First Battle of the Isonzo

Alexa Kirton, Kenny Ly, Ben Smith, Gabby Salgado, Katie Earll

Thesis

Through the use of fighting defensively down hill, in the first battle of the Isonzo, Austro- Hungarian armies were given an advantage in battles over Italian force and had little effect on WW1 but weakened both Austria-Hungary and Italy’s government as they suffered many deaths.

Background

● Triple Alliance with Italy, Austria- Hungary and Germany (Since 1882)

● Treaty of London (1915) - Secret treaty with neutral Italy + Triple Entente

● June 23, 1915 Italy attacks Austria- Hungary o Along Isonzo River and Italian Alps

● Italian army outnumbered Austro-Hungarian forces 2:1

Geography ● Isonzo River located on the border between

Italy and Austria-Hungary● Eastern sector of the Italian front ● Flows to the adriatic Sea ● 64 miles long ● Flanked by very mountainous regions on

either side ● Prone to flooding

Style of Warfare

● Trench warfare was used● Artillery bombings and barrages were

common

Italian Forces

● Led by commander Luigi Cadorna ● 225,000 troops involved● Attempted to fight offensively uphill

Austro-Hungarian Forces

● Led by Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf● Had suggested pre-emptive strikes on Italy● Decided to stand their ground and settle into

their defensive position, fought defensively down hillo barricaded with barbed wire to easily defend Italian

assault

Luigi Cadorna Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf

Result of All Battles

● Italy lost 300,000 men and Austro-Hungarian lost 200,000 men

● Virtually all artillery lost● 6th battle- Italy made advances and crossed the Isonzo

river, gaining little land● 12th battle- Austro-Hungarian launched a surprise

attack on Italy, unable to defend themselves Italy accepted defeat

Works Citedhttp://firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-battle-of-the-isonzohttp://www.nzhistory.net.nz/files/images/italy-map-1000.jpg cla.calpoly.eduilbuonodelfriuli.attems.it