WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.940 I want you to imagine, just for a second, that 00:00:02.940 --> 00:00:05.519 you are facing a completely impossible situation. 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:08.080 Yeah, like a total wall. Right, exactly. It could 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:11.039 be a massive project at work that's just falling 00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:14.419 apart, or a personal hurdle that seems totally 00:00:14.419 --> 00:00:17.000 insurmountable. Whatever it is, the walls are 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:19.179 closing in. And everything you've tried so far 00:00:19.179 --> 00:00:22.660 has just failed spectacularly. Spectacularly. 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:26.250 The standard playbook, it's useless. The only 00:00:26.250 --> 00:00:29.010 way you're going to survive, let alone win, is 00:00:29.010 --> 00:00:32.189 to take that existing rule book, tear it to shreds, 00:00:32.189 --> 00:00:34.310 and just start completely over from scratch. 00:00:34.390 --> 00:00:36.170 It's terrifying. It's a terrifying thought, right? 00:00:36.210 --> 00:00:37.750 Letting go of literally everything you know. 00:00:38.189 --> 00:00:40.270 But today, we're going to look at exactly how 00:00:40.270 --> 00:00:44.469 that kind of radical reset actually works. Welcome 00:00:44.469 --> 00:00:46.950 to the deep dive. We've got a really fascinating 00:00:46.950 --> 00:00:49.250 mission ahead of us today for you. We really 00:00:49.250 --> 00:00:51.450 do. We're going to be exploring a moment in history 00:00:51.450 --> 00:00:55.369 where a devastating, I mean, almost empire ending 00:00:55.369 --> 00:00:58.590 defeat forced an entire massive organization 00:00:58.590 --> 00:01:01.689 to radically innovate its tactics. And by doing 00:01:01.689 --> 00:01:03.969 so, they managed to shift the entire balance 00:01:03.969 --> 00:01:07.189 of a global conflict. It's why it really is. 00:01:07.430 --> 00:01:10.049 Today's source material is a comprehensive historical 00:01:10.049 --> 00:01:12.409 overview from Wikipedia of the Second Battle 00:01:12.409 --> 00:01:14.250 of the Piave River, also known as the Battle 00:01:14.250 --> 00:01:17.049 of the Solstice. Yes, exactly. And it took place 00:01:17.049 --> 00:01:21.250 in June of 1918. But to really understand the 00:01:21.250 --> 00:01:23.269 stakes here, I need to set the stage for you. 00:01:23.349 --> 00:01:27.010 So So, by late 1917, World War I had been raging 00:01:27.010 --> 00:01:30.510 for years, and Russia had just exited the war 00:01:30.510 --> 00:01:32.730 following the October Revolution. Which is a 00:01:32.730 --> 00:01:35.790 massive, massive geopolitical shift. Huge, because 00:01:35.790 --> 00:01:38.189 it meant the Austro -Hungarian Empire in Germany 00:01:38.189 --> 00:01:40.430 could suddenly take all those massive resources, 00:01:40.810 --> 00:01:42.510 all those troops they were using in the East, 00:01:42.930 --> 00:01:45.090 and funnel them directly onto the Italian front. 00:01:45.150 --> 00:01:48.290 It was just an overwhelming influx of manpower 00:01:48.290 --> 00:01:50.409 and pressure. I mean, the Italians had largely 00:01:50.409 --> 00:01:52.209 been fighting the Central Powers alone up to 00:01:52.209 --> 00:01:54.620 this point. Right. And this sudden massive shift 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:57.400 in enemy resources led directly to a crushing 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:00.640 disaster for Italy in the autumn of 1917 at the 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:03.079 Battle of Caporetto. Yeah. And crushing almost 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:04.859 feels like an understatement when you look at 00:02:04.859 --> 00:02:07.439 the source. The Italian forces were completely 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:10.120 routed. They were forced to fall back and make 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:13.520 a desperate literal last stand defensive line 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:16.500 along the Piave River. The stakes could not have 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:19.120 been higher for them. No. The Central Powers 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:22.789 were threatening major culturally and strategically 00:02:22.789 --> 00:02:25.969 vital Italian cities. We're talking about Venice 00:02:25.969 --> 00:02:28.110 and Verona being directly under threat. Right 00:02:28.110 --> 00:02:30.569 on their doorstep. Exactly. If that Piave River 00:02:30.569 --> 00:02:33.550 line breaks, Italy might be forced into an armistice 00:02:33.550 --> 00:02:36.069 and the entire outcome of World War One could 00:02:36.069 --> 00:02:38.650 look very different. And this is where we get 00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:40.610 to look at two completely different approaches 00:02:40.610 --> 00:02:43.930 to leadership and problem solving under extreme 00:02:43.930 --> 00:02:46.689 pressure. Yeah. On one side, you have the Austro 00:02:46.689 --> 00:02:49.610 -Hungarians who are dealing with some intense 00:02:49.610 --> 00:02:52.610 internal dysfunction at the absolute worst possible 00:02:52.610 --> 00:02:54.909 time. Oh, yeah. And on the other, an Italian 00:02:54.909 --> 00:02:57.389 command structure that essentially has to reinvent 00:02:57.389 --> 00:02:59.849 itself overnight. OK, let's unpack this Austro 00:02:59.849 --> 00:03:01.969 -Hungarian dysfunction because it really reads 00:03:01.969 --> 00:03:04.310 like a master class on how not to run an organization. 00:03:04.469 --> 00:03:07.430 It really does. So they have this new chief of 00:03:07.430 --> 00:03:10.389 staff, Arthur Arts von Strasenberg, and he wants 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:12.689 to finish the Italians off once and for all. 00:03:13.050 --> 00:03:15.909 But there's a bitter, intense rivalry between 00:03:15.909 --> 00:03:19.069 his two top army group commanders. Classic office 00:03:19.069 --> 00:03:21.849 politics, but with armies. Exactly. You've got 00:03:21.849 --> 00:03:23.750 Konrad Monholzendorf, who is actually the former 00:03:23.750 --> 00:03:27.030 chief of staff, and Svetozar Borojevic. And they 00:03:27.030 --> 00:03:30.030 completely disagree on how to attack. Total opposites. 00:03:30.129 --> 00:03:32.189 Right. Konrad wants to attack from the south 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:35.210 Tyrolean Alps, pushing towards the Asiago Plateau 00:03:35.210 --> 00:03:37.889 and Vicenza. Borojevic, on the other hand, wants 00:03:37.889 --> 00:03:40.110 a frontal attack straight along the Piave River. 00:03:40.389 --> 00:03:42.740 And Strausenberg himself actually favors third 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:45.240 option entirely. Yes. On the western part of 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:47.819 the front toward Brussia. It's just a mess of 00:03:47.819 --> 00:03:50.240 conflicting egos. What's fascinating here is 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:53.400 the fatal compromise that Emperor Karl and Chief 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:55.520 of Staff Strelsenberg came up with. Oh, this 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:58.259 part is crazy. Because they were entirely unable 00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:00.219 to decide between these strong personalities 00:04:00.219 --> 00:04:03.319 and frankly unable to manage the egos of Konrad 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:06.819 and Borowicz, they chose the absolute worst strategic 00:04:06.819 --> 00:04:09.120 option available to them. They simply split the 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:11.259 army in half. Wait, let me make sure I'm visualizing 00:04:11.259 --> 00:04:13.699 this correctly for everyone. They take this massive 00:04:13.699 --> 00:04:15.759 advantage they just gained from the Russian exit, 00:04:16.180 --> 00:04:18.420 and instead of using it to punch a hole through 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:20.800 the Italian lines, they just cut their own strength 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:24.000 on the middle. Yep. Doesn't that guarantee neither 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.379 commander has enough firepower to actually break 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:30.120 through? It absolutely does. They gave half to 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:33.680 Konrad, half to Burovich. and held back a tiny 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:37.220 fraction for a diversionary action. In military 00:04:37.220 --> 00:04:40.120 strategy, or honestly in any strategic endeavor 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:42.600 you might face in your own life, this violates 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:46.079 a core fundamental principle. They diluted their 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:49.560 main force. Instead of a concentrated, overwhelming 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:52.480 strike, they divided their power simply to avoid 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:55.279 hurting anyone's feelings at headquarters. It's 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:57.720 staggering that this level of appeasement dictated 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.879 a global war. And they're modeling this attack 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:03.439 on the German tactics used on the Western Front, 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:05.680 right? Preparing an all -out frontal assault. 00:05:05.819 --> 00:05:07.819 Exactly. But let's look at the Italian side, 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:10.180 because the contrast is incredible. After the 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:12.459 disaster at Caporetto, the Italian commander, 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:15.399 General Luigi Cadorna, dismissed. Yeah, he's 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:18.879 out. General Armando Diaz is brought in to replace 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:23.079 him as chief of staff. And Diaz immediately conducts 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:26.680 this brutal, honest postmortem of why they failed 00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:30.379 so miserably. Which takes guts. It does. But 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:32.399 what does he actually do with that information? 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:34.759 Like, how do you fix an army that's just been 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:37.720 completely routed and is literally backed up 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:39.480 against a river? Well, he doesn't just blame 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:41.560 the troops who make excuses, which is a common 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:44.550 trap for new leadership. True. Diaz and his staff 00:05:44.550 --> 00:05:46.810 look at the data and conclude that their rigid 00:05:46.810 --> 00:05:49.910 defensive schemes were a literal death trap. 00:05:51.290 --> 00:05:53.209 Up to that point, they relied on what's called 00:05:53.209 --> 00:05:55.870 continuous entrenchment. Okay, what's that? Think 00:05:55.870 --> 00:05:58.269 of it like a rigid brick wall. If the enemy hits 00:05:58.269 --> 00:06:00.589 that brick wall hard enough in one specific spot 00:06:00.589 --> 00:06:02.829 and it cracks, the structural integrity of the 00:06:02.829 --> 00:06:05.610 entire wall is compromised. Oh, I see. The Italian 00:06:05.610 --> 00:06:08.500 units lacked mobility. The command and control 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:11.040 system was far too centralized, meaning frontline 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:12.899 decisions had to go all the way up the chain 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:15.079 of command while people were actively under fire. 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:17.939 That sounds like a nightmare. It was. And they 00:06:17.939 --> 00:06:20.860 had packed way too many soldiers right on that 00:06:20.860 --> 00:06:23.800 frontline with no depth behind them. Here's where 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:26.959 it gets really interesting. Diaz takes that analysis 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:30.160 and completely revolutionizes how his army operates. 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:33.980 But he has to do this while the enemy is actively 00:06:33.980 --> 00:06:36.120 breathing down his neck. Right, there's no time 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:38.800 out. So he abolishes that traditional continuous 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.560 entrenchment. How does he replace the brick wall? 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:44.480 He replaces it with a flexible net. He develops 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:47.639 a highly mobile defense system. Instead of locking 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:50.600 everyone into one long trench, he empowers small 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:53.899 units to freely move between recognized strong 00:06:53.899 --> 00:06:56.019 points. So they can actually adapt. Exactly. 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:58.680 These small units can now independently decide 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:01.339 to retreat if they're overwhelmed or counterattack 00:07:01.339 --> 00:07:03.519 if they see an opening. They can even directly 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:05.720 call in artillery support without waiting for 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:08.000 approval from top brass. And he didn't just stop 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:09.699 it, giving them permission to move, right? He 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:11.480 actually gave them the infrastructure to do it. 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.199 The source mentions he built this massive centralized 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:17.449 reserve force. 13 divisions equipped with 6 ,000 00:07:17.449 --> 00:07:19.810 trucks ready to deploy anywhere they were needed 00:07:19.810 --> 00:07:22.470 at a moment's notice. That's right. It's a master 00:07:22.470 --> 00:07:25.589 class in human psychology under pressure. He 00:07:25.589 --> 00:07:28.370 realized that micromanaging from the top down 00:07:28.370 --> 00:07:31.550 was getting people killed. So he essentially 00:07:31.550 --> 00:07:34.589 decentralized his entire command. He gave the 00:07:34.589 --> 00:07:37.129 people closest to the problem, the soldiers actually 00:07:37.129 --> 00:07:40.050 taking fire, the autonomy to solve it. He backed 00:07:40.050 --> 00:07:42.269 them up with that highly mobile reserve of trucks. 00:07:42.769 --> 00:07:45.149 He recognized that rigidity was their greatest 00:07:45.149 --> 00:07:47.670 weakness and flexibility would be their greatest 00:07:47.670 --> 00:07:49.829 strength. That flexibility was tested almost 00:07:49.829 --> 00:07:53.029 immediately. Let's set the scene. It's the night 00:07:53.029 --> 00:07:57.029 of June 15th, 1918. Diaz gets intelligence revealing 00:07:57.029 --> 00:07:59.750 the exact timing of the Austro -Hungarian attack. 00:08:00.029 --> 00:08:02.250 He learns they're planning to launch their massive 00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:05.410 offensive at 3 0 a .m. So he knows it's coming. 00:08:05.490 --> 00:08:07.490 He knows it's coming. So what does Diaz do? He 00:08:07.490 --> 00:08:09.350 doesn't sit back and wait for the blow to land. 00:08:09.529 --> 00:08:12.529 At exactly 2 .30 a .m., half an hour before the 00:08:12.529 --> 00:08:15.129 enemy assault, the Italian artillery opens up 00:08:15.129 --> 00:08:18.250 a massive preemptive barrage all along the front 00:08:18.250 --> 00:08:20.149 line. Just dropping shells right onto the credit 00:08:20.149 --> 00:08:22.629 enemy trenches. Exactly. The psychological and 00:08:22.629 --> 00:08:25.850 tactical chaos this caused cannot be overstated. 00:08:26.189 --> 00:08:28.430 You have Austro -Hungarian troops who are geared 00:08:28.430 --> 00:08:31.149 up, adrenaline pumping, waiting for their three 00:08:31.149 --> 00:08:34.230 terium start time, and suddenly the world explodes 00:08:34.230 --> 00:08:37.370 around them. Half an hour early. The source details 00:08:37.370 --> 00:08:39.570 how this completely fractured their coordination. 00:08:40.570 --> 00:08:43.269 In some sectors, Austro -Hungarian soldiers actually 00:08:43.269 --> 00:08:45.210 retreated back to their own defensive positions 00:08:45.210 --> 00:08:46.950 because they thought they were the ones being 00:08:46.950 --> 00:08:49.389 attacked. Wow. In other sectors, they blindly 00:08:49.389 --> 00:08:51.889 pushed forward directly into the artillery fire. 00:08:52.490 --> 00:08:55.049 The precise, synchronized attack they had planned 00:08:55.049 --> 00:08:57.370 for months was shattered before it even began. 00:08:57.809 --> 00:09:00.870 But despite the absolute chaos, Borović does 00:09:00.870 --> 00:09:03.029 manage to launch his assault along the Piave 00:09:03.029 --> 00:09:05.669 River. And initially it looks like his half of 00:09:05.669 --> 00:09:08.169 the plan might actually succeed. It does. His 00:09:08.169 --> 00:09:11.210 forces cross the river and they carve out a significant 00:09:11.210 --> 00:09:13.970 footprint on the Italian side. We're talking 00:09:13.970 --> 00:09:16.669 about a bridgehead that's 15 miles wide and five 00:09:16.669 --> 00:09:19.529 miles deep and they achieve this under incredibly 00:09:19.529 --> 00:09:22.289 heavy Italian resistance. But remember that new 00:09:22.289 --> 00:09:24.909 flexible net defense Diaz setup. It bends but 00:09:24.909 --> 00:09:28.360 it doesn't break. Exactly. And then the Italian 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:30.480 artillery does something devastating. They don't 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:32.759 just shoot at the troops. They focus their fire 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:35.740 on the river itself and destroy the bridges behind 00:09:35.740 --> 00:09:38.440 the Austro -Hungarian soldiers. Oh, man. It was 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:41.059 a tactical masterstroke that turned a localized 00:09:41.059 --> 00:09:44.720 success into a deadly trap. The Austro -Hungarian 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.480 troops, who had fought so hard to cross the river, 00:09:47.940 --> 00:09:50.139 were suddenly completely cut off from reinforcements 00:09:50.139 --> 00:09:52.759 and supplies. Nowhere to go. And to make matters 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:55.700 worse, The geography turned against them. The 00:09:55.700 --> 00:09:59.399 Piabe River had swollen. It isolated a huge number 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:01.799 of units on the West Bank, making them sitting 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:05.259 ducks for Italian fire. A massive number of Austro 00:10:05.259 --> 00:10:07.659 -Hungarian soldiers drowned just trying to swim 00:10:07.659 --> 00:10:10.120 back to the East Bank in retreat. I think to 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:11.919 really ground this in reality for you, we have 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:14.039 to remember that we're talking about human beings 00:10:14.039 --> 00:10:17.220 in an unimaginable situation, not just pins on 00:10:17.220 --> 00:10:19.480 a map. Yeah, real people. Our source includes 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:22.899 a really visceral firsthand account from a Japanese 00:10:22.899 --> 00:10:25.620 writer named Harukichi Shimoy, who is actually 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:28.860 there on the ground. He wrote, thick bursts all 00:10:28.860 --> 00:10:31.179 around me, very close. Right there in the action. 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:34.200 I saw many who died and who were wounded. I will 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:37.169 never forget those two days. A young soldier 00:10:37.169 --> 00:10:39.429 fell wounded, a piece of shrapnel had entered 00:10:39.429 --> 00:10:42.470 his right leg, another under the right eye, and 00:10:42.470 --> 00:10:44.649 another in the right ear. It just strips away 00:10:44.649 --> 00:10:46.909 all the sterile talk of tactics and strategy. 00:10:47.110 --> 00:10:49.230 Yeah, it really brings it home. The abstract 00:10:49.230 --> 00:10:51.870 decisions made in grand palaces, like splitting 00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:55.090 an army just to satisfy a general's ego, translate 00:10:55.090 --> 00:10:57.590 directly into that kind of terrifying, chaotic 00:10:57.590 --> 00:11:01.350 reality on the muddy banks of the Piave. While 00:11:01.350 --> 00:11:03.509 Borajewicz troops are trapped against that flooded 00:11:03.509 --> 00:11:05.690 river, let's shift our focus to the other half 00:11:05.690 --> 00:11:09.149 of that divided Austro -Hungarian army. Remember 00:11:09.149 --> 00:11:11.409 Konrad von Hutzendorf? The other general. On 00:11:11.409 --> 00:11:14.730 that exact same day, June 15th, he launches his 00:11:14.730 --> 00:11:17.289 half of the offensive against the Italian, lines 00:11:17.289 --> 00:11:20.309 up on the Asiago Plateau aiming for Vicenza. 00:11:20.590 --> 00:11:23.009 He's attacking mountainous areas like Mount Zaveto, 00:11:23.149 --> 00:11:25.789 Mount La Merle, and the Three Mounds. But the 00:11:25.789 --> 00:11:29.070 resistance he runs into is fierce. Yes, the Italian 00:11:29.070 --> 00:11:31.429 frontline troops were deeply entrenched in that 00:11:31.429 --> 00:11:33.929 rocky terrain. And the source notes a really 00:11:33.929 --> 00:11:36.549 intriguing geographical detail about Mount Zaveto 00:11:36.549 --> 00:11:39.580 specifically. Oh, right, the tunnels. Yes, it 00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:42.360 hosted both Italian and Scottish positions, and 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:44.600 they were actually connected by a complex network 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:47.299 of underground tunnels. That is wild to think 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:49.759 about. If you try to visualize fighting in that 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:52.899 kind of environment, navigating dark, subterranean 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:55.179 mountain tunnels while artillery shakes the rock 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:58.840 above you, it's harrowing. It also highlights 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:01.460 how multinational this defense had become, even 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:03.179 though the French and British reinforcements 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:06.570 were just a fraction of the total force. Conrad's 00:12:06.570 --> 00:12:09.870 forces are taking horrific casualties, just repeatedly 00:12:09.870 --> 00:12:12.389 slamming against these fortified, tunneled mountain 00:12:12.389 --> 00:12:16.269 positions. They eventually add 40 ,000 casualties 00:12:16.269 --> 00:12:19.250 to the Austro -Hungarian total just in this sector 00:12:19.250 --> 00:12:21.490 alone. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:12:22.110 --> 00:12:24.389 you can start to see the fatal flaw of that earlier 00:12:24.389 --> 00:12:27.320 compromise completely unraveled. Down on the 00:12:27.320 --> 00:12:29.820 river, Brovich realizes his front is collapsing. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:31.960 Because his bridges are gone. His bridges are 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:33.620 gone, his men are trapped against the swollen 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:36.379 water, and he desperately begs headquarters for 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:39.980 reinforcements. But Conrad, who completely failed 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:42.720 in his initial attack on the plateau, stubbornly 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:46.080 refuses to stop. He just won't give up. No. Instead 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:48.700 of recognizing reality and sending his remaining 00:12:48.700 --> 00:12:51.399 forces down to help Borovitch salvage the Piave 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:54.500 sector, Conrad wastes his diminished strength 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:57.179 continuing these pointless failed assaults on 00:12:57.179 --> 00:12:59.840 the mountains. It's the ultimate sunk cost fallacy 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:01.740 playing out with human lives. He just couldn't 00:13:01.740 --> 00:13:05.500 let it go. By June 20th, the situation is completely 00:13:05.500 --> 00:13:08.039 untenable across the board. Emperor Karl has 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:10.759 to step in, take personal command, and officially 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:14.059 order a full retreat. Finally. Yeah. By June 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:16.960 23rd, the Italians have recaptured every single 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:19.360 inch of lost territory on the southern bank of 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:22.210 the Piave. The battle is over, but the casualties 00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:24.929 are just staggering. The Austro -Hungarian Empire 00:13:24.929 --> 00:13:27.730 suffered over 118 ,000 casualties. Italy suffered 00:13:27.730 --> 00:13:31.029 over 87 ,000. The sheer scale of the loss is 00:13:31.029 --> 00:13:33.429 difficult to comprehend. And in the immediate 00:13:33.429 --> 00:13:35.870 aftermath of this massive defensive victory, 00:13:36.490 --> 00:13:39.409 Diaz faced a brand new challenge. But this time, 00:13:39.690 --> 00:13:41.470 it wasn't from the enemy. It was from his own 00:13:41.470 --> 00:13:44.870 allies. So what does this all mean for Diaz in 00:13:44.870 --> 00:13:47.600 the days following the victory? The allied supreme 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:50.820 commander, General Ferdinand Foch, starts putting 00:13:50.820 --> 00:13:54.220 immense pressure on Diaz. He looks at the retreating, 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:57.480 bleeding, Austro -Hungarian army and tells Diaz 00:13:57.480 --> 00:14:00.059 to go on the offensive immediately. Right, chase 00:14:00.059 --> 00:14:02.860 them down. He wants Diaz to chase them, to crush 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:05.820 the empire right then and there. But Diaz pushes 00:14:05.820 --> 00:14:08.740 back, doesn't he? He does, and it shows incredible, 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:12.320 almost unprecedented leadership discipline. He 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:15.620 refuses. Wow. Diaz recognizes a fundamental truth 00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:18.000 about the system he just built. The very thing 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.720 that won him the battle, that scattered decentralized 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:23.740 flexible net defense, where small units operated 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.440 independently, made an immediate coordinated 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:29.259 massive offensive practically impossible. Because 00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:31.379 they aren't lined up anymore. Exactly. His formations 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:33.320 were too mixed up to just magically turn around, 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.039 form a neat line, and march forward as a unified 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:38.659 wall. Plus Diaz is a realist. He looks at the 00:14:38.659 --> 00:14:40.899 battlefield and realizes that if his army chases 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:43.379 the Austro -Hungarians, the Italians will now 00:14:43.379 --> 00:14:46.240 have to cross that exact same swollen Piave River 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:49.159 into the exact same trap. Right. They'd face 00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:52.039 the exact same logistical nightmares, the broken 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:55.220 bridges, the flooded banks that just annihilated 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:57.960 the enemy. It takes a lot of nerve to look at 00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:00.000 your boss, the supreme commander of the Allied 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.879 forces, and say no, because you understand your 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:06.059 own operational limits better than they do. It's 00:15:06.059 --> 00:15:09.259 a brilliant example of knowing when not to attack. 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:12.740 He didn't let the euphoria of victory or the 00:15:12.740 --> 00:15:15.539 immense external pressure push him into a disastrous 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:18.620 mistake. He opted for limited actions to gain 00:15:18.620 --> 00:15:21.039 better starting positions rather than risking 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:23.759 his newly saved army on a reckless charge. And 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:25.960 his restraint pays off because the macro effects 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:28.200 of the Second Battle of the Piave River do the 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:31.080 work for him. This was Austria -Hungary's last 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:33.440 great military offensive. The very last one. 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:36.019 The failure was so complete and the loss of life 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:38.940 so massive that it struck a fatal blow to the 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:42.039 army's morale and cohesion. It had massive political 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:44.259 repercussions throughout the war -weary empire. 00:15:44.460 --> 00:15:46.159 It essentially foretold the complete internal 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:48.279 collapse of the multi -ethnic Austro -Hungarian 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:50.460 Empire, which was finally finished off at the 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:52.559 Battle of Vitoria Veneto just four months later. 00:15:52.980 --> 00:15:55.080 The ripple effects hit Germany just as hard. 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:57.919 The Germans had desperately hoped that a victory 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:01.059 in Italy would knock Italy out of the war, allowing 00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:03.279 them to access the resources of the affluent 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:05.759 Po Valley and, more importantly, letting them 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:08.299 shift all their forces to the Western Front to 00:16:08.299 --> 00:16:11.039 deal with the arriving American troops. But that 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:14.059 didn't happen. No. When the news of the Piave 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:16.879 River defeat reached German General Erich Ludendorff, 00:16:17.220 --> 00:16:20.340 he bluntly stated that he had the sensation of 00:16:20.340 --> 00:16:22.419 defeat for the first time. It was the turning 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:25.480 point, the beginning of the end. Now, before 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:28.440 we wrap up, what blows my mind is how this one 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:30.919 battle rippled into the art and culture we still 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:34.139 consume today. Yes. Because an event this massive 00:16:34.139 --> 00:16:36.539 leaves a deep footprint, and I want to reward 00:16:36.539 --> 00:16:38.320 your curiosity with some of these connections 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:40.840 from our source. For instance, there are two 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:43.620 famous pieces of graffiti left by Italian soldiers 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:46.419 on the broken walls of destroyed rural houses 00:16:46.419 --> 00:16:48.580 that are still remembered today. I love this 00:16:48.580 --> 00:16:51.600 detail. One translates to it is better to live 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.159 one single day as a lion than 100 years as a 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.419 sheep. And the other. Everyone a hero. Either 00:16:57.419 --> 00:16:59.940 we hold the Piave or let all of us get killed. 00:17:00.539 --> 00:17:03.159 Those actual pieces of wall are still preserved 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:06.180 today in a military shrine. It captures the absolute 00:17:06.180 --> 00:17:08.559 desperation and the psychological resolve of 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:10.839 the Italian troops holding that line. It's not 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:13.140 just a battle cry. It's a testament to people 00:17:13.140 --> 00:17:15.000 who believe they had nowhere else to fall back 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.710 to. And it wasn't just the soldiers on the ground 00:17:17.710 --> 00:17:20.049 documenting this. The alternate name for this 00:17:20.049 --> 00:17:22.529 fight, the Battle of the Solstice, was actually 00:17:22.529 --> 00:17:25.230 coined by the famous Italian poet Gabriele de 00:17:25.230 --> 00:17:28.410 Nuncio. In August of 1918, he actually conducted 00:17:28.410 --> 00:17:31.670 a flight over Vienna with 11 airplanes. But instead 00:17:31.670 --> 00:17:34.230 of dropping bombs, he dropped thousands of leaflets 00:17:34.230 --> 00:17:36.710 from the sky praising the Italian victory. It's 00:17:36.710 --> 00:17:39.369 a very early, very literal form of psychological 00:17:39.369 --> 00:17:42.019 warfare. almost like dropping a victory tweet 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:44.880 directly onto your opponent's timeline. He understood 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:47.279 that the narrative of the battle was almost as 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.319 important as the physical victory itself. Exactly. 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.259 And speaking of narrative, here is a wild connection 00:17:53.259 --> 00:17:56.480 for you. During the shelling and firefights that 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.480 continued into July, an 18 -year -old American 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:02.200 ambulance driver was severely wounded by an Austrian 00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:04.940 mortar on July 8th. He was knocked unconscious, 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:07.180 taking shrapnel to his legs. Oh, this is the 00:18:07.180 --> 00:18:09.880 Hemingway connection. Yes. That teenager was 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:13.220 Ernest Hemingway. The event inspired his legendary 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:17.559 novel, A Farewell to Arms. In the 1932 film adaptation, 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:19.859 Gary Cooper's character is wounded in the leg 00:18:19.859 --> 00:18:22.180 at this very battle. It's incredible how these 00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:24.140 massive historical events intersect with the 00:18:24.140 --> 00:18:26.539 lives of individuals who go on to shape our cultural 00:18:26.539 --> 00:18:29.680 landscape. Hemingway's entire literary voice, 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:33.019 that sparse, gritty realism was forged in the 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:35.779 aftermath of the Piave River. It really is. And 00:18:35.779 --> 00:18:38.240 the battle still appears in modern media. It's 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:40.380 mentioned in Andre Ackerman's novel, Call Me 00:18:40.380 --> 00:18:43.319 By Your Name, and its film adaptation, featuring 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:45.559 a scene at a memorial for the victims in the 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:47.920 city of Pandino. There's a video game called 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:50.160 Isonzo that features maps based on the battle. 00:18:50.509 --> 00:18:53.309 Even Pope Francis mentioned in an interview that 00:18:53.309 --> 00:18:55.849 his grandfather participated in an experience 00:18:55.849 --> 00:18:58.690 on the Piave River during the war. It's a story 00:18:58.690 --> 00:19:01.369 that echoes through generations. It echoes because 00:19:01.369 --> 00:19:04.029 the themes are so deeply universal. We're looking 00:19:04.029 --> 00:19:07.170 at a story of utter failure at Caporetto, leading 00:19:07.170 --> 00:19:09.750 to an honest reckoning and resulting in a triumphant 00:19:09.750 --> 00:19:12.970 reinvention. General Diaz let go of rigid, outdated 00:19:12.970 --> 00:19:15.529 traditions. He stopped trying to micromanage 00:19:15.529 --> 00:19:18.930 every single trench and instead embraced decentralized 00:19:18.930 --> 00:19:22.440 movement and trust. And by doing so, he quite 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:24.740 literally saved a nation. It's such a powerful 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:26.900 takeaway for you, taking the rulebook, throwing 00:19:26.900 --> 00:19:29.059 it out, and finding a better way to operate when 00:19:29.059 --> 00:19:31.720 everything is on the line. This raises an important 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:33.160 question, though, and it's something I want you 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:35.720 to mull over as you go about your day. Think 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:38.500 about General Diaz's Central Reserve, those 13 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:41.519 divisions and, crucially, those 6 ,000 trucks. 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.119 Right. We often look at technology. like massive 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:47.839 fleet of vehicles, simply as tools for speed 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:50.519 or logistics. A way to get things from point 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:53.680 A to point B faster. But what if the true value 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:56.640 of introducing new technology into a system isn't 00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:59.539 just about speed? What if technology is actually 00:19:59.539 --> 00:20:02.259 an enabler of trust? I really like that. Having 00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:04.759 those 6 ,000 trucks meant Diaz finally had the 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:07.099 infrastructure required to safely give his frontline 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:08.920 people the autonomy to make their own decisions. 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:11.480 He could trust them to act independently because 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:13.430 the technology ensured he could back them. up 00:20:13.430 --> 00:20:16.049 if things went wrong. So look to your own life. 00:20:16.309 --> 00:20:19.130 Where could a new tool or a new system finally 00:20:19.130 --> 00:20:21.630 allow you to let go of control and truly trust 00:20:21.630 --> 00:20:24.150 the people around you? That is a brilliant lens 00:20:24.150 --> 00:20:26.430 to look through. Not just tools for speed, but 00:20:26.430 --> 00:20:29.329 tools to build trust and autonomy. Thank you 00:20:29.329 --> 00:20:31.609 so much for joining us on this deep dive. We 00:20:31.609 --> 00:20:33.369 hope you pulled some valuable insights out of 00:20:33.369 --> 00:20:35.849 the trenches of history today. Stay curious, 00:20:36.049 --> 00:20:37.849 keep questioning the rule books in your own life, 00:20:38.190 --> 00:20:39.829 and keep exploring. We'll catch you on the next 00:20:39.829 --> 00:20:40.049 one.