1918: Germany attacks in Italy instead of France

[LordKalvan]

Apparently I missed this one. Bavaria borders the Alps, so a corp of jaegers makes sense
However, i have seen the Adamello and the other mountains which were fought on during WW1. If you believe you can make a break-through there, think again. The border was very heavily fortified on both sides.

 

[Steffen]

the bavarian army formed its first alpine unit in november 1914, "Kgl. Bayerisches Schneeschuhbattalion Nr.1" (Royal Bavarian Snowshoebattalion)
to counter the french chasseurs alpines in the vogesian Mountains.

Württemberg also formed units, with Schneeschuhkompanie 1 with a certain Leutnant Rommel, later expanded to a battalion.
A kampfgrupge formed from the unit, under command of Rommel, stormed Mont Matajur in 1917, ambushing a BRIGADE of Alpinis and taking 8000 prisoners.

in 1915, a division-sized alpine corps was formed.

 

[Max Sinister]

@Grey Wolf: maybe Ludendorff wanted to support Yudenich, but how could Germany possibly done that while still fighting against all the Allies?

The Piave river is quite fast flowing, and wide. The idea of crossing it in spring is not a good one.
Finally, the available front for the attack was a limited one: you cannot just pile division over division, otherwise you defeat your own purpose.
If no further push was attempted in the spring of 1918, I believe there was a reason.

'Course, they wanted to knock out France.
You have a point, I thought the Piave river wasn't that wide. But still: They certainly managed to cross bigger rivers during WW1, so why not here too? And even if they can't, they could still attack to the West.

@Steffen: Since they've got America on their side and the Germans are tired of the war, I don't think they can manage to get an armistice. They only could delay the war. Even if they overrun all of Northern Italy, the French could move troops to the Sea Alps (a good defense line).

 

[Deleted member 1487]

What else could happen if the Italians get knocked out? Would they be able to supply germany with food to keep the war effort going? AH is better off with italy out at this late date and may be able to help Bulgaria resist the allies better when they start their offensive. With will prevent Ludendorff from losing his nerve. Also, without the wasting of germany's best troops against the western allies, they should be better set to resist the 100 days offensive when it finally falls on them. Also, the better prepared lines and the fact that the troops are not stung out without artillery support and lack of supplies will help somewhat. Maybe a negotiated peace? America stated that it would not participate in a war of conquest, so if the germans are willing to talk peace, then the Americans might threaten to withdraw and let the exhausted allies do the rest of the fighting. Even though in OTL the brits and french were able to conduct an offensive that broke the german lines, they were wiped out by the end and didn't have the manpower or moral to finish the war to the bitter end by themselves.

 

[MerryPrankster]

If Italy gets Brest-Litovsked and gets out of the war (best-case for the Germans, I would imagine), then what?

Could the Germans buy or requisition food and other supplies from them? If so, do the British try to blockade or invade Italy?

 

[MrP]

I'll have to read up on the campaign to get a better feel for it, but I read Rommel's Infantry Attacks before the weekend, so it's pretty fresh in my memory. I'm not sure a greater German victory if that feasible. In OTL the actions of the Austro-German forces were mind-boggling. As Steffen mentioned above, Rommel's own detached force of a few hundred took 7-11,000 prisoners. But they were engaged in constant fighting for a period of several exhausting days, and there's only so much the human body is capable of. The German offensive, I've seen it said, was stopped not by the new Italian defences - though they certainly prevented later offensives - but by the incapability of the Austro-German troops to advance faster than the Italians fell back.

Just glancing at the Wiki demonstrates the problems facing the Central Powers.

Italian losses were enormous: 275,000 prisoners were taken and 2,500 guns captured; 40,000 were killed and 20,000 wounded. Austro-German forces advanced more than 100 km in the direction of Venice, but they were not able to cross the Piave River, where the Italians (with substantial help from French, British and American allies) established a new defensive line, which was held for the rest of the war.

The Central Powers employed 35 divisions against 41 Italian divisions. But the prisoner situation was ludicrous. Rommel recounts having just two sentries available to act as Guards for fifty Italian officers, and being worried lest they should overpower the guards. But this isn't the only problem. Remember the '14 attack on France's failure was in part because the railway and road system simply couldn't cope with the demands laid on them. Think how much of a bother one has when a quarter of a million prisoners need to be properly guarded and moved out of the combat zone. It's a nightmare for any logistics officer trying to move men and supplies up to the front.

These are just my initial thoughts. I'll have a skim over some more info on the campaign and be back later on.