Second Battle of the Isonzo

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


caption=Eleven Battles of the Isonzo
June 1915 — September 1917
date=July 18—August 3, 1915
place=Isonzo River, northeast Italy
result=Austro-Hungarian Victory
combatant1=flagicon|Italy|1861|size=25px Italy
combatant2=flag|Austria-Hungary|naval|size=25px
commander1=Luigi Cadorna,
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Aosta
commander2=Conrad von Hötzendorf,
Svetozar Boroević
strength1=260 battalions
840 guns
strength2=130 battalions
420 guns
casualties1=42,000 dead or wounded
casualties2=45,000 dead or wounded

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 July 18 and August 3, 1915.

Overview

After the failure of the First Battle of the Isonzo, two weeks earlier, Luigi Cadorna, commander-in-chief of the Italian forces, decided for a new thrust against the enemy lines with a heavier artillery support.

General Cadorna's tactics were as simple as they were harsh: after a heavy artillery bombardment, his troops were to advance frontally against the Austrian trenches and take them, after having overcome their barbed-wire fences. The insufficiency of war material — from rifles, to artillery shells to shears to cut the barbed wire — nullified their numerical superiority caused by the recent arrival of 290,000 Italian soldiers.

The battle

On the Karst Plateau — especially on Mount Nero — there took place an exhausting series of hand-to-hand fights involving the Italian Second and Third Armies, with severe casualties on both sides. Bayonets, swords, knives, and various scrap metal and debris were all used in the terrifying melee. The Hungarian 20^th division lost two-thirds of its effectives and was routed, partly because of the successive attacks and partly because of the unfavourable terrain.

On July 25 the Italians occupied the Cappuccio Wood, a position south of Mount San Michele, which was not very steep but dominated quite a large area including the Austrian bridgehead of Gorizia da Sud. The Mount Sab Michele was briefly held by Italian forces, but a desperate counterattack by Colonel Richter, commanding a group of elite regiments, recaptured it.

The battle wore out on its own when both sides ran out of ammunition for both light arms and artillery. The total casualties during the three weeks were about 91,000 men, of which 43,000 Italians and 48,000 Austro-Hungarians.

ee also

*First Battle of the Isonzo - 23 June, 1915 - 7 July, 1915
*Third Battle of the Isonzo - 18 October, 1915 - 3 November, 1915
*Fourth Battle of the Isonzo - 10 November, 1915 - 2 December, 1915
*Fifth Battle of the Isonzo - 9 March, 1916 - 17 March, 1916
*Sixth Battle of the Isonzo - 6 August, 1916 - 17 August, 1916
*Seventh Battle of the Isonzo - 14 September, 1916 - 17 September, 1916
*Eighth Battle of the Isonzo - 10 October, 1916 - 12 October, 1916
*Ninth Battle of the Isonzo - 1 November, 1916 - 4 November, 1916
*Tenth Battle of the Isonzo - 12 May, 1917 - 8 June, 1917
*Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo - 19 August, 1917 - 12 September, 1917
*Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo - 24 October, 1917 - 7 November, 1917 also known as the Battle of Caporetto

External references

* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo2.htm The Second Battle of the Isonzo, 1915] at FirstWorldWar.com
* [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)]