First Battle of the Isonzo

Date
June 23-July 7, 1915
Location
SoĨa river, north-west Slovenia from the Monte Nero to the Gulf of Trieste
Result
Italian victory
Date: June 23-July 7, 1915
Location: SoĨa river, north-west Slovenia from the Monte Nero to the Gulf of Trieste
Result: Italian victory
Belligerents:
: Italy
Commanders and leaders:
: Luigi Cadorna,
Emanuele Filiberto
General Frugoni
Strength:
: 225,000 (18 divisions, 252 battalions, 111 cavalry squadrons, 700 guns)
Casualties and losses:
: 14,947

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 June 23 and July 7, 1915.

The aim of the Italian Army was to drive the Austrians away from its defensive positions along the SoĨa (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 heaviest fighting occurred around Gorizia where Italian troops were able to advance as far as the suburbs, only to be later repelled.

Early in July the Austrian commander, 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

Picture - Gorizia (left) and the SoĨa (Isonzo)

Austria-Hungary
History of Austria
Italian Campaign (World War I)
Italy in World War I
World War I

x–sterreichisches Staatsarchiv/Kriegsarchiv Wien

Picture - Austro-Hungarian trench at the SoĨa (Isonzo)

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
x–sterreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg 1914-1918 Band II Verlag der Militx¤rwissenschftlichen Mitteilungen Wien 1931-1933
Anton Graf Bossi-Fedrigotti: Kaiserjx¤ger - Ruhm und Ende. Stocker Verlag, Graz 1977

Further reading

Page, Thomas Nelson, (1920) "Italy and the World War". New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, Full Text Available Online.

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Source: WikiPedia