A lightning victory by combined Austro-German forces in October 1917 threatened to knock Italy out of the war. This was the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, often called ‘Caporetto’. General Luigi Cadorna, the chief of general staff, branded army units as cowards and blamed them for the disaster. His accusation met with dismay at home and sympathy mixed with disdain abroad. Investigation quickly gave the lie to Cadorna, yet the stain has persisted. In Britain, the prime minister and the head of the armed forces disagreed about the causes of Caporetto, as did also the historian G.M. Trevelyan and the future politician Hugh Dalton. Analysis of the dissemination, reception and legacy of Cadorna’s message in Italy and Britain reveals something about military-political relations, class attitudes, media systems, and national prejudice.

中文翻译：

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关于卡波雷托的真假新闻：解释意大利和英国的灾难

1917 年 10 月，奥德联军闪电般的胜利使意大利有可能退出战争。这是伊松佐河的第十二次战役，通常被称为“卡波雷托”。总参谋长路易吉·卡多纳将军将军队称为懦夫，并将灾难归咎于他们。他的指责在国内引起了失望，在国外引起了同情和蔑视。调查很快就把谎言给了卡多娜，但污点仍然存在。在英国，首相和武装部队负责人对卡波雷托的起因存在分歧，历史学家特雷维良和未来的政治家休·道尔顿也是如此。对卡多纳信息在意大利和英国的传播、接受和遗产的分析揭示了一些关于军事政治关系、阶级态度、媒体系统和民族偏见的信息。