Battle of Caporetto — Italian Army Collapses

Austro-German forces using new stormtrooper infiltration tactics broke through Italian lines at Caporetto (now Kobarid, Slovenia), routing the Italian Army and capturing 275,000 prisoners, 2,500 guns, and advancing 150 km in two weeks. The Italian army lost 700,000 casualties or deserters. The disaster forced Italy to retreat to the Piave River and required British and French reinforcements to stabilize the front. Ernest Hemingway later fictionalized the retreat in A Farewell to Arms.