![]() ![]() This decision was senseless from a strategic point of view, but represented the ideal symbolic aim to gain popular support for the war. Thus, Cadorna decided to focus all his efforts on the conquest of Gorizia and strengthening the southern part of the front towards Trieste. The Italian artillery proved inadequate on this occasion, with short artillery barrages due to the lack of ammunition. ![]() The first attack started on 23 June 1915 with the artillery hitting the Austrian defenses and the 2 nd Army moving towards Gorizia, while the 3 rd Army tried to move towards the Carso plateau. Cadorna mistakenly thought he could compensate these weaknesses with numerical superiority and soldiers’ motivation. Ammunition and machine guns were also in low supply early in the war this problem was only resolved in 1916. The artillery proved to be inefficient in the first phase of war, consisting of around 2,200 pieces, mostly light 75mm guns. In fact, the Italians suffered from poor logistics and a lack of modern weapons, like machine guns. However, the enemy’s resistance proved to be stronger than expected and prevented the Italians from implementing their initial plan of an easy advance to Ljubljana. The primary objective was to drive the Austrians away from their main defensive line. The First Wave: 23 June – 15 December 1915 ↑ Underestimating the Enemy ↑Īfter the start of Italian military operations on, the commander in chief General Luigi Cadorna (1850-1928) decided to prepare a wide and massive offensive. Operations renewed afresh with the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo on. 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. 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. Realising this they continued to call upon their German ally to provide military assistance within the sector. Neither side could particularly afford the casualties suffered but the Austro-Hungarians in particular were finding their defensive lines increasingly stretched. Cadorna had intended to ensure such a breakthrough in the wake of the capture of Gorizia during the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, but instead the war of attrition gathered pace. The Italians suffered 75,000 casualties and the Austro-Hungarians 63,000.Īs always along the Soča (Isonzo), the Austro-Hungarian Army’s command of the mountainous terrain provided a formidable natural barrier to the Italians’ attempts to achieve a breakthrough. 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 battle started with an attack on Vrtojba and the northern and central areas of the Karst Plateau. Ure of Gorizia 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. Including a triumvirate of battles launched after the Italians’ successful seiz The Ninth Battle of the Isonzo was an Italian offensive against Austria-Hungary in the course World War I. Ninth Battle of the Isonzo (1 – 4 November 1916) ![]()
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