The deadliest battle took place on the 15th of May 1916 and lasted for two weeks. For the first time on the Italian front, the Austro-Hungarian army used toxic gas. The battle caused the deaths of 15,000 Italian and 10,000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers. The civilian population of Asiago was evacuated and the town was destroyed as the result of heavy bombing. After the end of the war, some of the original population returned to Asiago and rebuilt the town.