The arms race between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy that began in the last decade of the nineteenth century culminated in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Campaigns of the World War I. The bilateral relationship between Austria-Hungary and Italy had long been contentious, with the predecessors of both nations - the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia - fighting three wars between 1848 and 1866. Even after Italy and Austria-Hungary became allies under the Triple Alliance of 1882 with the German Empire, mutual suspicions and areas of conflict remained between both nations.
Italy's improving relations with France after 1902,[1] continuing nationalism among Italians within Austria-Hungary, and Italian irredentist claims of key Austrian territories such as Trentino and Trieste, concerned Austria-Hungary.[2][3] Likewise, Italy was concerned about a potential Austro-Hungarian invasion, as well as the naval expansion Austria-Hungary began at the onset of the 20th century, particularly under Admiral Hermann von Spaun and later under Admiral Rudolf Montecuccoli.
Within both Austria-Hungary and Italy, the likelihood of one nation adhering to the Triple Alliance in defense of the other should a war break out was doubted. From 1903 onward, plans for a possible war between Italy and Austria-Hungary were again maintained by both the Italian and Austro-Hungarian general staffs.[4][5] Mutual suspicions led to reinforcement of the frontier and speculation in the Italian and Austro-Hungarian press about a potential war between the two countries during the first decade of the 20th century.[6] As late as 1911, Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, chief of the Austrian general staff, was advocating a military strike against Italy while the kingdom was pre-occupied with the Italo-Turkish War. This, despite the fact that both nations were still formally allied.[7][8]
These tensions led to the initiation of a naval arms race. Fueled by the construction of ever-larger battleships such as the Austro-Hungarian Tegetthoff-class and the Italian dreadnought Dante Alighieri, both nations engaged in a massive naval build up in the years preceding World War I. This naval arms race helped to nearly bring both nations to war with one another, first during the Bosnian Crisis, and again during the Italo-Turkish War.