Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo

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


caption=
date=August 18 to September 12, 1917
place=Isonzo River, near Monfalcone, Italy
result=Inconclusive
combatant1=flagicon|Italy|1861|size=25px Italy
combatant2=flag|Austria-Hungary|size=25px
commander1=Luigi Cadorna,
Luigi Capello
commander2=Svetozar Boroević
strength1=600 battalions,
5,200 guns
strength2=250 battalions,
2,200 guns
casualties1=120,000(20,000 dead, 50,000 wounded, 30,000 missing, 20,000 taken prisoner)
casualties2=160,000(30,000 dead,110,000 wounded, 20,000 missing and taken prisoner)

The Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo was a World War I battle fought by the Italian and Austro-Hungarian Armies on the Italian Front between August 18 and September 12, 1917.

On the Isonzo River, Luigi Cadorna, the Italian Chief of Staff, concentrated three quarters of his troops: 600 battalions (52 divisions) with 5,200 guns. The attack was carried forth from a front from Tolmin (in the upper Isonzo valley) to the Adriatic Sea. The Italians crossed the river in several points on temporary bridges, but the main effort was exerted on the Bainsizza Plateau, whose capture was to further the offensive and break the Austro-Hungarian lines in two segments, isolating the strongholds of Mount Saint Gabriel and Mount Hermada.

After fierce and deadly fightings, the Italian Second Army, led by General Capello, pushed back Boroević's "Isonzo Armee", conquering the Bainsizza and Mount Santo. Other positions were taken by the Duke of Aosta's Third Army.

However, Mount Saint Gabriel and Mount Hermada turned out to be impregnable, and the offensive wore out.

After the battle, the Austro-Hungarians were exhausted, and could not have withstood another attack. Fortunately for them (and unfortunately for their opponents), so were the Italians, who could not find the resources necessary for another assault, even though it might have been the decisive one. So the final result of the battle was an inconclusive bloodbath. Moreover, the end of the battle left the Italian Second Army (until then the most successful of the Italian Armies) split in two parts across the Isonzo River, a weak point that proved to be decisive in the subsequent Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo.

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
*Sixth Battle of the Isonzo - 6–17 August, 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
*Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo - 24 October–7 November, 1917 also known as the Battle of Caporetto

External links

* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo11.htm Eleventh 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]
* [http://drustvo-soskafronta.si/ Društvo Soška Fronta ] sl icon
* [http://prohereditate.com/en/ Pro Hereditate - extensive site ] en icon it icon sl icon