Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo

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Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo
Part of the Italian Front of World War I
WWI - Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo - Italian 75mm anti-aircraft gun.jpg
Italian 75mm anti-aircraft gun during the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo
Date18 August – 12 September 1917
Location
Isonzo (Soča), near Monfalcone, Italy; Banjšice Plateau (Altopiano della Bainsizza), Slovenia
Result Italian tactical victory
Belligerents
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Italy Flag of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918).svg Austria-Hungary
Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany [ citation needed ]
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Luigi Cadorna
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Luigi Capello
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918).svg Arthur Arz von Straußenburg
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918).svg Svetozar Boroević von Bojna
Units involved
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Second Army
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Third Army
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918).svg Army Group Boroević
Strength
600 battalions
5,200 guns
250 battalions
2,200 guns
Casualties and losses
158,000 casualties:
30,000 dead
108,000 wounded
20,000 missing or taken prisoner
115,000 casualties:
20,000 dead
45,000 wounded
30,000 missing
20,000 taken prisoner

The Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo was a World War I battle fought by the Italian and Austro-Hungarian Armies on the Italian Front between 18 August and 12 September 1917.

Contents

Background

On the Soča (Isonzo) River, Luigi Cadorna, the Italian Chief of Staff, concentrated three quarters of his troops: 600 battalions (52 divisions) with 5,200 guns.

Battle

The attack was carried forth from a front from Tolmin (in the upper Isonzo valley) to the Adriatic Sea. The Italians crossed the river at several points on temporary bridges, but the main effort was exerted on the Banjšice Plateau, whose capture was to further the offensive and break the Austro-Hungarian lines in two segments, isolating the strongholds of Mount Saint Gabriel and Mount Hermada.

After fierce and deadly fightings, the Italian Second Army, led by General Capello, pushed back Boroević's Isonzo Armee, conquering the Banjšice Plateau and Sveta Gora. Other positions were taken by the Duke of Aosta's Third Army. However, Mount Saint Gabriel and Mount Hermada turned out to be impregnable, and the offensive wore out.

The battle was a significant tactical victory for the Italians, who conquered the Banjšice Plateau (Bainsizza) and made gains of about 10-12 kilometers. The Austro-Hungarians, exhausted and unable to sustain another attack, were on the verge of collapse. This led them to request German intervention in the area of the Isonzo. The Italians, however, could not find the resources necessary for another assault, even though it might have been the decisive one. Moreover, the bloodbath left the Italian Second Army (until then the most successful of the Italian Armies) split in two parts across the Soča (Isonzo), a weak point that was exploited by the Germans and Austrians in the subsequent Battle of Caporetto.

To commemorate the participation of the Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment, Georg Fürst wrote the March "Isonzo-Marsch". The Italians fired 5.5 million artillery shells during the battle, including poison gas shells. [1]

See also

References

  1. Faldella, Emilio: La grande guerra, vol. I, Milan 1978, pp. 274.

Further reading

45°48′00″N13°32′00″E / 45.8000°N 13.5333°E / 45.8000; 13.5333