Luigi Cadorna

Luigi Cadorna, OSML, OMS, OCI (4 September 1850 – 21 December 1928) was an Italian general, Marshal of Italy and Count, most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914 until late 1917 during World War I. He commanded the Italian army on the Italian front, a theatre marked by trench warfare and attrition on the Eastern Alps and Isonzo river. Cadorna launched multiple offensives across the Isonzo front, during which the Italian army made gains, most notably capturing Gorizia (after counterattacking during the Strafexpedition) and Bainsizza, but ultimately suffered a major defeat when German-Austrian forces attacked the Italian troops at Caporetto and forced them to retreat to the Piave river. He was relieved as Chief of Staff and replaced by Armando Diaz. Cadorna's wartime leadership is a debated topic in public discourse and historiography: his detractors blame him for heavy casualties and a rigid discipline leading to the harsh treatment of Italian troops (with the alleged introduction of decimation); others have ascribed merits to Cadorna and argued that high casualties were a consequence of the tactical-strategic realities of the war.