Trentino Campaign

In World War I, series of engagements between Austrian and Italian troops 1915-18 in the Trentino district. Trentino was then part of the southern Tyrol in Austria, now a province of Italy; broadly, the area between Lake Garda and the Brenner Pass. Battle swayed back and forth between the two sides, with neither really gaining the upper hand - the severe nature of the mountainous country and supply difficulties often cancelled out purely military considerations, and the struggle continued until the Austrian armistice 3 November 1918.

This area was the Italian Army's first objective after declaring war on Austria and they began their advance 24 May 1915. By the end of the year they held a line a few miles past the north end of Lake Garda. In May 1916 the Austrians assembled a force of about 350,000 and swept down between Trento and Roverino, destroying the Italians' line and driving them back to a line in the mountains southwest of Roverino. The Austrian offensive then slackened and stopped. The Italians counterattacked June 1916 and regained much of what they had previously held. More fighting in the summer of 1918 was inconclusive.