THE TWELVE BATTLES OF THE ISONZO 1915 1917

THE TWELVE BATTLES OF THE ISONZO (1915 -1917) Arjun Kumar | Spence Boyer Alyssa Groscost | Chandler Gonzales

Belligerents

Thesis Due to the tactical and geographical advantages that Austria- Hungary possessed over Italy the twelve Battles of Isonzo proved to be a disaster to the Italian army.

Reasons for War • • • Italy was part of the Triple Alliance, but dropped out and became neutral before the war broke out Austria invaded neutral Italy, causing Italy to retaliate with its own army. Seen as an opportunity for Italy to expand its land into Austria-Hungary, under the Treaty of London.

Geographical Difficulties • • The Isonzo River was prone to flooding o Experienced record rainfall during WWI Easy targets- Prone to attacking Austro-Hungarian defenders Needed to cross the river to stop the Austro-Hungarian forces Austrians had fortified the mountains prior to Italy’s entry into the war on May 23, 1915, giving them quite a considerable advantage over the Italians

Impact of Isonzo on Italy Accounted for half of Italian casualties in WWI 10, 000 troops killed in action 30, 000 men wounded 293, 000 taken prisoner 400, 000 broke ranks and deserted the battle • •

Impact of Isonzo on Germany • • • 11 th Battle of Isonzo created concern among Germany’s commanders Afraid allies would falter and leave Germany exposed on its southern front Germany brought reinforcements to help Austro-Hungarian

Tl; dr Italy and Austria-Hungary were pushed off to their own corner in the war, where they smashed lots of men together in crappy conditions for a few years.

References http: //www. fofweb. com/Nu. History/default. asp? Item. ID=WE 53 http: //www. historylearningsite. co. uk/battle_of_caporetto. htm These citations are smaller than Doran