The first weeks of the war did not follow the predictions that were made by the military and political leaders of the belligerent countries. The troops, instead of advancing or retreating, lined themselves on frontlines that were virtually static. It was evident that things would only change with the opening of new fronts and with the consequent repositioning of the troops. The role of Italy, so far at the margins of what was happening, therefore began to be considered very important from a European perspective.
The idea to join the war began to gain support throughout the Country. The group of Italian interventionists began to muster up courage. On the newspapers and during public meetings a heterogeneous group of politicians and intellectuals took it upon themselves to convince the Italian population that the war might conclude the process for the unification of Italy with the takeover of the unredeemed lands. At the same time, the government did not want to remain too much removed from European "power politics". The first negotiations for an Italian involvement in the Great War were therefore launched in the winter of 1915.
At the beginning it was really the wish of the allies who were members of the Triple Alliance that Italy would maintain its neutrality. Aware of the Italian wishes, Austria-Hungary and Germany knew that the member states of the Triple Alliance could put forward counter offers that would possibly be more interesting. In December 1914 the German government sent Bernhard von Bulow, former Chancellor at the start of the century, to Rome for discussions with the Italian government. The problem revolved all round territorial requests concerning the Habsburg Empire: while there were margins for negotiation for Trentino, Triestewas considered as a place that would not be surrendered.
Negotiations continued throughout the whole of winter of 1915 without any results. The ambassador submitted a new proposal to Italy and offered Albania but this suggestion was, however, turned down. On 27th March Austria-Hungary declared that it was open to the transfer of the whole of Südtirol but not of Trieste. On 10th April the Minister for Foreign Affairs Sonnino took action and submitted his counter proposals to the Empire of Franz Josef: "the transfer of Trentino would extend to the borders that this region had throughout the reign of Italy in 1811, excluding the Gardena and Badia valleys but including Ampezzano; the eastern border would be corrected with the transfer to Italy of Gorizia and Gradisca; Trieste and the adjacent territory had to turn themselves into an autonomous entity with a free port and its own military force; the archipelago of the Curzolari, situated in front of the Dalmatian coast, would be surrendered to Italy. […] in addition full Italian sovereignty over Valona would be recognized, including the territory necessary for its defense, also including the small island of Saseno." (Gianni Pieropan, Storia della Grande Guerra sul Fronte Italiano 1915-1918. Mursia, Milan, 2009 page 44).
Vienna absolutely refused to surrender the territories on its eastern borders and in Dalmatia and so negotiations with the Triple Alliance were interrupted. After a long pause, towards the end of April the debate started again but this was all a big sham: the Italian government had already reached a secret agreement with the member states of the Triple Agreement and had signed the Treaty of London.
