Third Battle of the Isonzo
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The Third Battle of the Isonzo was fought from 18 October through 4 November 1915 between the armies of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
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 ...
.


Background

This battle was a part of World War I. The first move was made in Italy, on the eastern sector; because this was their third attack that year, it was named as the Third Battle of the Isonzo (as the previous two were named the
First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and Second Battles of the Isonzo). After roughly two and a half months of reprieve to recuperate from the casualties incurred from frontal assaults from the
First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Battle of the Isonzo 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. Overview After the failure of the First Battle of the Isonzo, ...
,
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 ...
, Italian commander-in-chief, understood that artillery played a fundamental role on the front and brought the total number to 1,250 pieces. As well as improving artillery, the Italian Army was also issued Adrian Helmets, which proved useful in some situations but overall ineffective. The main objectives were to take the Austro-Hungarian bridgeheads at
Bovec Bovec ( or ; , german: Flitsch, fur, Plèz) is a town in the Littoral region in northwestern Slovenia, close to the border with Italy. It is the central settlement of the Municipality of Bovec. Geography Bovec is located from the capital Ljublj ...
(Plezzo in Italian),
Tolmin Tolmin (; it, Tolmino,trilingual name ''Tolmein, Tolmino, Tolmin'' inGemeindelexikon, der im Reichsrate Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. Bearbeit auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1900. Herausgegeben von der K.K. ...
, and (if possible) the town 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 ''Gorit ...
. Cadorna's tactic, of deploying his forces evenly along the entire
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 in ...
(Isonzo), proved indecisive, and the Austro-Hungarians took advantage of this by concentrating their firepower in certain areas. Specifically, the two objectives of the attack were Mount Sabotino and Mount San Michele.


Location

This took place on the Austro-Hungarian side of the border between Austria-Hungary and Italy. The battle is named for the river that it was fought on (the Isonzo river), as well as the previous battles and the many that would eventually follow. Unfortunately for the Italians, it was not a prime location for attack maneuvers, since it had mountainous terrain on both sides. It also had frequently flooded banks. However, it was chosen because the Austro-Hungarian side had control of most of the other areas in the Isonzo region.


Battle

Due to extensive artillery barrages, the Italians were able to advance to
Plave Plave (; it, Plava) is a settlement on the right bank of the Soča River southwest of Anhovo in the Municipality of Kanal ob Soči in the Littoral region of Slovenia. The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to John the Baptist and belo ...
(Plava in Italian) near
Kanal ob Soči Kanal ( or ; it, Canale, german: Kanalburg), frequently referred to as Kanal ob Soči ("Kanal on the Soča"; or ; it, Canale d'Isonzo), is a settlement mostly on the left bank of the Soča River in the Slovene Littoral, the traditional region ...
, beneath the southern end of the
Banjšice Plateau The Banjšice Plateau ( sl, Banjška planota, also or , it, Altopiano della Bainsizza) is a karst plateau in western Slovenia, in the traditional region of Goriška. It is a widely settled area, distinguished by its history and biodiversity. Geog ...
(Bainsizza), and on Mount San Michele on the
Kras 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 sur ...
in an attempt to outflank those forces defending Gorizia. The plateau near San Michele was the scene of heavy attacks and counterattacks involving the Italian Third Army and Austro-Hungarian reinforcements from the Eastern and Balkan fronts under the command of
Svetozar Boroević Svetozar Boroević von Bojna (or Borojević) (13 December 1856 – 23 May 1920) was an Austro-Hungarian field marshal who was described as one of the finest defensive strategists of the First World War. He commanded Austro-Hungarian forces i ...
; both sides suffered heavy casualties. Thanks to the low profile held by Boroević's forces, the Austro-Hungarians were able to hold their positions despite heavy casualties, which were dwarfed by those of the Italian Army. This battle proved Boroević's tactical brilliance despite the limited scope of the
front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...
. The lull in action lasted barely two weeks at which time the Italian offensive started anew.WorldWar1.com: Isonzo 1915
/ref> The Italians made some progress before they were eventually forced back by the Austro-Hungarians. Although the second Italian army had possession of Mt. Sabotino for a brief period of time, they were countered by the Austro-Hungarians'. The Third Army was able to approach Mt. San Michele, but were met with machine gun fire when attempting to sneak around the flank that was guarding Gorizia. The Austro-Hungarians did not lose as many men during this, but proportionally, each side suffered similar losses.


Criticism of Luigi Cadorna

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 ...
was a well-known man throughout Italy for his achievements and background; however, because of the failures the Italians suffered during World War I, Luigi Cadorna received quite a bit of negative feedback. His poor leadership skills led to many deserters during, and after the Battles of the Isonzo. He assumed that the morale of Italian soldiers would win the battles at the end of the day. It was not until this Third Battle that he actually considered the sizes of troops and the amount of gunpower they possessed. Because he concentrated his attacks in very small areas, the Austro-Hungarians were able to do the same exact thing; therefore there was literally no advantage besides the fact that Cadorna had brought a few more troops in. However, because of the terrain and the area of the attack, the larger numbers also did not do the Italians much good.


Aftermath

Cadorna decided to attack again a week later, starting the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo. However, it was not until the Sixth that the Italians would gain any ground and establish a presence at Gorizia.


See also

*
First Battle of the Isonzo 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 aim of the Italian Army was to drive the Austrians away from its ...
- 23 June–7 July 1915 *
Second Battle of the Isonzo 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. Overview After the failure of the First Battle of the Isonzo, ...
- 18 July–3 August 1915 *
Fourth Battle of the Isonzo 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. Overview In contrast to the previous three Battles ...
- 10 November–2 December 1915 *
Fifth Battle of the Isonzo 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. Background After four ...
- 9 March–17 March 1916 *
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 ...
- 6 August–17 August 1916 *
Seventh Battle of the Isonzo 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 ...
- 14 September–17 September 1916 *
Eighth Battle of the Isonzo The Eighth Battle of the Isonzo was fought from October 10–12, 1916 between Italy and Austria-Hungary. Battle The Eighth Battle of the Isonzo, fought briefly from 10–12 October 1916, was essentially a continuation of attempts made during t ...
- 10 October–12 October 1916 * Ninth Battle of the Isonzo - 1 November–4 November 1916 *
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 ...
- 12 May–8 June 1917 *
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo The Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo was a World War I battle fought by the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946), Italian and Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Armies on the Italian Front (World War I), Italian Front between 18 August and 12 September 191 ...
- 19 August–12 September 1917 *
Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...
- 24 October–7 November 1917 also known as the
Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...


References


Further reading

*Macdonald, John, and Željko Cimprič. ''Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign: The Italian Front, 1915-1918''. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military, 2011. * *Bauer, E., 1985: Der Lowe vom Isonzo, Feldmarschall Svetozar Boroević de Bojna. Aufl. Styria. Graz *Boroević, S., 1923: O vojni proti Italiji (prevod iz nemškega jezika). Ljubljana *Comando supremo R.E. Italiano, 1916: Addestramento della fanteria al combattimento. Roma. Tipografia del Senato


External links


Battlefield Maps: Italian FrontThe 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, 51, 24, N, 13, 24, 01, E, type:event_region:SI, display=title Isonzo 03 Isonzo 03 Isonzo 03 Isonzo 03 the Isonzo 1915 in Italy 1915 in Austria-Hungary October 1915 events November 1915 events pl:Bitwy nad Isonzo sl:Soška fronta