In April 1915, in the secret Treaty of London, Italy was promised by the Allies some of the territories of Austro-Hungarian Empire which were mainly inhabited by ethnic Slovenes, Croats and Austrian Germans.

Italian commander Luigi Cadorna, a staunch proponent of the frontal assault who claimed the Western Front proved the ineffectiveness of machine guns,[2] initially planned breaking onto the Slovenian plateau,[clarification needed] taking Ljubljana and threatening Vienna.

[4] With the rest of the mountainous 640-kilometre (400 mi) length of the front being almost everywhere dominated by Austro-Hungarian forces, the Soča (Isonzo) was the only practical area for Italian military operations during the war.

[opinion] Despite the huge effort and resources poured into the continuing Isonzo struggle, the results were invariably disappointing and without real tactical merit, particularly given the geographical difficulties that were inherent in the campaign.

The fact that the battles were always named after the Isonzo River, even in Italy, was considered by some a propaganda success for Austria-Hungary: it highlighted the repeated Italian failure to breach this landmark frontier of the Empire.