the war In the final weeks before entering the war, internal struggle took place in Italy. National fervour was whipped up by speeches of Gabriele D'Annunzio – calling for war as a measure of national worth and inciting violence against neutralists and the former Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti who favoured neutrality. This period became known as the radiant days. On 22 May 1915, the Italian government decided to launch the Alpine Front by declaring war against Austria-Hungary alone. This ignored the requirement set out in Article 2 to wage war against all the Central Powers. France accused Italy of violating the Treaty of London, and Russia speculated on the potential existence of a non-aggression agreement between Italy and Germany. Lack of preparation of the army was cited as the decision for the non-compliance with the treaty. Failure to declare war on other Central Powers, especially Germany, led to isolation of Italy among the Entente powers. Following pressure from the Entente and internal political struggle, war was declared on the Ottoman Empire on 20 August. Italy did not declare war on Germany until 27 August 1916. Italy was nearly militarily defeated by the Central Powers in 1917, at the Battle of Caporetto. Following a major retreat, the Italian forces managed to recover and mount a comeback a year later in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto at the cost of 600,000 dead, social unrest in the country and a badly damaged economy. Under the provisions of the Armistice of Villa Giusti, Italy was allowed to occupy Austro-Hungarian territory promised to her under the Treaty of London – parts of which were also claimed by the diplomatically unrecognised State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Italian troops began to move into those areas on 3 November 1918, entered Rijeka on 17 November and were stopped before Ljubljana by city-organised defence including a battalion of Serbian prisoners of war. The entry of Italy into the war did not entice Bulgaria to join the Entente as it became more cautious regarding further developments after early British and French setbacks at Gallipoli. Following the German capture of Kaunas in Lithuania in late June during the Russian retreat, Bulgaria became convinced the Entente would lose the war. In August, the Entente powers sent a note to Pašić, promising territorial gains in exchange for territorial concessions in Vardar Macedonia to Bulgaria. The note promised Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syrmia, Bačka,