Posted on Aug 19, 2018
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On this day in 1917, the Italian army launches their 11th battle against Austro-Hungarian troops on the Isonzo River, near Italy’s border with Austria-Hungary.
With its mountainous terrain, the Italian front was the least well-suited of all the fronts of World War I for offensive warfare. Nonetheless, since 1915 the Italian army had launched no fewer than 10 attempts to overwhelm Austro-Hungarian forces, often with superior numbers, along the Isonzo, located in the eastern sector of the front in present-day Slovenia. After several quick initial successes by both sides, battle had settled into a stalemate, as it had on other fronts of the war. Desperate to make headway and please his more powerful allies, Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna continued to throw his men against the enemy at the Isonzo, where it was deemed essential to stop the Austrian advance over the mountains into Italy.
For this 11th attempt, Cadorna sent 51 divisions of men and 5,200 guns against the Austrian enemy. The Italian advance was impressive, pushing back the Austro-Hungarian line all along the front, with particular gains in the north by the Italian 2nd Army, led by Luigi Capello. In total, the Italians captured five mountain peaks and took over 20,000 Austrian (and some German) prisoners before the offensive ran out of steam and the Austro-Hungarian line eventually held their positions. The Italian attack was halted on September 12; they would make no further attempts on the Isonzo. The Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo—also known as the Battle of Caporetto—in late October 1917 marked a spectacular success for the Central Powers, and almost succeeded in forcing Italy out of the war altogether. With substantial Allied aid, and a new commander in chief, Armando Diaz, replacing Cadorna, Italy continued the fight. By the time World War I ended, in November 1918, half of the entire number of Italian casualties—300,000 out of 600,000—had been incurred along the Isonzo.
With its mountainous terrain, the Italian front was the least well-suited of all the fronts of World War I for offensive warfare. Nonetheless, since 1915 the Italian army had launched no fewer than 10 attempts to overwhelm Austro-Hungarian forces, often with superior numbers, along the Isonzo, located in the eastern sector of the front in present-day Slovenia. After several quick initial successes by both sides, battle had settled into a stalemate, as it had on other fronts of the war. Desperate to make headway and please his more powerful allies, Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna continued to throw his men against the enemy at the Isonzo, where it was deemed essential to stop the Austrian advance over the mountains into Italy.
For this 11th attempt, Cadorna sent 51 divisions of men and 5,200 guns against the Austrian enemy. The Italian advance was impressive, pushing back the Austro-Hungarian line all along the front, with particular gains in the north by the Italian 2nd Army, led by Luigi Capello. In total, the Italians captured five mountain peaks and took over 20,000 Austrian (and some German) prisoners before the offensive ran out of steam and the Austro-Hungarian line eventually held their positions. The Italian attack was halted on September 12; they would make no further attempts on the Isonzo. The Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo—also known as the Battle of Caporetto—in late October 1917 marked a spectacular success for the Central Powers, and almost succeeded in forcing Italy out of the war altogether. With substantial Allied aid, and a new commander in chief, Armando Diaz, replacing Cadorna, Italy continued the fight. By the time World War I ended, in November 1918, half of the entire number of Italian casualties—300,000 out of 600,000—had been incurred along the Isonzo.
Italians launch the 11th Battle of the Isonzo - Aug 18, 1917 - HISTORY.com
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SGT Robert George SFC Shirley Whitfield MSG Mark Million COL Lee Flemming LTC (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSgt Harvey "Skip" Porter SCPO Morris Ramsey SFC William Farrell Alan K. LTC Greg Henning SSgt (Join to see) Sgt Trevor Barrett Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. MSG Andrew White SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth Cpl Scott McCarroll LTC John Shaw LTC John Griscom
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Erwin Rommel fought in some of these actions.
From Wikipedia:
For his actions in September 1914 and January 1915, Rommel was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class.[20] Rommel was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) and transferred to the newly created Royal Wurttemberg Mountain Battalion of the Alpenkorps in September 1915, as a company commander.
In August 1917, his unit was involved in the battle for Mount Cosna, a heavily fortified objective on the border between Hungary and Romania, which they took after two weeks of difficult uphill fighting.
The Mountain Battalion was next assigned to the Isonzo front, in a mountainous area in Italy. The offensive, known as the Battle of Caporetto, began on 24 October 1917. Rommel's battalion, consisting of three rifle companies and a machine gun unit, was part of an attempt to take enemy positions on three mountains: Kolovrat, Matajur, and Stol. In two and a half days, from 25 to 27 October, Rommel and his 150 men captured 81 guns and 9,000 men (including 150 officers), at the loss of six dead and 30 wounded. Rommel achieved this remarkable success by taking advantage of the terrain to outflank the Italian forces, attacking from unexpected directions or behind enemy lines, and taking the initiative to attack when he had orders to the contrary. In one instance, the Italian forces, taken by surprise and believing that their lines had collapsed, surrendered after a brief firefight. In this battle, Rommel helped pioneer infiltration tactics, a new form of maneuver warfare just being adopted by German armies, and later by foreign armies, and described by some as Blitzkrieg without tanks. Acting as advance guard in the capture of Longarone on 9 November, Rommel again decided to attack with a much smaller force. Convinced that they were surrounded by an entire German division, the 1st Italian Infantry Division – 10,000 men – surrendered to Rommel. For this and his actions at Matajur, he received the order of Pour le Mérite.
From Wikipedia:
For his actions in September 1914 and January 1915, Rommel was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class.[20] Rommel was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) and transferred to the newly created Royal Wurttemberg Mountain Battalion of the Alpenkorps in September 1915, as a company commander.
In August 1917, his unit was involved in the battle for Mount Cosna, a heavily fortified objective on the border between Hungary and Romania, which they took after two weeks of difficult uphill fighting.
The Mountain Battalion was next assigned to the Isonzo front, in a mountainous area in Italy. The offensive, known as the Battle of Caporetto, began on 24 October 1917. Rommel's battalion, consisting of three rifle companies and a machine gun unit, was part of an attempt to take enemy positions on three mountains: Kolovrat, Matajur, and Stol. In two and a half days, from 25 to 27 October, Rommel and his 150 men captured 81 guns and 9,000 men (including 150 officers), at the loss of six dead and 30 wounded. Rommel achieved this remarkable success by taking advantage of the terrain to outflank the Italian forces, attacking from unexpected directions or behind enemy lines, and taking the initiative to attack when he had orders to the contrary. In one instance, the Italian forces, taken by surprise and believing that their lines had collapsed, surrendered after a brief firefight. In this battle, Rommel helped pioneer infiltration tactics, a new form of maneuver warfare just being adopted by German armies, and later by foreign armies, and described by some as Blitzkrieg without tanks. Acting as advance guard in the capture of Longarone on 9 November, Rommel again decided to attack with a much smaller force. Convinced that they were surrounded by an entire German division, the 1st Italian Infantry Division – 10,000 men – surrendered to Rommel. For this and his actions at Matajur, he received the order of Pour le Mérite.
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