The previous three Isonzo battles had seen Cadorna concentrate short, sharp initiatives against closely defined targets, generally aimed at extending their sole bridgehead east of Gorizia. The Italians, deploying 38 divisions - against only 14 of the Austro-Hungarians - switched tactics once again. Cadorna agreed and the tenth Isonzo offensive was launched with a preliminary artillery bombardment on on. With the contingency plan arranged the French pressed Cadorna to launch a major offensive of his own along the Soča (Isonzo) to generally co-ordinate with their own large-scale Aisne Offensive (deployed in April 1917). The agreed plan was duly invoked - too late - in late October 1917 in the wake of the Italians' disastrous performance at Caporetto in the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo. In the event the British and French agreed to rush aid to the Italians only in the event of an emergency - for example, large-scale German military assistance to the Austro-Hungarians a contingency plan was thus developed to meet with such an eventuality. However Lloyd George's own field commanders, including Commander in Chief Douglas Haig - along with the French - disagreed, arguing that resources could not be spared from the Western Front, particularly with French Commander-in-Chief Robert Nivelle's upcoming Aisne Offensive, aimed at ending the war in the west within 48 hours.Ĭonsequently Nivelle dispatched Ferdinand Foch to meet with Cadorna and discuss their possible options. Dubbed an "easterner" at home Lloyd George was nevertheless in favour of diverting British and French resources from the Western Front to the Italians along the Soča (Isonzo), to "knock the props out" from under the Central Powers. The UK's new Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, had long believed that the war could not be won on the Western Front alone. ![]() ![]() Casualties suffered to date were tremendous and with each renewed battle tended to be higher on the Italian attackers side. We will learn about their daily military life, the hardship and renunciation, by closely examining historical documents, diaries, testimonies, and articles that have been preserved in museums and private collections.With nine largely unsuccessful Isonzo battles conducted within an eighteen month period to date, Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna - responsible for launching all nine - became increasingly uncomfortable at the prospect of German intervention to aid their weakening Austro-Hungarian ally on the Italian Front.įor while it was clear that the Austro-Hungarian Army was suffering in what had become a war of attrition, the same could be said of Cadorna's army. They were suddenly forced to fight for survival and live in a hitherto unknown environment, which was complicated by greatly unfavorable weather conditions. The outbreak of fighting brought a number of soldiers from different nationalities to the Italian front. On the battlefields of the Italian front (what is today Slovenia, Italy and Austria), in mountain battles, in avalanches, in battles of bayonets, in bombing shells and shrapnel, thousands of men from Czech lands lost their lives. It is a paradox of Czech historical consciousness that the victims of this war remain forgotten, their significance and fate distorted. For a number of social and political reasons, we were not able to learn a great deal about the experiences of our forefathers during this time. The fact that it was one of the largest Czech war sacrifices in history remains mostly unknown. In this course, I would like to focus on the soldiers who fought and sacrificed on the Isonzo river front in Italy.
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