World War I - Italy, Italian Front, 1915-16 | Britannica ## Italy and the Italian front, 1915–16 in World War I in # The years of stalemate Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: First World War, Great War, WWI Written by Dennis E. Showalter All Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Last updated May 20, 2026 • History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything Great Britain, France, and Russia concluded on April 26, 1915, the secret Treaty of London with Italy, inducing the latter to discard the obligations of the Triple Alliance and to enter the war on the side of the Allies by the promise of territorial aggrandizement at Austria-Hungary’s expense. Italy was offered not only the Italian-populated Trentino and Trieste but also South Tirol (to consolidate the Alpine frontier), Gorizia, Istria, and northern Dalmatia. On May 23, 1915, Italy accordingly declared war on Austria-Hungary. ## News • Shipwreck off Cornwall believed to be torped

VII. Britain and Italian Intervention, 1914–1915 | The Historical Journal | Cambridge Core Search --- Institution Login Search Hostname: page-component-5db58dd55d-jnbmb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-06-14T21:37:25.671Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false - English - Français # VII. Britain and Italian Intervention, 1914–1915 Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 February 2009 Show author details --- --- Article contents - Extract - References Get access Share Cite Rights & Permissions --- ## Extract The negotiations leading up to the Treaty of London of 27 April 1915 afford a classic illustration of Grey's complaints concerning the difficulties of conducting diplomacy in wartime. Though manifold they may be reduced to two headings. In the first place diplomacy was dependent, hopelessly so, upon victory in the field. ‘A diplomacy which was suitable when the Allied armies were having success’, Grey wrote, ‘was hopelessly unsuitable when the Germans seemed to be winning.’ Whereas before the war the Foreign Office had exercised some influence upon the development of British naval and military strategy, now the boot was upon the other fo