12th battle of the isonzo7/16/2023 He would randomly execute soldiers to discipline the troops and he would dismiss assistants that did not agree with his tactics. Cadorna had treated his soldiers with disdain. In order to raise the low morale of the troops, the government also decided to change many of the harsh disciplinary policies enforced by Cadorna. Italy badly needed something to hold on to in a time of crisis and the Arditi provided a much-needed bedrock of patriotism and heroism. These volunteers, which participated in many bayonet and hand to hand combat attacks, quickly became heroes and set the example for the rest of the army. Two Arditi special forces had been recently set up. In addition, the government took two very important initiatives to strengthen the country's wherewithal in the face of foreign invasion. An agency for the welfare of the soldiers was also formed, the Opera Nazionale Combattenti, to oversee pensions and other programs such as the creation of postwar rural cooperatives for the soldiers. Trench newspapers became very popular with the soldiers especially because they avoided excessive rhetoric and focused more on educational topics. A special Uffici P unit within the army was formed to adopt innovative propaganda techniques using cinema and printed media to instill a strong sense of patriotism as well as to better define the purpose of the war among the soldiers. Moreover, to boost the morale of the troops and of the population, the government coalition decided to initiate a major propaganda campaign. Food rations for the soldiers, for instance, were increased to 3,580 (from 3,067) calories per day to overcome what had been thus far an insufficient daily diet. The domestic industry once gain remarkably increased production. At Caporetto the Italian army had been routed partly because the troops were war weary and lacked food, clothing, and adequate supplies. Instead of engaging in a frontal attack, a young officer Erwin Rommel ordered that this position be bypassed and that the successive advance should be towards west.On the home front the war required an intense campaign of industrial innovation to reconstruct the Italian army with new equipment and supplies. Even in this case the bombardments were devastating and the soldiers easily reached Height 1114, the seat of a fortified Italian position. At 3.30 pm the bridge on the river Isonzo was blown up but despite this, before sunset the German troops entered the small city together with two thousand Italian prisoners.Īlso on the same day a contingent consisting of Alpenkorps and of a mountain battalion from Württemberg left Tolmino and attacked directly the western side, aiming at the peaks of the Kolovrat. At noon they reached Kamno and two hours later they were at the doors of Caporetto, preceded only by Italian soldiers who were hurriedly abandoning all their positions. The German battalions started to climb back from the bottom of the valley in a northerly direction, meeting on their way only a few Italian soldiers who, in the absence of any official orders, did not even fire a single shot. General Pietro Badoglio only started to organize this retreat on 22nd October and allowed the Austro-German forces a considerable advantage. The survivors were given the order to withdraw and so allowed free passage to the village of Saga to the Army Corps led by General Alfred Krauss.Īt Tolmino instead the Italian troops were taken completely by surprise: the order to retreat towards the nearby plateau of Kolovrat, received on 10th October, was ignored for several days. The first zone was well defended by the Italian army but besides bombs, even hand grenades and poison gas were used and in a short while more than 700 soldiers of the Friuli Battalion were killed. The Austro-German troops moved simultaneously both in the north, around Mount Rombon, as well as in the south, at Tolmino. The Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo was under way. The frontline was isolated and at seven in the morning the infantry came out of its trenches. The bombs fell relentlessly for five hours and destroyed a large part of the Italian structures. The cannons of the Austro-German troops were aimed at the rear, on their lines of communication, on observers and on the artillery positions. To the great surprise of all the soldiers of the Second Army, at 2.00 in the morning of 24th October 1917 the Italian lines between Plezzo and Tolmino started to be attacked by an unprecedented bombardment both as regards its intensity as well as its precision.
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