The thing that made the front line between the Austro-Hungarians and Italians different than the Western Front in France is that most of the conflict was fought in mountainous terrain. This made it much easier for both sides to hide their numbers, blocking the path of a advancing enemy often means blowing up a snow pack or causing a rock avalanche to stop the enemy.
The Austro-Hungarian Army was not in great shape either, the Austrians had to depend on Germany for support and was still rooted in the traditions of the Baroque and Napoleonic era. The thing is that neither the Austro-Hungarian army or Italian Army was in really great shape to fight a war.
Youtube has a really good series about the first world war, if you are interested it should still be available.
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