First Battle of the Isonzo

First Battle of the Isonzo
Part of the Italian Front (World War I)
Eleven Battles of the Isonzo June 1915 — September 1917
Date 23 June – 7 July 1915 Location Soča river, north-west Slovenia from the mountain Krn to the Gulf of Trieste Result Austro-Hungarian tactical victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Italy	Austria-Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Luigi Cadorna, Emanuele Filiberto Pietro Frugoni	Svetozar Boroević Géza Lukachich von Somorja Novak von Arienti
Strength
225,000 (18 divisions, 252 battalions, 111 cavalry squadrons, 700 guns)	115,000 (8 divisions, 84 battalions, 13 cavalry squadrons, 356 guns)
Casualties and losses
14,947	9,950

The First Battle of the Isonzo was fought between the Armies of Italy and Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front in World War I, between 23 June and 7 July 1915.

The aim of the Italian Army was to drive the Austrians away from its defensive positions along the Soča (Isonzo) and on the nearby mountains.

Although the Italians enjoyed a 2:1 numeric superiority, their offensive failed because the Italian commander, Luigi Cadorna, employed frontal assaults after impressive (but short) artillery barrages. The Austrians had the advantage of fighting from uphill positions barricaded with barbed wire which were able to easily resist the Italian assault.

The Italians had some early successes. They partially took Monte Nero (Monte Krn), took Monte Colowrat, and captured the heights around Plezzo. However, they were unable to dislodge the Austro-Hungarian troops from the high ground between Tolmino and the Isonzo, which would later form a launching off point for the Caporetto Offensive. The heaviest fighting occurred around Gorizia. In addition to the natural defenses of the river and mountains, bastions were created at Oslavia and Podgora. The fighting at Gorizia consisted of street-by-street urban combat interspersed with artillery fire. Italian troops, such as the Italian Re and Casale Brigades, were able to advance as far as the suburbs but could get no further and were driven back. They made small footholds at Adgrado and Redipuglia on the Karst Plateau south of Gorizia but were unable to do much else.

On the Austrian-Hungarian side two commanders distinguished themselves: Major General Géza Lukachich von Somorja, commander of the 5th Mountain Brigade, who retook Redipuglia, and Major General Novak von Arienti who retook Hill 383 with his 1st Mountain Brigade.

Early in July the commander of the Austrian Fifth Army, General Svetozar Boroević, received two reinforcement divisions, which put an end to the Italian efforts at breaking through the Austrian lines.

The final Italian gains were minimal: in the northern sector, they conquered the heights over Bovec (Mount Kanin); in the southern sector, they conquered the westernmost ridges of the Kras plateau near Fogliano Redipuglia and Monfalcone.

Involved units

See also

Solkan (left) and the Soča (Isonzo)

Austro-Hungarian trench at the Soča (Isonzo)

• Austria–Hungary
• History of Austria
• Italy in World War I
• World War I

References

• Österreichisches Staatsarchiv/Kriegsarchiv Wien
• L'esercito italiano nella grande guerra (1915–1918) Volume I - IV / Roma: Ministerio della Guerra - Ufficio Storico, 1929–1974
• Ministero della Guerra Stato Maggiore centrale - Ufficio Storico. Guerra Italo-Austriaca 1915-18. Le medaglie d'Oro. Volume secondo - 1916. Roma: 1923
• Österreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg 1914-1918 Band II Verlag der Militärwissenschftlichen Mitteilungen Wien 1931-1933
• Anton Graf Bossi-Fedrigotti: Kaiserjäger - Ruhm und Ende. Stocker Verlag, Graz 1977
• http://www.worldwar1.com/itafront/ison1915.htm

Further reading

• Macdonald, John, and Željko Cimprič. Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign: The Italian Front, 1915-1918. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military, 2011. ISBN 9781848846715 OCLC 774957786
• Page, Thomas Nelson, (1920) "Italy and the World War". New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, Full Text Available Online.
• Schindler, John R. (2001). Isonzo: The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Great War. Praeger. ISBN 0275972046. OCLC 44681903. 

External links

• First Battle of the Isonzo, 1915 at FirstWorldWar.com
• Battlefield Maps: Italian Front
• 11 battles at the Isonzo
• The Walks of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation. The Foundation preserves, restores and presents the historical and cultural heritage of the First World War in the area of the Isonzo Front for the study, tourist and educational purposes.
• The Kobarid Museum (in English)
• Društvo Soška Fronta (in Slovenian)
• Pro Hereditate - extensive site (in En/It/Sl)

Coordinates: 45°56′33″N 13°36′09″E / 45.94250°N 13.60250°E / 45.94250; 13.60250