Hello soldiers !
We’re excited to share with you all what the new upcoming map is going to be! Only a few of you have guessed it correctly; the new map is going to be Piave !
The release date for this map is February 28 and will release alongside more custom match options (more bot options, cooldown timers, ticket timers & more) and new weapons
For now, let’s talk about the Piave battles.
Battles of the Piave
The two battles of the Piave river were fought between November 10-December 25, 1917 and June 15-23 1918. The Austro-Hungarians together with the Germans advanced together and aimed to bring down the Italian army once and for all.
After the Italian defeat at Caporetto (24 October 1917), they retreated to the Tagliamento line. At the same time, Boselli resigned as the prime minister of Italy and he was replaced by Vittorio Emanule Orlando. Together with King Victor Emmanuel III, he formed a new cabinet. They met with the British and French prime ministers (David Lloyd George & Paul Painlevé) to discuss the emergency facing the Italian army. One of the decisions that were made during this meeting was Cadorna’s replacement by Armando Diaz as the new Italian chief of staff. Additionally, the British and French prime ministers suggested that the Mincio river might be easier to defend, but the king supported his new chief to stand firm on the Piave river, to prevent Venice from falling into enemy hands.
King Victor Emmanuel III and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Source
Allied forces made their way down to the Italian front and realised there that their current situation was a serious matter, but there was no desperation (yet). Though the pride of the Italian soldiers was scarred, they were determined to redeem themselves.
The Arresto
On 9 November 1917, all the bridges of the Piave river were blown up with the exception of the Vidor bridge. This was to allow the Italian rearguard troops to get to the right bank of the Piave river. These troops arrived later as they preceded invaders and troops who came down from the Dolomite front. This gave the Italians a chance to buy some time, as they didn’t have the means or numbers to create a well-structured defense line with sufficient forces in the field.
On November 10th, the German troops of the 12th Silesian division of the Stein group attempted to cross the Vidor bridge. However the Italian army repelled the attacks, despite the various losses they suffered beforehand. This was the start of the First Battle of the Piave (Battaglia d’Arresto) , which was split up into two phases; 10-26 November 1917 and 4-25 December 1917.
The goal of the Austo-Hungarians, under the lead of general Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, was to take Monte Grappa and break through the Piave line of the Italians, which was reinforced by the Allied units. However, Grappa is in a strong defensive position with his natural elements. This helped the Italians to hold their positions in the freezing cold winds and dry snow.
Italian soldiers firing MG’s at the Piave river. Source
A few days later on November 22nd, German Sturmtruppen were able to take Monte Tomba and on December 4th, they overran the Melette. However they were unable to advance any further. During the remaining month of December, the Austro-Hungarians made another attempt to break through the Italian defense line, but due to heavy artillery lagging behind and the overall exhaustion of the men, this was unsuccessful. Following German advice, further operations by the Austro-Hungarians were suspended.
More next time!
So what do you think? We’ll go more in depth about the Piave map in the game and your objectives in the next blog!
P(i)ave the way on February 28!
