Austrians struck at Italians

First, just when General Diaz, after delay, and under pressure from Foch and Clemenceau, was about to attack the Austrians, the latter, on June 14th, struck at him, attacking both from the mountain front, where they were faced partly by the British and French contingents, and on a wide sector near the Adriatic.

All this while, through all the German strokes, Foch had never ceased to plan his Allied counter-stroke. He had hoped that the Allied armies in Salonica and Italy would strike in co-operation with him. But when he and Clemenceau had succeeded in inducing the Italian commander, Diaz, to agree to attack the Austrians, the Austrians on June 14th struck first, across the Piave River; and though they were quickly defeated - the Piave descending in flood behind them - all chance of effective Italian co-operation vanished.