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54-652: He was also the provisional president of the Chamber of Deputies between 1943 and 1945, and a member of the Constituent Assembly that changed the Italian form of government into a republic . Aside from his prominent political role, Orlando was a professor of law and is known for his writings on legal and judicial issues, which number over a hundred works. Orlando was born in Palermo , Sicily . His father,

108-512: A calm assurance and skill which amazed many of those who were more frightened of drowning than of fighting the Austrians. For the sake of silence, the HAC used only their bayonets until the alarm was raised, and soon seized their half of the island. The Italian assault on the south of Papadopoli was driven off by heavy machine-gun fire. Nevertheless, the Austrians surrendered the island by the end of

162-501: A counter-attack. The Italian Tenth Army maintained its ground and established a bridgehead 2.5 miles (4.0 km) deep and 5 miles (8.0 km) broad. The British captured 3,520 prisoners and 54 guns. Svetozar Boroević von Bojna , the Austro-Hungarian commander, ordered a counter-attack on the Italian bridgeheads on the same day, but his troops refused to obey orders, a problem confronting the Austrians from that time on, and

216-514: A crossing at a point where there were a number of islands. Cavan had decided to seize the largest of these – the Grave di Papadopoli – in preparation for the full-scale assault on the far bank. The plan was for two battalions from the 22nd Brigade of the British 7th Division to occupy the northern half of Papadopoli, while the Italian 11th Corps took the southern half. The British troops detailed for

270-567: A dominant role. Their differences proved to be disastrous during the negotiations. Orlando was prepared to renounce territorial claims for Dalmatia to annex Rijeka (or Fiume as the Italians called the town) — the principal seaport on the Adriatic Sea — while Sonnino was not prepared to give up Dalmatia. Italy ended up claiming both and received neither, running up against Wilson's policy of national self-determination . Orlando supported

324-599: A landed gentleman, delayed venturing out to register his son's birth for fear of Giuseppe Garibaldi 's Expedition of the Thousand , who had just stormed into Sicily on the first leg of their march to build an Italian nation. Orlando taught law at the University of Palermo and was recognized as an eminent jurist. In 1897, he was elected in the Italian Chamber of Deputies ( Italian : Camera dei Deputati ) for

378-526: A week after the Austro-Hungarians, the Germans requested an armistice. German chief-of-staff Erich Ludendorff , a prominent World War I figure, stressed the importance of the battle, claiming that its outcome prompted the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, "dragging Germany in its fall". In his memories Ludendorff wrote: "The Austro-Hungarian Army had completely dissolved as a result of

432-481: The 6th Czechoslovak Division (consisting of former POWs captured by the Italians), and the 332nd US Infantry Regiment, was held in reserve. The Allies had 600 aircraft (93 Anglo-French, including four RAF squadrons) to gain complete air superiority in the final offensive. The Allies : ( Armando Diaz ) Austria-Hungary As night fell on 23 October, leading elements of Lord Cavan's Tenth Army were to force

486-609: The Battle of Caporetto , from 24 October to 9 November 1917, the Italian Army suffered over 300,000 casualties (dead, injured and captured) and was forced to withdraw, causing the replacement of the Italian Supreme Commander Luigi Cadorna with General Armando Diaz . Diaz reorganized the troops, blocked the enemy advance by implementing defense in depth and mobile reserves, and stabilized

540-717: The Isonzo Valley, Gorizia , Trieste , Istria , western Carniola , and Dalmatia . All German forces should be expelled from Austria-Hungary within 15 days or interned, and the Allies were to have free use of Austria-Hungary's internal communications. They were also obliged to allow the transit of the Entente armies, to reach Germany from the South. In order to block this, Bavarian troops marched into Tyrol. Austrian institutions protested as they were obliged to do according to

594-484: The Paris Peace Conference in 1919, along with U.S. President Woodrow Wilson , French prime minister Georges Clemenceau and Britain's Prime Minister David Lloyd George . Although, as prime minister, he was the head of the Italian delegation, Orlando's inability to speak English and his weak political position at home allowed the conservative foreign minister, the half- Welsh Sidney Sonnino , to play

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648-611: The People's State of Bavaria , on 8 November 1918. In early November Italian troops received orders to march towards Landeck and Innsbruck and by the end of November 1918, the Italian Army with 20,000–22,000 soldiers occupied North Tyrol . The battle marked the end of the First World War on the Italian front and secured the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As mentioned above, on 31 October Hungary officially left

702-634: The Racial Equality Proposal introduced by Japan at the conference. Orlando dramatically left the conference early on April 24, 1919. He returned briefly the following month, but was forced to resign just days before the signing of the resultant Treaty of Versailles . The fact he was not a signatory to the treaty became a point of pride for him later in his life. French prime minister Georges Clemenceau dubbed him "The Weeper," and Orlando himself recalled proudly: "When ... I knew they would not give us what we were entitled to ... I writhed on

756-605: The 31st, the Italian Fourth Army resumed the offensive on Monte Grappa and this time was able to advance beyond the old Austrian positions towards Feltre . In the mountains and on the plain, the Allied armies pushed on until an armistice was arranged. Austria-Hungary lost about 30,000 killed and wounded and 300,000 prisoners (50,000 by 31 October; 100,000 by 1 November; 300,000 by 4 November). The Italians captured 448,000 Austrian-Hungarian soldiers (about one-third of

810-534: The Austro-Hungarian offensive stopped by Diaz at the Second Battle of the Piave River , a lull in fighting ensued on the Italian front as both sides brought up their logistical elements. Orlando ordered an investigation into the causes of the defeat at Caporetto, which confirmed that it was the fault of the military leadership. While he continued to reform the military, he refused demands from both sides of

864-595: The Austro-Hungarians, a feat that coincided with the collapse of Austro-Hungarian Army and the end of the First World War on the Italian Front, as well as the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . The fact that Italy recovered and ended up on the winning side in 1918 earned for Orlando the title "Premier of Victory." Orlando was one of the Big Four , the main Allied leaders and participants at

918-564: The Sicilian soul: and I declare that I am a mafioso , and proud to be one." He maintained a strong rivalry with the prominent statesman and party colleague Francesco Saverio Nitti . French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and US President Woodrow Wilson criticized his behavior at the Paris Peace Conference. List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Too Many Requests If you report this error to

972-584: The Tenth Army (Lieutenant-General Lord Cavan ) to protect his right flank. Lord Cavan's army consisted of two British and two Italian divisions, and they too were expected to cross the Piave by breaking the Austrian defenses at Papadopoli Island. The Third Army was simply to hold the lower Piave and cross the river when enemy resistance was broken. The Ninth Army, which contained two Italian divisions as well as

1026-467: The Trentino, and the second one southwestward across the lower Piave. The whole offensive, which became known as the Battle of the Piave River ended in a heavy defeat for the imperial army, with the Austro-Hungarians losing 11,643 killed, 80,852 wounded and 25,547 captured. On 1 November, the new Hungarian government of Count Mihály Károlyi decided to recall all of the troops, who were conscripted from

1080-522: The Western Front. All of these had the net effect of greatly increasing the formerly-crumbling army's morale. Orlando's government quickly proved popular among the general population and successfully reconstituted national morale after the disaster of Caporetto, with Orlando even publicly pledging to retreat to "my Sicily" if necessary and resist the Austrian invaders from there, though he was also assured that there would be no military collapse. With

1134-574: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 539522431 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:45:20 GMT Battle of Vittorio Veneto Italian victory 57 divisions: Total  : 1,486,200 61 divisions: 40,917 [REDACTED] 38,000 1916 1917 1918 White War (1915–1918) The Battle of Vittorio Veneto

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1188-677: The battle was fought in November 1918, the nearby city was called simply Vittorio, named in 1866 for Vittorio Emanuele II , monarch from 1861 of the newly created Kingdom of Italy . The engagement, the last major battle in the war (1915–1918) between Italy and Austria-Hungary, was generally referred to as the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, i.e. 'Vittorio in the Veneto region '. The city's name was officially changed to Vittorio Veneto in July 1923. During

1242-455: The counter-attack failed. The first days of the battle involved heavy artillery dueling between the two sides, which were fairly evenly matched in firepower, with the Italians possessing 7,700 guns to the Austro-Hungarians' 6,000. From 24 to 31 October alone, the Italian artillery fired 2,446,000 shells. On 28 October, a group of Czechs declared Bohemia 's independence from Austria-Hungary . The next day, another group purporting to represent

1296-442: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and contributed to the end of the First World War just one week later. The battle led to the capture of over 5,000 artillery pieces and over 350,000 Austro-Hungarian troops, including 120,000 Germans, 83,000 Czechs and Slovaks, 60,000 South Slavs, 40,000 Poles, several tens of thousands of Romanians and Ukrainians, and 7,000 Austro-Hungarian loyalist Italians and Friulians . When

1350-406: The district of Partinico for which he was constantly reelected until 1925. He aligned himself with Giovanni Giolitti , who was Prime Minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. A liberal, Orlando served in various roles as a minister. In 1903, he served as Minister of Education under Prime Minister Giolitti. In 1907, he was appointed Minister of Justice, a role he retained until 1909. He

1404-619: The eventual South Slavs proclaimed their independence, and on 31 October, the Hungarian Parliament proclaimed their withdrawal from the union, officially dissolving the Austro-Hungarian state. On 28 October, under these new political and military conditions, the Austro-Hungarian high command ordered a general retreat. On 29 October, the Italian Eighth Army pushed on towards Vittorio Veneto, which its advance guard of lancers and Bersaglieri cyclists entered on

1458-759: The fighting in Upper Italy between the 24th October and the 4th November. Hostile forces were moving on Innsbruck. G.H.Q. took comprehensive measures for the protection of the southern frontier of Bavaria. In the Balkan theatre we held the Danube. We stood alone in the world. At the beginning of November the Revolution, the work of the Independent Socialists, broke out, starting in the navy." German historian Ernst Nolte contended that Vittorio Veneto

1512-425: The floor. I knocked my head against the wall. I cried. I wanted to die." His political position was seriously undermined by his failure to secure Italian interests at the Paris Peace Conference. Orlando resigned on 23 June 1919, following his inability to acquire Fiume for Italy in the peace settlement. The so-called " Mutilated victory " was one of the causes of the rising of Benito Mussolini . In December 1919, he

1566-531: The front-line around the Piave River . In June 1918, a large Austro-Hungarian offensive, aimed at breaking the Piave River defensive line and delivering a decisive blow to the Italian Army, was launched. The Austro-Hungarian Army tried on one side to force the Tonale Pass and enter Lombardy , and on the other side to make two converging thrusts into central Venetia , the first one southeastward from

1620-566: The imperial-royal army), 24 of whom were generals, 5,600 cannons and mortars, and 4,000 machine guns . The Italians suffered during the 10 days' struggle 37,461 casualties (dead and wounded) – 24,507 of them on Monte Grappa. British casualties were 2,139, while the French lost 778 men. The Armistice of Villa Giusti was signed on 3 November at 15:20, to become effective 24 hours later, at 15:00 on 4 November. The Austrian command ordered its troops to cease hostilities on 3 November. Following

1674-564: The issue. A Mafia pentito and state witness, Tommaso Buscetta , claimed that Orlando was himself actually a member of the Mafia, a man of honour . In Partinico, he was supported by the Mafia boss Frank Coppola , who had been deported back to Italy from the US. In 1925, Orlando stated in the Italian senate that he was proud of being mafioso and intended it to mean a "man of honor" but making no admission of links to organized crime, saying that "if by

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1728-468: The mistakes the year before at Caporetto. Carrying a resolza knife and two hand grenades , they were trained to remain in the powerful currents of the icy Piave for up to 16 hours; 50 died in the river during the campaign, a casualty rate of over 60%. The Italian Twelfth Army, commanded by French General Jean Graziani , continued to advance, supported on the right by the Eighth Army. At dawn on

1782-538: The morning of the 30th. The Italian Third Army forced a crossing of the lower Piave, while raids in the mountains disclosed that the Austrians were withdrawing there. Reserves, including the 332nd US Infantry Regiment poured over the Piave behind the Italian Tenth Army. Vittorio Veneto was seized the next day by the Italian Eighth Army, which was already pushing on to the Tagliamento river. Trieste

1836-641: The mountains were merely to hold the front line and follow up the enemy when it retreated. The task of opening the attack and taking on the strongest positions fell to the Fourth Army (Lieutenant-General Gaetano Giardino ) on the Grappa. The Twelfth Army, consisting of one French and three Italian divisions, was commanded by the English-speaking Lieutenant-General Enrico Caviglia and he had under his command

1890-457: The night attack were the 2/1 Honourable Artillery Company (an infantry battalion despite the title) and the 1/ Royal Welch Fusiliers . These troops were helpless to negotiate such a torrent as the Piave and relied upon boats propelled by the 18th Pontieri under the command of Captain Odini of the Italian engineers. On the misty night of the 23rd, the Italians rowed the British forces across with

1944-427: The night. In the early hours of 24 October, the anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Caporetto , Comando Supremo launched the splintering attack on Monte Grappa designed to draw in the Austro-Hungarian reserves. At 03:00 the right wing of the Italian Fourth Army began a barrage to give time for its men to move into position. At 05:00 the rest of the artillery joined in. The infantry began to struggle up

1998-615: The order to cease hostilities, the Imperial Army had already started to collapse, beginning a chaotic retreat. Italian troops continued their advance until 3 p.m. on 4 November. The occupation of all Tyrol, including Innsbruck , was completed by end of November. Under the terms of the Austrian-Italian Armistice of Villa Giusti , Austria-Hungary's forces were required to evacuate not only all territory occupied since August 1914 but also South Tirol, Tarvisio ,

2052-604: The personal union with Austria. Other parts of the empire had declared independence, notably what later became Yugoslavia . The surrender of their primary ally was another major factor in the German Empire 's decision that they could no longer continue the war. On 30 October the Wilhelmshaven mutiny erupted, shortly afterwards the German Revolution of 1918–1919 started to spread from Kiel . Less than

2106-434: The political aisle calling for mass trials of generals and ministers. The Italian front stabilized enough under his leadership that Italy was able to send hundreds of thousands of troops to the Western Front to buttress their allies while themselves preparing for a major offensive to knock Austria-Hungary out of the war. This offensive materialized in November 1918, the Italians launched the Battle of Vittorio Veneto and routed

2160-540: The political spotlight when he wrote Mussolini a supportive letter. In 1944, he made something of a political comeback. With the fall of Mussolini , Orlando became leader of the National Democratic Union . He was chosen as the president of the Chamber of Deputies until 25 September 1945. In 1946, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Italy . In 1948 he was a candidate for the presidency of

2214-509: The republic (elected by Parliament) but was defeated by Luigi Einaudi . He died in 1952 in Rome . Orlando was a controversial figure. Some authors criticize the blunt way he represented Italy at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, in contrast to his more diplomatic foreign minister Sidney Sonnino . Other authors say that Orlando was connected to the Mafia and mafiosi from beginning to end of his long parliamentary career, but no court ever investigated

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2268-542: The signing of the armistice, Austrian General Weber informed his Italian counterparts that the Imperial army had already laid down its weapons, and asked to cease combat immediately and to stop any further Italian advance. The proposal was sharply rejected by the Italian General Badoglio , who threatened to stop all negotiations and to continue the war. General Weber repeated the request. Even before

2322-442: The steep slopes and secondary peaks which the Austrians had held. The flooding of the Piave prevented two of the three central armies from advancing simultaneously with the third; but the latter, under the command of Earl Cavan, after seizing Papadopoli Island farther downstream, won a foothold on the left bank of the river on 27 October. In the evening, the Allies had covered so much ground that they were over-extended and vulnerable to

2376-454: The terms of the armistice. Apart from the blowing up of a bridge south of Brixen to slow down Italian advances no combats ensued. The Bavarians retreated as soon as Italian troops arrived. Thus they left Franzensfeste on 9 November and Gossensass on 10 November. The discipline of the soldiers also suffered from the fact that the German socialist Kurt Eisner had declared Bavaria to become

2430-635: The territory of Kingdom of Hungary, which was a major blow for the Habsburgs' armies. After the Battle of the Piave, General Armando Diaz abstained from offensive action until Italy would be ready to strike with success assured. In the offensive he planned, three of the five armies lining the front from the Monte Grappa sector to the Adriatic end of the Piave were to drive across the river toward Vittorio Veneto , so as to cut communications between

2484-462: The two Austrian armies opposing them. Allied forces totaled 57 infantry divisions, including 52 Italian, three British ( 23rd , 7th and 48th ), two French (23rd and 24th), and the 332nd US Infantry Regiment , along with supporting arms. The Austro-Hungarian army had 46 infantry divisions and six cavalry divisions, but both sides were ravaged by influenza and malaria and the Austrians only had 6,030 guns to 7,700 Allied. The Italian armies in

2538-585: The war. He had been a strong supporter of Italy's entry in the war. He successfully led a patriotic national front government, the Unione Sacra , and reorganized the army. Orlando was encouraged in his support of the Allies because of secret incentives offered to Italy in the London Pact of 1915. Italy was promised significant territorial gains in Dalmatia . Orlando's first act as head of the government

2592-401: The word 'mafia' we understand a sense of honour pitched in the highest key; a refusal to tolerate anyone's prominence or overbearing behaviour; ... a generosity of spirit which, while it meets strength head on, is indulgent to the weak; loyalty to friends ... If such feelings and such behaviour are what people mean by 'the mafia', ... then we are actually speaking of the special characteristics of

2646-452: Was elected president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies , but never again served as prime minister. When Benito Mussolini seized power in 1922, Orlando initially tactically supported him, but broke with him over the murder of Giacomo Matteotti in 1924. After that, he abandoned politics and resigned from the Chamber of Deputies in 1925, until 1935, when Mussolini's march into Ethiopia stirred Orlando's nationalism. He reappeared briefly in

2700-426: Was established, soldiers received new life insurance policies to help their families in the case of their deaths, more funding was put into propaganda efforts aimed at glorifying the common soldier, and annual paid leave was increased from 15 to 25 days. On his own initiative Diaz also softened the harsh discipline practiced by Cadorna, increased rations, and adopted more modern military tactics which had been observed on

2754-518: Was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I . After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troops during the defensive Battle of the Piave River , the Italian army launched a great counter-offensive: the Italian victory marked the end of the war on the Italian Front , secured

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2808-618: Was re-appointed to the same ministry in November 1914 in the government of Antonio Salandra until his appointment as Minister of the Interior in June 1916 under Paolo Boselli . After the Italian military disaster in World War I at Caporetto on 25 October 1917, which led to the fall of the Boselli government, Orlando became prime minister, and he continued in that role through the rest of

2862-653: Was taken by an amphibious expedition on 3 November. The Italian Eighth Army troops which had managed to cross the Piave were only able to communicate with the west bank by using swimmers. The swimmers were furnished by one of the most elite assault units in Italian history – the Arditi Corps, the Caimani del Piave (" Caimans of the Piave"). Eighty-two had been recruited by Captain Remo Pontecorvo Bacci. These specialized troops were created after analyzing

2916-408: Was to fire General Luigi Cadorna and appoint the well-respected General Armando Diaz in his place. He then reasserted civilian control over military affairs, which Cadorna had always resisted. His government instituted new policies that treated Italian troops less harshly and instilled a more efficient military system, which were enforced by Diaz. The Ministry for Military Assistance and War Pensions

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