Four days after what was originally envisaged, at three in the morning of 15th June the Austro-Hungarian cannons along the Piave opened fire against the Italian front. This signaled the start of the Battle of Solstice that should have, according to the plans of the Habsburg Supreme Command, definitely resolved the war against Italy. Mindful of the excellent tactics that were used eight months earlier in Caporetto, the attack started with a massive bombardment on the links between the defensive lines even with the use of gas.
The first hours were very favourable and the Austro-Hungarians achieved excellent result: about 100,000 men succeeded in crossing the river under the driving rain and the smoke of gas. In particular the soldiers succeeded in entering the village of Nervesa and in taking over the hill of Montello, not far from Mount Grappa. Some progress was registered in the south in the area between San Donà and Cava Zuccherina (now called Jesolo) while Italian soldiers maintained their positions only on the Asiago plateau.
Already in the afternoon the Habsburg commanders realized that the situation was much different when compared to the valley of Isonzo. This time the Italians heeded the advice of deserters, who were always numerous, and the Austro-Hungarian plans were known. Moreover, the gas bombs did not inflict the damage that had been expected since the British army had distributed among its troops their own gas masks that were more advanced and modern when compared to those that they had used earlier.
On 16th June the advance came to a halt. The level of the river Piave, because of very heavy rainfall, rose considerably and the footbridges used to bring reinforcements on the right bank, collapsed one after the other. In many areas hand grenades started to be rationed while on the contrary, the superiority of the weapons and of Italian troops (assisted also by French and English soldiers) was obvious.
In the southernmost zone, the left bank of the Piave was bombed by cannons that were placed on barges along the river. From the skies the English planes, the famous Italian war bombers Caprioni and the Nieuport fighter planes caused great havoc on the Austro-Hungarian lines despite the death of Francesco Baracca, the ace of the Italian air force who was brought down on the slopes of the Montello on 18th June. At Grave di Papadopoli, Fagaré, Candelù, Zenson and Fossalta the Habsburg soldiers resisted up to 20th June but after five days Charles I, even in order to accept the request for soldiers on the western front by the German Supreme Command, suspended operations. Montello and Nervesa were abandoned, the delta of the Piave was conquered by the troops of the Third Army and the last soldiers returned on the left flank of the river on 26th June.
The legend of the Piave was born on this occasion. The famous way of saying "Altolà sul Piave"(Halt on the Piave) still sums up the enthusiasm that broke out after this victory which, for many intellectuals and protagonists of the time, was the "first and true national battle that Italy had ever fought." (Francesco Minniti, Il Piave, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2002, page 69). Austria-Hungary was not yet completely beaten but the Great War had taken a decidedly favourable turn for the Italians.
