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, AustroHungarian 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 hill
o
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 Cited
http://firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-battle-of-the-isonzo
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/files/images/italy-map-1000.jpg
cla.calpoly.edu
ilbuonodelfriuli.attems.it