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Ninth Battle of the Isonzo | |||||||
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Part of the Italian Front (World War I) | |||||||
Italian infantry after leaving the trenches on the eve of the battle | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Italy | Austria-Hungary German Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Luigi Cadorna | Svetozar Boroević | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
225 battalions 1.400 artillery pieces | 150 battalions 800 artillery pieces | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
4,785 Killed 19,922 Wounded 9,217 Missing or Captured | 2,382 Killed 12,028 Wounded 8,119 Missing or Captured |
The Ninth Battle of the Isonzo was an Italian offensive against Austria-Hungary in the course World War I. Including a triumvirate of battles launched after the Italians' successful seizure of Gorizia in August 1916 to extend their bridgehead to the left of the town, it ended in further failure for the Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna.
The battle started with an attack on Vrtojba and the northern and central areas of the Karst Plateau. [1] [ self-published source ] With the ninth battle fought from 1–4 November 1916 the combined casualty total from the three linked battles proved sufficiently heavy to ensure that each attack was of short duration (each less than a week). The Italians suffered 75,000 casualties and the Austro-Hungarians 63,000.
As always along the Soča (Isonzo), the Austro-Hungarian Army's command of the mountainous terrain provided a formidable natural barrier to the Italians' attempts to achieve a breakthrough. Cadorna had intended to ensure such a breakthrough in the wake of the capture of Gorizia during the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, but instead the war of attrition gathered pace.
Neither side could particularly afford the casualties suffered but the Austro-Hungarians in particular were finding their defensive lines increasingly stretched. Realising this they continued to call upon their German ally to provide military assistance within the sector. When the Germans finally assented (sensing the potential collapse of the Austro-Hungarian position) and constructed a combined force in time for the Twelfth Battle of Isonzo, the results were dramatic.
However, with the ninth battle called off in failure on 4 November 1916 and the Italians undeniably weakened by continual offensive operations throughout the year - 1916 had seen five Isonzo operations on top of four undertaken the year before - a lengthy break was taken for the winter.
Operations renewed afresh with the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo on 12 May 1917.
The Soča or Isonzo is a 138-kilometre (86 mi) long river that flows through western Slovenia and northeastern Italy.
The Battle of Caporetto was a battle on the Italian front of World War I.
Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna, was an Italian general, Marshal of Italy and Count most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914-1917 of World War I.
The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, better known as the Battle of Gorizia, was the most successful Italian offensive along the Soča (Isonzo) River during World War I.
The First Battle of the Isonzo was fought between the armies of Italy and Austria-Hungary on the northeastern Italian Front in World War I, between 23 June and 7 July 1915.
The Second Battle of the Isonzo was fought between the armies of the Kingdom of Italy and of Austria-Hungary in the Italian Front in World War I, between 18 July and 3 August 1915.
The Third Battle of the Isonzo was fought from 18 October through 4 November 1915 between the armies of Italy and Austria-Hungary.
The Battle of Asiago(Battle of the Plateaux) or the Südtirol Offensive (in Italian: Battaglia degli Altipiani), nicknamed Strafexpedition ("Punitive expedition") by the Austro-Hungarian forces, was a major counteroffensive launched by the Austro-Hungarians on the territory of Vicentine Alps in the Italian Front on 15 May 1916, during World War I. It was an "unexpected" attack that took place near Asiago in the province of Vicenza (now in northeast Italy, then on the Italian side of the border between the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary) after the Fifth Battle of the Isonzo (March 1916).
The Battle of Doberdò took place in August 1916, fought by the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian army was primarily made up of regiments filled with Hungarians and Slovenians. The battle was a part of the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, and occurred in a strategic area: the most western edge of the Karst Plateau. The Italians had already conquered the lowland area surrounding Monfalcone and Ronchi, and attempted to push over the Karst Plateau to seize control of the major road that linked the city of Trieste, with its important port, to Gorizia. After fierce combat, and sustaining heavy casualties, the Italian forces secured victory, forcing the Austro-Hungarian forces to retreat, and capturing Gorizia.
Luigi Capello was an Italian general, distinguished in both the Italo-Turkish War (1911–12) and World War I.
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.
This article is about Italian military operations in World War I.
The Fourth Battle of the Isonzo was fought between the armies of Kingdom of Italy and those of Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front in World War I, between 10 November and 2 December 1915.
The Fifth Battle of the Isonzo was fought from March 9–15, 1916 between the armies of the Kingdom of Italy and those of Austria-Hungary. The Italians had decided to launch another offensive on the Soča (Isonzo) River.
The Seventh Battle of the Isonzo was fought from September 14–17, 1916 between the armies of the Kingdom of Italy and those of Austria-Hungary. It followed the Italian successes during the Trentino Offensive and the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo in the spring of 1916.
The Eighth Battle of the Isonzo was fought from October 10–12, 1916 between Italy and Austria-Hungary.
The Tenth Battle of the Isonzo was an Italian offensive against Austria-Hungary during World War I.
The Battles of the Isonzo were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and the remainder in Italy along the Isonzo River on the eastern sector of the Italian Front between June 1915 and November 1917.
Events from the year 1916 in Italy.
Events from the year 1917 in Italy.