On the evening of 17 January the commanding officer of the Italian Mountain Corps General Gabriele Nasci ordered a full retreat. At this point the Julia and Cuneense divisions were already heavily decimated and only the Tridentina was still capable of conducting combat operations.
As night fell on January 17, General Gabriele Nasci gave the command to withdraw entirely. At this point, the Julia and Cuneense divisions were badly damaged and unable to fight, leaving the Tridentina division as the sole unit capable of continuing combat.