Sixth Battle of the Isonzo

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Sixth Battle of the Isonzo
partof=the Italian Front
(First World War)


caption=Italian troops entrenched along the Isonzo River.
date=6 August-17 August, 1916
place=Gorizia, Italy
casus=
territory=
result=Italian victory
combatant1=flagicon|Italy|1861|size=25px Italy
combatant2=flag|Austria-Hungary|size=25px
commander1=Luigi Cadorna
commander2=Svetozar Boroević
strength1=22 divisions
strength2=9 divisions
casualties1=51,000(21,000 dead)
casualties2=40,000(8,000 dead)The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo also known as the Battle of Gorizia was the most successful Italian offensive along the Isonzo River during World War I.

Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf had reduced the Austro-Hungarian forces along the Isonzo front to reinforce his Trentino Offensive. Italian Chief-of-Staff Luigi Cadorna made good use of railroads to quickly shift troops from Trentino back to the Isonzo line for an offensive against the weakened Austro-Hungarian defenses. On August 6 the offensive was launched against Gorizia. On August 8, Gorizia fell to Cadorna and a bridgehead was finally established across the Isonzo River. The Austro-Hungarians shifted troops to the Gorizia sector to prevent a breakthrough. Content with having established the bridgehead, Cadorna ended the offensive on August 17.

The attack on Gorizia was the most successful Italian offensive along the Isonzo lines and greatly boosted Italian morale. In the wake of the battle Italy finally declared war against Germany, on August 28.

In later years, historians maintained that that battle (with 21,000 dead on the Italian side) was a useless and limited conquest, perhaps Cadorna's only victory. In reality, the Austrians, who were short on troops (having to fight on two fronts), retreated to Slovene territory where Cadorna sacrificed thousands of soldiers in futile attempts to advance toward Ljubljana and Triest. The Austrians, who were better equipped, preferred to preserve their forces. The Italian generals, in an attempt to make up for their poor equipment, committed the Italians to frontal assualts, resulting in massive casualties.

If one compares the number of dead Italians and the number of dead Austrians, the one sided-ness of the proportion highlights the high cost to this limited victory. In addition, like all other battles on the Isonzo, there were many missing soldiers, victims of the superior Austrian artillery.

ee also

*First Battle of the Isonzo - 23 June–7 July, 1915
*Second Battle of the Isonzo - 18 July–3 August, 1915
*Third Battle of the Isonzo - 18 October–3 November, 1915
*Fourth Battle of the Isonzo - 10 November–2 December, 1915
*Fifth Battle of the Isonzo - 9–17 March, 1916
*Seventh Battle of the Isonzo - 14–17 September, 1916
*Eighth Battle of the Isonzo - 10–12 October, 1916
*Ninth Battle of the Isonzo - 1–4 November, 1916
*Tenth Battle of the Isonzo - 12 May–8 June, 1917
*Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo - 19 August–12 September, 1917
*Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo - 24 October–7 November, 1917 also known as the Battle of Caporetto

References

*Tucker, Spencer "The Great War:1914-18" (1998)

External links

* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo6.htm Sixth Battle of the Isonzo]
* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo.htm FirstWorldWar.Com: The Battles of the Isonzo, 1915-17]
* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/maps/italianfront.htm Battlefield Maps: Italian Front]
* [http://www.worldwar1.com/itafront/isonzo11.htm 11 Battles at the Isonzo]
* [http://www.potimiruvposocju.si/ 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.
* [http://www.kobariski-muzej.si/ang/razstave.html The Kobarid Museum (in English)]
* [http://drustvo-soskafronta.si/ Društvo Soška Fronta (in Slovenian)]
* [http://prohereditate.com/en/ Pro Hereditate - extensive site (in En/It/Sl)]