During World War I a series of battles were fought between the armies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy for control of the Monte Grappa massif, as it covered the left flank of the Italian Piave front.
The first of these battles became the most famous as it brought the Austrian summer offensive of 1917 to a halt. The Italian Chief of the general staff general Armando Diaz had ordered to construct fortified defenses on the Monte Grappa summit to make the mountain an impregnable fortress. When the Austrian summer offensive of 1917 routed the Italians Diaz's far-sightedness saved Italy from total defeat, as the Austrians with help from the German Army's Alpenkorps failed to take the mountains summit during the first battle of Monte Grappa from November 11, 1917 to December 23, 1917. Thus the Italian front along the Piave river was stabilized and although the Austrians could see Venice from their positions they should never reach it.
The second battle of Monte Grappa was part of the wider Austrian summer offensive of 1918, which was the last offensive operation of the Austro–Hungarian Army in World War I.
On October 24, 1918 the final Italian offensive of the war began with an attack by 9 Italian divisions on the Austrian positions on Monte Grappa. The Austrians answered by increasing their forces on the mountain from 9 to 15 divisions and thus committing all remaining reserves. But the worn down Austrian Army began a general retreat on October 28, when Czechoslovakia declared independence from Austro-Hungary.