Sixth Battle of the Isonzo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of the Italian Front
(First World War)

Image:Italian troops at Isonzo river.jpg
Italian troops entrenched along the Isonzo River.

Date	6 August-17 August, 1916
Location	Gorizia, Italy
Result	Italian victory

Combatants

Image:Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg Italy

Image:Flag of Austria-Hungary.svg Austria-Hungary

Commanders

Luigi Cadorna

Svetozar Boroević

Strength

22 divisions

9 divisions

Casualties

51,000

40,000

Italian Front
1st Isonzo – 2nd Isonzo – 3rd Isonzo – 4th Isonzo – 5th Isonzo – Asiago – 6th Isonzo – 7th Isonzo – 8th Isonzo – 9th Isonzo – 10th Isonzo – Ortigara – 11th Isonzo – Caporetto – Piave River – Vittorio Veneto

The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo also known as the Battle of Gorizia was a decisive Italian victory along the Isonzo River during World War I.

Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf had reduced the Austro-Hungarian forces along the Isonzo front to reinforce his Trentino Offensive. Italian Chief-of-Staff Luigi Cadorna made good use of railroads to quickly shift troops from the Trentino back to the Isonzo line for an offensive against the weakened Austro-Hungarian defenses. On August 6 the offensive was launched against Gorizia. On August 8, Gorizia fell to Cadorna and a bridgehead was finally established across the Isonzo River. The Austro-Hungarians shifted troops to the Gorizia sector to prevent a breakthrough and content with having established the bridgehead, Cadorna ended the offensive on August 17.

The attack on Gorizia was the most successful Italian offensive along the Isonzo lines and greatly boosted Italian morale. In the wake of the battle Italy finally declared war against Germany, on August 28.