First Battle of the Isonzo

{{Campaignbox Italian Front}} The '''First Battle of the Isonzo''' was fought between the Armies of [[Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)|Italy]] and [[Austria-Hungary]] on the [[Italian Campaign (World War I)|Italian Front]] in [[World War I]], between June 23 and July 7, 1915. The aim of the Italian Army was to drive the Austrians away from its defensive positions along the [[Soča]] (Isonzo) and on the nearby mountains. Although the Italians enjoyed a 2:1 numeric superiority, their offensive failed because the Italian commander, [[Luigi Cadorna]], employed [[frontal assault]]s after impressive (but short) [[barrage (artillery)|artillery barrages]]. The Austrians had the advantage of fighting from uphill positions barricaded with barbed wire which were able to easily resist the Italian assault. The heaviest fighting occurred around [[Gorizia]] where Italian troops were able to advance as far as the suburbs, only to be later repelled. Early in July the Austrian commander, [[Svetozar Boroević]], received two reinforcement [[Division (military)|division]]s, which put an end to the Italian efforts at breaking through the Austrian lines. The final Italian gains were minimal: in the northern sector, they conquered the heights over [[Bovec]] (Mount [[Kanin (mountain)|Kanin]]); in the southern sector, they conquered the westernmost ridges of the Kras plateau near [[Fogliano Redipuglia]] and [[Monfalcone]]. == Involved units == {| class="wikitable" |bgcolor="#FFA500"|'''Austria-Hungary''' |- | 5th Army |||||| || |- ||VII Corps|| XVI Corps || XV Corps|||| |- | 1st Infantry Division ||57th Infantry Division||61st Infantry Division||20th Infantry Division||58th Infantry Division |- |17th Infantry Division||18th Infantry Division||50th Infantry Division|| |- |187th Infantry Brigade||6th Mountain Brigade||16th Mountain Brigade||14th Mountain Brigade||81st Honvéd Infantry Brigade |- |39th Honvéd Infantry Brigade||2nd Mountain Brigade||12th Mountain Brigade||5th Mountain Brigade||4th Mountain Brigade |- |10th Mountain Brigade||1st Mountain Brigade||13th Mountain Brigade||7th Mountain Brigade||15th Mountain Brigade |- |8th Mountain Brigade||3rd Mountain Brigade|||||| |- |bgcolor="#FFA500"|'''Reserve'''|||||||| |- |93rd Infantry Division|||||||| |- |bgcolor="#FFA500"|'''Headquarters'''|||||||| |- |VII Corps in Kostanjevica||XVI Corps in Dornberg||XV Corps in Kneža|||| |} {| class="wikitable" |bgcolor="#FF0000"|Italy || |- |2nd Army||3rd Army|||||| |- |VII Corps||X Corps||XI Corps||VI Corps||II Corps |- |IV Corps|||||| |- |13th Infantry Division||14th Infantry Division||20th Infantry Division||19th Infantry Division||21st Infantry Division |- |12th Infantry Division||11th Infantry Division||4th Infantry Division||3rd Infantry Division||32nd Infantry Division |- |7th Infantry Division||8th Infantry Division||[[Bersaglieri]] Division||[[Alpini]] Group A and B||half 29th Infantry Division |- |bgcolor="#FF0000"|'''Reserve'''|||||| |- |XIV Corps|||||||| |- |half 29th Infantry Division||22nd Infantry Division||28th Infantry Division||30th Infantry Division||23rd Infantry Division |- |27th Infantry Division||33rd Infantry Division||1st Cavalry Division||2nd Cavalry Division||3rd Cavalry Division |- |bgcolor="#FF0000"|'''Headquarters'''|||||||| |- |2nd Army in Udine||3rd Army in Cervigano|||| |} ==See also== [[Image:Görz und Isonzo.jpg|thumb|Gorizia (left) and the [[Soča]] (Isonzo)]] [[Image:Schützengraben im Karst.jpg|thumb|Austro-Hungarian trench at the [[Soča]] (Isonzo)]] * [[Austria–Hungary]] * [[History of Austria]] * [[Italian Campaign (World War I)]] * [[Italy in World War I]] * [[World War I]] ==Further reading== *Page, Thomas Nelson, (1920) "''Italy and the World War''". New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, [http://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/comment/Italy/PageTC.htm Full Text Available Online]. ==External links== *[http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo1.htm First Battle of the Isonzo, 1915] at FirstWorldWar.com *[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)] {{coord missing|Slovenia}}