The Battle of Caporetto, also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, remains the worstdefeat suffered by the Italian army to date. It began at two o’clock in the morning on 24 October1917 on the Isonzo front and was fought between the Italian army and the combined forces ofthe Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Reich.

Caporetto, Battle of

Anna Grillini

Summary

Table of Contents

1 Preparation2 The Battle3 The End

1. Preparation

In the fall of 1917 the armies on both sides were equally worn by a war that seemedendless. With the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo in August 1917, the Italian army had beenable to conquer the upland of Bainsizza. By the end of the fighting, the Austro-Hungariancommand realized that it would not be able to repel a further Italian attack, even if it wereto be conducted at the end of autumn 1917 or in the following spring. Consequently, theAustrian command decided to demand help from its German ally to prepare an offensivethat would force the Italians to retreat and that would provide relief to the weakenedimperial army. Initially, the Germans rejected the requests for help. The leaders of theGerman army and Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859-1941) regarded the Italian front assecondary and of little interest. However, the decision was reconsidered because theGermans feared a defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a prospect unthinkable forthem. This was the first occasion on which the Germans decided to provide assistanceto their Austro-Hungarian allies on the Italian front. They immediately began to studywhich strategy to adopt and formed a new 14th Army with nine Austrian and six Germandivisions, commanded by the German Otto von Below (1857-1944).

On 18 September 1917, General Luigi Cadorna (1850-1928), army chief of staff andsupreme commander, ordered the army to adopt a defensive stance. However, thedirectives were generic and unclear, and the officials’ performance was equallyinadequate. The following month, the general repeated the order, but once again thedirectives were not accurate and he did not ensure exact execution.

The winter was quickly approaching and the Germans and Austrians could not linger anylonger. They began preparations for the offensive at a frantic pace. The plan of actionincluded an intense attack in the upper of the Isonzo, north of the Tolmino bridgehead,with a more limited attack from the Plezzo’s basin. The plan was based on the

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assumption that the Italian defenses would be relatively weak at the end of the left side ofGeneral Luigi Capello’s (1859-1941) Second Army.

In addition to these strategic plans, the Germans and Austrians carefully studied thesurprise effect. They concealed the 14th Army’s arrival as long as possible and did notprepare artillery shots. Another key element of the Austro-German planning was the useof infiltration. After a short but powerful bombardment of enemy lines, light infantryadvanced to the trenches in order to penetrate and isolate the enemy positions.

2. The Battle

At two o’clock in the morning on 24 October 1917, the great Austro-German offensivebegan. Over the next hours, they fired thousands of explosive granate and gas. Therewas no prolonged bombing of the Italian lines but the action was very intense, with theprimary aim of making communication impossible. The objective was fully achieved,leaving troops and backline without orders and unable to pass on the situation. After thebombing, the infantry advance began, composed of well-rested men, not tired and wearylike the Italian soldiers. The weather, characterized by a heavy fog that made visibilitydifficult for the defense troops, facilitated the assault, but it was the infiltration tactic whichallowed the Austro-Germans to conquer the Italian trenches. The troops did not attack incompact groups but rather in small platoons: they were agile and independent,penetrated the enemy ranks and infiltrated deep behind the lines, taking the Italians bysurprise from behind.

The Austro-German troops quickly reached the mountain range dominating the plain ofFriuli region and assumed a dominant position from which they threatened most of theItalian backline deployed east of Isonzo. The attackers in the valley marched almostunopposed; some advanced a remarkable twenty-five kilometers during the first day.

With the penetration of the enemy and the disruption of communications, the Italiantroops began to fall apart. The soldiers without serious injuries began to form anenormous river of people, seemingly without a destination, which is still one of thesymbols of the battle. The news about the breakup of the front between Plezzo andTolmino, toward Caporetto, arrived at the Supreme Command in the afternoon of 24October 1917. General Cadorna sent out the first orders only between six o’clock in themorning and eleven o’clock at night. The Austro-German surprise was therefore total.

For the Italians, the situation was aggravated by the failure to establish and train reservetroops and by the absence of a defined plan for a possible retreat. The commander ofthe Second Army, General Capello, deliberately ignored Cadorna’s orders about thedefensive placement of the troops and underestimated the news about the imminentattack until it was too late.

In the night between 26 and 27 October 1917, General Cadorna ordered the withdrawalof the Second and Third Army from the Tagliamento River. He also ordered theimmediate evacuation of the Carnia and Cadore areas: 1.5 million men left the positionswhere they had fought and for which they had died for more than two years. On 27October 1917, the commander of the Italian army issued a report accusing the SecondArmy of surrendering to the enemy without fighting.

On 27 October 1917, the Austro-German troops had already arrived in Cividale; the2 of 8

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following day they conquered Udine and on 29 October 1917 they had almost reachedthe Tagliamento River. When the troops reached the river, the Italian Third Army hadalready crossed it or was about to do so. Advancing more deeply into the territory wasimpossible; the Italian defeat was such that even the attackers were surprised and didnot have the forces to fully exploit the success. In the end, Berlin asked to relocate themobilized men and material – even these troops were unprepared for so sudden achange from trench warfare to a movement war.

3. The End

At the end of the offensive, the Italian army counted 11,000 dead, 29,000 wounded,300,000 prisoners and about another 300,000 scattered men. On the Austro-Germanside, the losses were around 50,000 men killed or wounded.

Italian troops were positioned on the Piave where they resisted and reorganized, sincehere they could establish a new defensive line. After the defeat of Caporetto, the Alliessent troops to support the Italian army that was laboriously rearranging itself. They werereinforced by six French and five British infantry divisions. Prior to the battle, in mid-October 1917, the new Italian government was formed, headed by Vittorio EmanueleOrlando (1860-1952). He requested and obtained Cadorna’s replacement. Although thisdecision had been made before the defeat of Caporetto, its execution was suspendedafter the battle in order to not complicate the operations of the withdrawn troops. The taskwas entrusted to General Armando Diaz (1861-1928), who served until 1919 and wasnominated Duke of Victory at the end of the conflict.

Anna Grillini, University of Trento and Italian-German Historical Institute

Selected Bibliography

5 ReferencesIsnenghi, Mario / Rochat, Giorgio: La grande guerra: 1914-1918, Milan 2000: La nuova ItaliaLabanca, Nicola: Caporetto: storia di una disfatta, Florence 2000: Giunti; CastermanSchaumann, Walther / Schubert, Peter: Isonzo, 1915-1917: Krieg ohne Wiederkehr, Bassanodel Grappa 1993: Ghedina & TassottiSilvestri, Mario: Isonzo 1917, Torino 1965: EinaudiSilvestri, Mario: Caporetto: una battaglia e un enigma, Milan 1984: A. Mondadori

Images

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Kaiser Wilhelm in Udine

Kaiser Wilhelm visits German and Austrian troops in Udine, captured during the Battle of Caporetto. German offic ial photographer, November 1917, Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. IWM (Q 79584), http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205216012.

Austro-Hungarian troops in Vittorio, 1917

Austro-Hungarian troops marching into the captured town of Vittorio in November 1917. German offic ial photographer, 11.08.1917, Vittorio, Italy. IWM (Q 60453), http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205308032.

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German soldiers in Vittorio, 1917

German troops standing in front of a white flag after taking the town of Vittorio in November 1917. German offic ial photographer,11.1917, Vittorio, Italy. IWM (Q 86176), http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205082029.

Death and a guitar

This poignant image of several dead Italian soldiers and a broken guitar was taken by a German photographer on the heights of Cividale del Friuli, Northern Italy. German offic ial photographer, November 1917, Cividale del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.IWM(Q 86038), http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205330130.

Map of the Battle of Caporetto, 1917

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This map shows Northeastern Italy and marks the troop movements and l ines during the Battle of Caporetto (also known as the 12th Battle of the Isonzo) between 24 October and 12 November 1917. Unknown author: Map of the Battle of Caporetto, 1917; source: U.S. Mil itary Academy West Point, http://www.westpoint.edu/history/SiteAssets/SitePages/World%20War%20I/WWOne15.gif. Courtesy of the U.S. Mil itary Academy West Point.

Prisoners of Caporetto

Masses of Italian prisoners crowded near Cividale del Friuli, November 1917. German offic ial photographer, November 1917, Cividale del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. IWM (Q 86082), http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205330160.

Luigi Cadorna (1850-1928)

Luigi Cadorna, chief of staff of the Italian army during the first part of World War One, poses for a portrait in uniform. Bain News Service: Gen. Count Luis Cadorna, black-and-white photograph, n.p., c . 1910-1915; source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-B2- 3548-5, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ggb2005019541/. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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Map of the first eleven battles of the Isonzo, 1915-1917

This map shows Northeastern Italy and marks the territorial gains and losses of the first eleven Battles of the Isonzo between June1915 and September 1917. Unknown author: Map of the first eleven battles of the Isonzo, 1915-1917; source: U.S. Mil itary Academy West Point, http://www.westpoint.edu/history/SiteAssets/SitePages/World%20War%20I/WWOne14.gif. Courtesy of the U.S. Mil itary Academy West Point.

Italian POWs near Tolmezzo

Italian POWs resting at the side of a road near Tolmezzo. Fotograf: 10. Armeekommando: Abtransport italienischer Gefangener bei Tolmezzo, black-and-white photograph, Tolmezzo, ca. 8 November 1917; source: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Bildarchiv Austria, WK1/ALB043/11865, http://www.bildarchivaustria.at/Pages/ImageDetail.aspx?p_iBildID=4813469. Courtesy of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.

External Links (4)Austro-Hungarians at Caporetto pt. 1 (Imperial War Museums) (Video) (retrieved: 3 July 2014)Austro-Hungarians at Caporetto pt. 2 (Imperial War Museums) (Video) (retrieved: 3 July 2014)Bis ins Hauptquartier Cadornas (1917) (Filmportal) (Video) (retrieved: 26 March 2015)The Battle at the Isonzo (European Film Gateway) (Video-Clip) (retrieved: 3 July 2014)

Recommended CitationGrillini, Anna: Caporetto, Battle of, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. byUte Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued byFreie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2014-10-08. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15463/ie1418..

Metadata: Article Type=Event Article-URL=Battle of Caporetto Author(s)=Anna Grillini Title=Caporetto, Battle of Authors Keywords=Luigi Cadorna | Armanzo Diaz | Caporetto | military infiltration | retreat

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Region Section=Western Europe | Italy Thematic Section=Violence Section Editors=Marco Mondini HasTopics=warfare and the military | battles, battlefields and campaigns | battles, battlefieldsand campaigns, Italy | warfare, land | chemical warfare | trench warfare | maneuver warfare |combatants | infantry EventDate=24 October 1917 | 17 August 1917

Categories: Battles, battlefields and campaigns | Warfare and the military | Warfare, land |Violence | Trench warfare | Maneuver warfare | Italy | Infantry | Event | EncyclopedicEntry |Combatants | Chemical warfare | Battles, battlefields and campaigns, Italy | Western Europe |ProjectDocument

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