Austro-Hungarian soldier with a fallen soldier covered in snow on barbed wire on the Monte Piana, 1917
Austro-Hungarian soldier with a fallen soldier covered in snow on barbed wire on the Monte Piana, 1917. . The Monte Piana is a 2.3 km tall mountain in the Dolomite mountain range, being part of the natural border between Italy and Austria-Hungary, fiercely contested between them in the First World War. . Upon the outbreak of war between these two in May 1915, Monte Piana had a southern summit occupied by the Italians, and a northern summit occupied by the Austro-Hungarians. . On June 8, 1915, today 108 years ago, the Austro-Hungarians first attacked the Italian positions at Monte Piana. The Italians repulsed the attack and then went on the offensive themselves. . Despite heavy Italian artillery bombardments and an infantry assault between July 15-20, resulting in 833 Italian casualties among 255 deaths, the Italians failed to conquer the northern summit. . In the following 2 years, the Monte Piana became scene to mountainous and freezing warfare, comm...