Italian officers enjoying themselves up in a tree by a river, March 1917. Today 107 years ago, on August 28, 1916, Italy declared war on Germany, after being at war with Austria-Hungary for over a year. Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on May 23, 1915, and thus entered the First World War on the side of the Triple Entente - France, Britain and Russia. Although the main enemy of their Allies was Germany, Italy did not initially declare war on them, presumably in an attempt to avoid German troops being deployed in their masses on the Italian Front. However, German troops had been present on the Italian Front ever since Italy's declaration of war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915. The German Alpenkorps, specialized in mountain warfare, had been deployed in the Dolomites, although not participating in any offensive operations. Although the German Alpenkorps was withdrawn from the Italian Front in October 1915, German vessals were still operating in the Mediterranean Sea, targeting an...