In the days following the outbreak of war, Archduke Albert did not rush to attack, but he still needed to put on a show.
Archduke Albert didn't plan to have his troops charge directly on the front battlefield, as he himself feared that Italy couldn't withstand an assault. So he ordered the Austrian Army outside the Alps Defense Line to launch a feigned attack from the north to give the Italians the impression that Austria-Hungary intended to break through from the north.
This tactic worked well, as the northern front line was much longer than the southern one, though the roads were hard to traverse and it wasn't easy to move people and supplies.
But behind the northern defense line is not just Venice, there's Lombardy as well, while the southern defense line is short and only in the narrow plains east of Venice. However, Archduke Albert's reputation as a General made the Italians take it seriously; what if Albert really plans to catch Italy off guard from the north?
