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Roberto Brusati
Roberto Brusati OSML OCI, was an Italian General of the Army who was an active participant in World War I. He was known for not having any military experience prior to the war and commanding the 1st Army before being dismissed from commanding the regiment on May 8, 1916, which was 8 days before the Battle of Asiago which was led by Field Marshal Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf.
He was born in Milan on July 3, 1850, as the son of Count Giuseppe and Teresa Aman. Following in the footsteps of his older brother Ugo, on 1863 he was admitted to attend the Military College of Florence and passing to Milan to enter the Royal Academy of Turin in 1866. Due to his own nationalism, Brusati tried unsuccessfully to volunteer to enlist to fight in the Third Italian War of Independence. The selection among the aspiring officers was then very strict, but he always ranked first in his course, graduating by 1869. With his promotion to second lieutenant, he was admitted directly to the General Staff Corps, thus attending the Royal Academy of Turin for two years in order to obtain eligibility for the service of the General Staff and promotion to lieutenant. He later served in the 3rd Artillery Regiment and sent to Rome and Milan.
In 1876, he was assigned to the Istituto Geografico Militare where he served for six years. In 1877, he was promoted to captain. In 1881 he got married with Miss Graziella Ferguson who was a resident in Florence. In 1884, with the rank of major, he was transferred to the 64th Infantry Regiment which was based in Milan before being transferred to Foggia. In 1887, he was recalled to Rome as Head of the Western Exchequer Office of the Command of the Staff Corps, and then became head of the secretariat of the Deputy Commander of the same body. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1888 and colonel in 1892, the year in which he became commander of the 22nd Infantry Regiment "Cremona" stationed in Messina. In 1896, he became Chief of Staff of the Army Corps of Rome, promoted to major general in 1898. Later, he was commander of the Messina Brigade which was settled in Catania and then to Rome before being sent back to Catanzaro . With his promotion to lieutenant general in 1905, he obtained command of the Ravenna Division and the Rome Division. In 1910, he assumed command of the 1st Army Corps of Turin. On May 3, 1914, he was designated as Army Commander in case of war which was the highest rank of the Royal Italian Army at the time. Although politically, he was inclined to neutralism, when the war against Austria-Hungary was decided, he actively devoted himself to the command of the 1st Army. On December 30 of the same year, he was appointed Senator of the Kingdom, taking the oath on March 22, 1915.
The 1st Army had its headquarters in Verona and under the orders of General Luigi Cadorna, it had to maintain a strategically defensive attitude, not only during the period of mobilization but also for the entire time in which the 4th Army of General Luigi Nava would have operated from Cadore to open a passage towards Tyrol. However, it had to carry out limited offensives to better ensure the inviolability of the Italian border, occupying Austrian territory whenever it was possible and convenient. Enduring with ill grace having to remain on the defensive, he carried out these offensive operations with the utmost energy. On May 25, 1915, the day after entering the war, the Italian troops, taking advantage of the fact that the Austrian forces were deployed far from the border, conquered considerable Austrian territory. Starting from the second half of August, the insufficiency of supplies led to the failure of the new attacks against the permanent Austrian fortifications that guarded the head of the Val d'Astico. On August 29, General Cadorna recalled the Army Command to its purely defensive task. However, he never gave up on carrying out further operations aimed at consolidating the front, making the deployment of his troops assume a purely offensive projection but this order led to the neglect of the defenses. The bulk of the available forces remained concentrated on the advanced positions, often uncomfortable and not preparing for defense, rather than on the positions where they were more suitable for defensive operations.
In March 1916, while the command of the 1st Army were studying new offensive strategies, the information services of the Army had the first news of a large concentration of Austrian forces in the Trentino sector. These were preparations for the so-called Battle of Asiago, strongly desired and planned by the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Royal Austro-Hungarian Army, Field Marshal Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf. This offensive had the declared intent to annihilate the Royal Italian Army, unleashing a powerful offensive across the lines of the 1st Army to take the entire Italian side from the back. In view of a probable enemy offensive, at his request, the Supreme Command granted Brusati five divisions. On March 24, from London, Cadorna stated:
For no reason, the troops will have to let themselves be dragged by resistance on advanced positions, but any retreat will have to be done promptly so that troops remain efficient to defend the main line.
In open disagreement with Cadorna, Brusati ordered the exact opposite, arranging the indefinite defense of the advanced positions, counting on the solidity of the strengthening works carried out up to then. In addition, on April 1, the Royal Italian Army went on the offensive again, launching assaults that achieved some decisive but partial successes.
On April 6, Brusati confirmed to the Supreme Command that they certainly give a very significant concentration of artillery and roadways in the region of the highlands. This concentration appeared in smaller proportions in the Lagarina and Sugana valleys. The deployment of the Italian troops continued, however the Italian forces became an easy target of the Austrian artillery while the stronger defensive positions behind it remained abandoned. Brusati believed in the immediacy of the Austrian offensive, so much so that on March 22, he renewed the requests to receive further reinforcements, motivating them with the fact that the enemy offensive would be unleashed within a few days, but Cadorna replied curtly that he already had enough troops at his disposal.
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Roberto Brusati
Roberto Brusati OSML OCI, was an Italian General of the Army who was an active participant in World War I. He was known for not having any military experience prior to the war and commanding the 1st Army before being dismissed from commanding the regiment on May 8, 1916, which was 8 days before the Battle of Asiago which was led by Field Marshal Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf.
He was born in Milan on July 3, 1850, as the son of Count Giuseppe and Teresa Aman. Following in the footsteps of his older brother Ugo, on 1863 he was admitted to attend the Military College of Florence and passing to Milan to enter the Royal Academy of Turin in 1866. Due to his own nationalism, Brusati tried unsuccessfully to volunteer to enlist to fight in the Third Italian War of Independence. The selection among the aspiring officers was then very strict, but he always ranked first in his course, graduating by 1869. With his promotion to second lieutenant, he was admitted directly to the General Staff Corps, thus attending the Royal Academy of Turin for two years in order to obtain eligibility for the service of the General Staff and promotion to lieutenant. He later served in the 3rd Artillery Regiment and sent to Rome and Milan.
In 1876, he was assigned to the Istituto Geografico Militare where he served for six years. In 1877, he was promoted to captain. In 1881 he got married with Miss Graziella Ferguson who was a resident in Florence. In 1884, with the rank of major, he was transferred to the 64th Infantry Regiment which was based in Milan before being transferred to Foggia. In 1887, he was recalled to Rome as Head of the Western Exchequer Office of the Command of the Staff Corps, and then became head of the secretariat of the Deputy Commander of the same body. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1888 and colonel in 1892, the year in which he became commander of the 22nd Infantry Regiment "Cremona" stationed in Messina. In 1896, he became Chief of Staff of the Army Corps of Rome, promoted to major general in 1898. Later, he was commander of the Messina Brigade which was settled in Catania and then to Rome before being sent back to Catanzaro . With his promotion to lieutenant general in 1905, he obtained command of the Ravenna Division and the Rome Division. In 1910, he assumed command of the 1st Army Corps of Turin. On May 3, 1914, he was designated as Army Commander in case of war which was the highest rank of the Royal Italian Army at the time. Although politically, he was inclined to neutralism, when the war against Austria-Hungary was decided, he actively devoted himself to the command of the 1st Army. On December 30 of the same year, he was appointed Senator of the Kingdom, taking the oath on March 22, 1915.
The 1st Army had its headquarters in Verona and under the orders of General Luigi Cadorna, it had to maintain a strategically defensive attitude, not only during the period of mobilization but also for the entire time in which the 4th Army of General Luigi Nava would have operated from Cadore to open a passage towards Tyrol. However, it had to carry out limited offensives to better ensure the inviolability of the Italian border, occupying Austrian territory whenever it was possible and convenient. Enduring with ill grace having to remain on the defensive, he carried out these offensive operations with the utmost energy. On May 25, 1915, the day after entering the war, the Italian troops, taking advantage of the fact that the Austrian forces were deployed far from the border, conquered considerable Austrian territory. Starting from the second half of August, the insufficiency of supplies led to the failure of the new attacks against the permanent Austrian fortifications that guarded the head of the Val d'Astico. On August 29, General Cadorna recalled the Army Command to its purely defensive task. However, he never gave up on carrying out further operations aimed at consolidating the front, making the deployment of his troops assume a purely offensive projection but this order led to the neglect of the defenses. The bulk of the available forces remained concentrated on the advanced positions, often uncomfortable and not preparing for defense, rather than on the positions where they were more suitable for defensive operations.
In March 1916, while the command of the 1st Army were studying new offensive strategies, the information services of the Army had the first news of a large concentration of Austrian forces in the Trentino sector. These were preparations for the so-called Battle of Asiago, strongly desired and planned by the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Royal Austro-Hungarian Army, Field Marshal Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf. This offensive had the declared intent to annihilate the Royal Italian Army, unleashing a powerful offensive across the lines of the 1st Army to take the entire Italian side from the back. In view of a probable enemy offensive, at his request, the Supreme Command granted Brusati five divisions. On March 24, from London, Cadorna stated:
For no reason, the troops will have to let themselves be dragged by resistance on advanced positions, but any retreat will have to be done promptly so that troops remain efficient to defend the main line.
In open disagreement with Cadorna, Brusati ordered the exact opposite, arranging the indefinite defense of the advanced positions, counting on the solidity of the strengthening works carried out up to then. In addition, on April 1, the Royal Italian Army went on the offensive again, launching assaults that achieved some decisive but partial successes.
On April 6, Brusati confirmed to the Supreme Command that they certainly give a very significant concentration of artillery and roadways in the region of the highlands. This concentration appeared in smaller proportions in the Lagarina and Sugana valleys. The deployment of the Italian troops continued, however the Italian forces became an easy target of the Austrian artillery while the stronger defensive positions behind it remained abandoned. Brusati believed in the immediacy of the Austrian offensive, so much so that on March 22, he renewed the requests to receive further reinforcements, motivating them with the fact that the enemy offensive would be unleashed within a few days, but Cadorna replied curtly that he already had enough troops at his disposal.