The Ninth Battle of the Isonzo was an Italian offensive against

Austria-Hungary 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 ...

in the course

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 ...

. Including a triumvirate of battles launched after the

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

' successful seizure of

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...

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 Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna, (4 September 1850 – 21 December 1928) 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. Early career Luigi Cador ...

. The battle started with an attack on

Vrtojba Vrtojba (; it, Vertoiba) is a settlement in the Municipality of Šempeter-Vrtojba in the Slovene Littoral region of Slovenia. A border crossing into Italy is located here. On the Italian side of the border, opposite Vrtojba, is the suburb of San ...

and the northern and central areas of the

Karst Plateau The Karst Plateau or the Karst region ( sl, Kras, it, Carso), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills su ...

.Cavallaro, Gaetano V. 2010. ''The Beginning of Futility.'' Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation, p. 295. 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 The Soča ( in Slovene) or Isonzo ( in Italian; other names fur, Lusinç, german: Sontig, la, Aesontius or ') is a long river that flows through western Slovenia () and northeastern Italy (). An Alpine river in character, its source lies i ...

(Isonzo), the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

'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 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. Background Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf had reduced the Austro-Hungarian fo ...

, 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 German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 The Tenth Battle of the Isonzo was an Italian offensive against Austria-Hungary during World War I. Background With nine largely unsuccessful Isonzo battles conducted within an eighteen-month period to date, Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna ...

on 12 May 1917.

References

External links

FirstWorldWar.Com: The Battles of the Isonzo, 1915-17The 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.
Društvo Soška Fronta (in Slovenian)Pro Hereditate - extensive site (in En/It/Sl)
{{coord, 45, 54, 35, N, 13, 38, 17, E, type:event_region:SI, display=title Isonzo 03 Isonzo 09 Isonzo 09 Isonzo 09 the Isonzo 1916 in Italy 1916 in Austria-Hungary October 1916 events November 1916 events Battles involving Slovenia

See also

References

Further reading

External links