Battle of Mount Ortigara
46°0′36.000″N 11°31′18.998″E / 46.01000000°N 11.52194389°E / 46.01000000; 11.52194389
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29_crowned.svg/23px-Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29_crowned.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png)
![Kingdom of Italy](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29_crowned.svg/23px-Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29_crowned.svg.png)
![Kingdom of Italy](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29_crowned.svg/23px-Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29_crowned.svg.png)
![Austria-Hungary](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png)
![Austria-Hungary](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png)
![Kingdom of Italy](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29_crowned.svg/23px-Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29_crowned.svg.png)
![Austria-Hungary](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png)
1,600 guns
500 guns
![Battle of Mount Ortigara is located in Italy](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Italy_relief_location_map.jpg/220px-Italy_relief_location_map.jpg)
![Battle of Mount Ortigara](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
- v
- t
- e
- Hill 383
- 1st Isonzo
- Col Basson
- 2nd Isonzo
- Podgora
- 3rd Isonzo
- 4th Isonzo
1916
- 5th Isonzo
- Asiago (Monte Cengio)
- Gorizia (6th Isonzo) (Doberdò)
- 7th Isonzo
- 8th Isonzo
- 9th Isonzo
- White Friday
1917
- 10th Isonzo
- Flondar
- Ortigara
- 11th Isonzo
- Caporetto (12th Isonzo)
- Pozzuolo
- 1st Piave River
- 1st Monte Grappa
1918
- 2nd Piave River (Capture of Col Moschin)
- 2nd Monte Grappa
- San Matteo
- 3rd Monte Grappa
- Vittorio Veneto
White War (1915–1918)
- Adamello
- Pasubio
- Sentinella Pass
- Marmolada
- Lagazuoi
- Col di Lana
- Tofane
- Monte Cristallo
- Monte Piana
- Tre Cime di Lavaredo
- Monte Paterno
The Battle of Mount Ortigara was fought from 10 to 25 June 1917 between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies for possession of Mount Ortigara, in the Asiago Plateau.
Background
The Italians decided to launch an offensive because the Strafexpedition of the previous year had improved the Austro-Hungarian defensive positions, whence the Italian armies of Cadore, Carnia and the Isonzo could be threatened.
The battle was prepared with considerable means (300,000 men with 1,600 artillery guns) concentrated on a short segment of the front just a few kilometers long. However, although the Italians enjoyed a 3-to-1 numeric superiority in both men and guns, as they faced 100,000 Austro-Hungarians with 500 guns, the attack still presented several problems:
- The Austro-Hungarian positions were very strong.
- The arc formed by the opposing lines was such as to favor the Austro-Hungarian artillery.
- The Italian lines were overcrowded, which made it difficult to maneuver.
- The Austro-Hungarians expected the offensive, so there was no surprise.
Battle
The attack began on 10 June and after fierce and bloody fighting, the Italian 52nd Alpine Division managed to capture the top of Mount Ortigara.
The Austro-Hungarian command promptly sent many trained reinforcements. On 25 June, the 11 Italian battalions guarding the summit were attacked by Austro-Hungarian shock troops which retook it, the strenuous Italian resistance notwithstanding.
The 52nd Division alone suffered about half the Italian casualties. General Ettore Mambretti, commander of the Sixth Army, was considered responsible for the heavy casualties and removed from command.
A letter from a young soldier, written on the eve of the battle, is part of the museum of the Asiago War Memorial.[2] Adolfo Ferrero wrote this letter to his family shortly before dying in combat, and the letter was later discovered in the personal effects of his page, whose body was exhumed from Mount Ortigara in the 1950s.[2][3]
- Alpini before the Battle
- Heavy Italian artillery at work
- Italian officers at an observation post on Cima Levante
Notes
- ^ Gooch (2014), p. 222
- ^ a b "Sacrario militare di Asiago-Leiten e museo del Sacrario" (in Italian). Itinerari della Grande Guerra. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ "Il Sacrario Militare" (in Italian). la radio dell'Altopiano 7 Comuni. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
References
- Gooch, John (2014). The Italian Army and the First World War. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521193078.
External links
- The Battle of Ortigara