The Battle of San Matteo took place in the late summer of 1918 on the

Punta San Matteo Punta San Matteo is a secondary peak of Ortler-Vioz in the Ortler Alps, at the border between the Province of Sondrio (Lombardy region) and Trentino (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region) in northern Italy. It was the scene of the Battle of San ...

(3,678 m) during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It was regarded as the highest

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in history until it was surpassed in 1999 by the

Kargil Conflict The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referred ...

at 5,600 m. At the beginning of 1918

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

troops set up a fortified position with small

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

pieces on the top of the San Matteo Peak. The base of the peak lies at 2800m altitude and it takes a four-hour ice climb up a glacier to reach the top. From this position, they were able to shell the road to the

Gavia Pass Gavia Pass ( it, Passo di Gavia) (el. 2621 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Italian Alps. It is the tenth highest paved road in the Alps. The pass lies in the Lombardy region and divides the province of Sondrio to the north and the ...

and thus harass the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

supply convoys to the

front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or uninte ...

. On August 13, 1918, a small group of

Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operatio ...

mountain troops (308th Company, Battalion ''" Monte Ortler"'') conducted a surprise attack on the peak, successfully taking the fortified position. Half of the Austro-Hungarian soldiers were taken prisoner; the other half fled to lower positions. The loss of the San Matteo Peak constituted a loss of face to imperial Austria, and reinforcements were immediately sent to the region while the Italians were still organizing their defence on the top of the peak. On September 3, 1918 the Austro-Hungarian forces launched operation "Gemse", an attack aimed to retake the mountain defended by now by the 307th

Company, Battalion ''" Monte Ortler"''. A large scale

bombardment, followed by the assault of at least 150

Kaiserschützen The ''k.k. Landesschützen'' (in English, "imperial-royal country 'or'' provincialrifleman") – from 16 January 1917 ''Kaiserschützen'' ("imperial rifleman") – were three regiments of Austro-Hungarian mountain infantry during the '' kais ...

of the 3rd KuK

Kaiserjäger The ''Kaiserjäger'' (officially designated by the Imperial and Royal (''k.u.k.'') military administration as the ''Tiroler Jäger-Regimenter'' or "Tyrolean Rifle Regiments"), were formed in 1895 as four normal infantry regiments within the Commo ...

Regiment stationed in

Dimaro Dimaro (in local dialect: ''Dimàr'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northwest of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,193 and an area of ...

, was eventually successful and the lost position was retaken. The Italians, who already considered the mountain lost, began a counter-bombardment of the fortified positions, causing many victims among both the defending Italian and the Austro-Hungarian troops. The Austro-Hungarians lost 17 men in the battle and the Italians 10. The counterattack would be the last Austro-Hungarian victory in World War I. During the

Battle of Vittorio Veneto The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troops ...

, the peak of San Matteo would be taken for the second and final time by the Alpini on November 3rd after an intense artillery preparation. The

Armistice of Villa Giusti The Armistice of Villa Giusti or Padua ended warfare between Italy and Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front during World War I. The armistice was signed on 3 November 1918 in the Villa Giusti, outside Padua in the Veneto, Northern Italy, and too ...

, concluded on November 3, 1918 at 15:00 at Villa Giusti (near

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

) ended the war in the mountains on November 4, 1918 at 15։00 h. In the summer of 2004, the ice-encased bodies of three Kaiserschützen were found at 3400m, near the peak.Roberto Bianchi
Il ghiacciaio dei soldati-mummia Corpi intatti dopo 86 anni
''La Republica.it'' 22 August 2004

References

External links

"Un Capitano sepolto nel ghiaccio"
a collection of letters written by

Arnaldo Berni Arnaldo Berni (2 June 1894 – 3 September 1918) was a decorated Italian Royal Army soldier. During World War I, Berni was noted for his mountain warfare skills and accomplishments fighting the Austro-Hungarian Army in the Alps. Early life ...

, the Italian captain that led the conquest of San Matteo Peak, was wounded by the first Austrian bombardment and finally killed in the Italian bombardment. His body was never found.

See also

References

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Further reading