On 27 August, Lechelton ordered the start of a full-scale counteroffensive four days after the Italians attacked.

The battle began in the Isonzo River area, where Marshal Mackensen commanded the East Asian Pinnine Army Group, consisting of the German 12th Army and the Austro-Hungarian 8th Army, to assemble at Villach and launch an offensive against the Italian 2nd Army on the line from Pletto to Tormino. Although the mountainous terrain of the Isonzo River area was conducive to defense, the Italians only placed 4 divisions on the front line, and the defensive strength was very limited, and it was simply impossible to withstand the onslaught of the German-Italian army, and the Italian defense line was quickly broken through.

The German-Austrian forces crossed the Isonzo River in the Caporetto area and marched towards Udine, and the Italian 2nd Army suffered heavy losses and began to retreat in panic.

The 21st Mountain Infantry Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Steyer, consisting of three elite Croatian archery divisions, launched an offensive from Geertz and recaptured Parmanova in just three days, threatening the flank of the Italian Carni cluster defending Udine, forcing the Italians to abandon Udine and begin to retreat. The Italian retreat was so badly organized that the Italian army began to retreat on a 300-kilometer front, and due to the chaotic chain of command, the Italian general command had lost control of the troops, and the soldiers abandoned all their baggage and heavy weapons and began to flee in all directions.

Trento, located in the southern foothills of the Alps, is a beautiful mountain town with the Adige River running through the middle of the city, with less than 20,000 inhabitants. But with the outbreak of war, the peaceful and peaceful life here was shattered by the rumbling of cannons.

In recent times, a large number of soldiers have poured in, the town hall has been requisitioned and used as the office of the defense headquarters of Nantyro, and the hotels and schools in the city have also become temporary accommodation for the army. Trient is now overcrowded, and even the hillsides outside the city are filled with green military tents.

From time to time, the rumbling of artillery could be heard, numerous antennas and telephone lines had been erected at the town hall, telephones and telegrams were constantly sounding, soldiers were hurrying, horses were neighing on the roads, and troops from the railway line to Innsbrut stepped off the trains and headed for the front. The whole town was enveloped in wartime tensions, and the townspeople were privately inquiring about the news ahead, ready to flee into the mountains to the north.

In the conference room on the second floor of the town hall, a group of high-ranking officers were gathered in front of the huge map hanging on the wall, on which several huge red arrows marked the direction and progress of the attack of each unit, and several blue arrows representing the Italian army were-for-tat.

"Giraldi's attack on the Trentino line under Giraldi's command was in fact a defensive tactic, which looked like an all-out attack, but in fact they advanced less than five kilometres in order to occupy some defensively advantageous terrain. His aim is to interfere with our offensive deployment and even to delay our offensive time. At the moment only 6 Italian divisions have been found on the battlefield, and they still have two-thirds of their forces left behind. "Major General Schwarzenger, the chief of operations, stood in front of the large map and introduced the shape of the front line to the senior generals present.

"I don't see that the Italians are still scheming, but it's a pity that they have encountered a fool like Cardona, and they insist on attacking in the Isonzo region when we are ready to start a counteroffensive." Boloyevich's expression was relaxed, he now had nearly 800,000 troops in his hands, and he was confident enough to capture Padua in one fell swoop and cut off the retreat of the main Italian army. Venice and Lombardy were originally territories of the Austrian Empire, but after the Austro-Prussian War, they were ceded to the Sardinians, and the Austro-Hungarian military was familiar with the terrain of the area. "At the request of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, once the Battle of Trentino is launched, it is necessary to break through the enemy's lines as best possible and capture the line of Vicenza and Padua, otherwise the Italian army may retreat south along the railway. Therefore, after breaking through the Italian defensive line, the divisions had to march forward quickly, and must not entangle with the remnants of the Italian army, and the Italian troops who retreated to several fortress strongholds were to be solved by the follow-up troops. ”

Lecheldon's demands were very high, and no one had such an experience of breaking through the defensive line held by an Italian army group in five days. South Tyrol and Trentino were mountainous terrain that would take three days to march alone, and the Italians had already erected fortifications. Boloyevich was not embarrassed, he was in fact the leader of the whole campaign plan and was responsible for the implementation of the most important steps, the crown prince's intention was obvious, which was to annihilate the main Italian forces in one fell swoop, to make the Italians incapacitated, so as to quickly solve the problems created by the Italians before the Russians launched a counterattack in the spring.

Now, the speed of Trentino's counterattack is the key to whether or not the entire campaign concept can be completed.

For this reason, he specially left the commander of the 20th Army, Archduke Karl, who was tasked with breaking through on the right flank, after the operational meeting.

"Your Excellency, when will the Twentieth Army be able to reach the assault position in Rovereto?" Bolotovic asked.

"Today...... It should be before dark. Archduke Karl said that it was raining in the mountains of Trentino, which made the march difficult. As a result of the Italian offensive on the Isonzo River, the whole campaign was advanced by a month, and it was still the rainy season, and the 20th Army was now following the 6th Army, which was attacking south along the Adige River, and it was in Rovereto that it suddenly turned southeast, straight into the direction of Vicenza. To be on the safe side, Boloyevich assigned the 14th Army to the rear of the 20th Army as a support, and he also commanded it.

"Not there yet?" Boloyevich frowned with some dissatisfaction, the mountain march was more difficult than they expected, and the heavy rain made the march even more difficult.

muttering a few words, from the beginning of the battle to the present, the 102nd Army has been holding its breath, they are fighting in the Japanese army with one hand tied, and with the strength of the 102nd Army, there is no need to retreat so far. The renegade of the Italians was seen by the Austrians as a betrayal, and it shamed even the mildest of Slovenes and cried out for a lesson, which caused the entire Austro-Hungarian army to take revenge on the other side.

This is a good thing, at least the officers and men have a strong desire to fight.

"There's no way, this kind of ghost weather! However, I guarantee that the troops will arrive at the designated positions before the campaign is launched. The young Grand Duke Karl said that the troops were under the command of the chief of staff, and that his position had a certain symbolic significance. In fact, due to the advance of the launch of the campaign, the 20th Army was already moving quickly.

"There is only a short time to recuperate, the task of the 20th Army is to penetrate forward, the goal is to capture Padua, and after breaking through the Italian lines, the enemy's well-fortified strongholds are handed over to the 14th Army and the German 17th Army behind you." Bolojevic said again, once again emphasizing the focus of the campaign.

"We understand." Archduke Karl had a stern expression, and whether the 20th Army could occupy Padua in time and close the retreat of the main force of the Italian army to the south was the key to the success or failure of the entire campaign. LeHayton had stressed many times before that if the main force of the Italian army could not be encircled and annihilated in the Veneto region, even if the Austrian army completely captured the whole of Veneto, the whole campaign would be regarded as a huge defeat.

In the Trentino counteroffensive, the German 9th Army and the Austro-Crarian 3rd and 8th Army, commanded by General Blot, were tasked with a frontal attack, while the Austro-Hungarian 12th Army attacked southeast along the Brenta River on the left flank, threatening the flank and rear of the Italian line on the Piave River, making it impossible to effectively organize a defense on this line.

The Austro-Hungarian 6th Army was to move south along the Adige River to prevent possible reinforcements from the south by the Italians.

For mobile phone users, please go to M. to read.