Caporetto And Isonzo Campaign

This illustrated WWI history sheds light on a major campaign fought along the significant yet often neglected Italian Front. From 1915 to 1917 the armies of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were locked in a series of battles along the River Isonzo, a sixty-mile front from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. The campaigns were fought in unforgiving terrain, with casualty counts that exceeded those of the Great War’s more famous battles. The twelfth and final battle, Caporetto, was a major victory for the Central Powers as they broke through the Italian Front. Historian John Macdonald chronicles the Isonzo battles with vivid descriptions of the battlefields and of the atrocious conditions in which the soldiers fought. The text is supported by a selection of original photographs that record the terrible reality of the conflict. The intervention of British, French and German troops is covered, as are the parts played by famous individuals, including Erwin Rommel, Benito Mussolini, Pietro Badoglio and Luigi Cadorna, the notorious Italian commander in chief. Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign examines an aspect of the First World War that was pivotal in the history of Italy, Austria and the Balkans.

 From May 1915 to October 1917 the armies of Italy and the Austro - Hungarian empire were locked into a series of twelve battlesalong the River Isonzo, a sixty - mile front from the Alps to the Adriatic. The campaign was fought in the most appalling terrain forcombat, with horrendous casualties on both sides, often exceeding those of the more famous battles of the Great War. The twelfth and final battle, Caporetto, resulted in a devastating defeat for Italy and led to one of the greatest breakthroughs achieved during the entire conflict. Yet this massive struggle is too often neglected in histories of the war which focus on the fighting on the Western and Eastern Fronts. John Macdonald, in this accessible and highly illustrated account, aims to set the record straight. His description of theIsonzo battles, of the battlefields and of the atrocious conditions in which the soldiers lived and fought is supported by a graphicselection of original photographs that record the terrible reality of the conflict.The impact of the intervention of British, French and German troops is covered, as are the parts played by famous individuals - among them Rommel, Mussolini, Badoglio and Cadorna, the notorious Italian commander in chief. But it is the front - line experience of the common soldiers on both sides that is most powerfully portrayed.Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign gives a fascinating insight into a conflict that was a pivotal moment in the history of Italy, Austria and the Balkans.

From May 1915 to October 1917 the armies of Italy and the Austro - Hungarian empire were locked into a series of twelve battlesalong the River Isonzo, a sixty - mile front from the Alps to the Adriatic. The campaign was fought in the most appalling terrain forcombat, with horrendous casualties on both sides, often exceeding those of the more famous battles of the Great War. The twelfth and final battle, Caporetto, resulted in a devastating defeat for Italy and led to one of the greatest breakthroughs achieved during the entire conflict. Yet this massive struggle is too often neglected in histories of the war which focus on the fighting on the Western and Eastern Fronts. John Macdonald, in this accessible and highly illustrated account, aims to set the record straight. His description of theIsonzo battles, of the battlefields and of the atrocious conditions in which the soldiers lived and fought is supported by a graphicselection of original photographs that record the terrible reality of the conflict.The impact of the intervention of British, French and German troops is covered, as are the parts played by famous individuals - among them Rommel, Mussolini, Badoglio and Cadorna, the notorious Italian commander in chief. But it is the front - line experience of the common soldiers on both sides that is most powerfully portrayed.Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign gives a fascinating insight into a conflict that was a pivotal moment in the history of Italy, Austria and the Balkans.

This work concerns the Battle of Caporetto in October 1917, where the Austro-German Army broke through the Italian lines forcing them to retreat after losing half their force. The book examines why, having routed the Italian Army, the Central Alliance forces were not capable of forcing the surrender of Italy.

This is the first account in English of a much-overlooked, but important, First World War battlefront located in the mountains astride the border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Not well known in the West, the battles of Isonzo were nevertheless ferocious, and compiled a record of bloodletting that totaled over 1.75 million for both sides. In sharp contrast to claims that neither the Italian nor the Austrian armies were viable fighting forces, Schindler aims to bring the terrible sacrifices endured by both armies back to their rightful place in the history of 20th century Europe. The Habsburg Empire, he contends, lost the war for military and economic reasons rather than for political or ethnic ones. Schindler's account includes references to remarkable personalities such as Mussolini; Tito; Hemingway; Rommel, and the great maestro Toscanini. This Alpine war had profound historical consequences that included the creation of the Yugoslav state, the problem of a rump Austrian state looking to Germany for leadership, and the traumatic effects on a generation of young Italian men who swelled the ranks of the fascists. After nearly a century, Isonzo can assume its proper place in the ranks of the tragic Great War clashes, alongside Verdun, the Somme, and Passchendaele.

This fascinating biographical history reveals how the future German general established his reputation at the WWI Battle of Caporetto. Erwin Rommel was to become the most famous and influential German general of World War Two. But in 1917, no one outside of a small clique in the German Army had heard of him. His ascent to prominence began with his exploits on the Italian Front of World War I. In 1917, the Allied armies launched a series of offensives against the Austro-Hungarian forces along the Isonzo River. The final battle was a catastrophic defeat for the Allies, thanks in part to the infiltration tactics of Lieutenant Rommel. His battalion outflanked the Italian forces and executed a devastating attack from behind enemy lines. Based on official histories and archival documents, as well as Rommel’s own account, Rommel & Caporetto offers new insight into the skills and tactics he would later employ in France and in North Africa.

Since Picketts failed charge at Gettysburg, the frontal infantry assault had been known as obsolete. Nevertheless fifty years later, Allied military leaders in the Great War persisted in using it as a military tactic. Italian military leaders were no exception not even accepting the deadly effect of machine guns or quick-firing artillery. The Battles of the Isonzo on the Austro-Italian Front have now been classified with Verdun as to intensity and casualty lists. Mountain warfare on the Isonzo River Valley resulted in almost two million casualties from avalanches, frostbite, malaria, cholera, as well as prisoner-of-war starvation. Using the attacco frontale the blood of the illiterate fanti was used as coin to purchase terrain pushing the enemy back leading to Vienna's request to Berlin for help, leading to Caporetto.