miracle: but not of the good fate. It was a miracle of the wish, of the courage, of the vital spirit of an entire people.