The aim of the Italian Army was to drive the Austrians away from its defensive positions along the Soča (Isonzo) river and surrounding mountains and hopefully capture the port of Trieste.
Although the Italians enjoyed a 2:1 numeric superiority, their offensive failed because the Italian commander, Luigi Cadorna, employed frontal assaults after impressive (but short) artillery barrages. The Austro-Hungarians had the advantage of fighting from uphill positions barricaded with barbed wire which were able to easily resist the Italian assault.[citation needed]
The Italians had some early successes. They partially took Krn (Monte Nero), took Kolovrat Plateau, and captured highlands around Bovec. However, they were unable to dislodge the Austro-Hungarian troops from the high ground between Tolmin and Soča River. The heaviest fighting occurred around Gorizia (Gorica). In addition to the natural defenses of the river and mountains, bastions were created at Oslavia (Oslavje) and Podgora. The fighting at Gorizia consisted of street-by-street urban combat interspersed with artillery fire. Italian troops, such as the Italian Re and Casale Brigades, were able to advance as far as the suburbs but could get no further and were driven back. They made small footholds at Sagrado and Redipuglia on the Karst Plateau southeast of Gorizia but were unable to do much else.
On the Austrian-Hungarian side two commanders distinguished themselves: Major General Géza Lukachich von Somorja, commander of the 5th Mountain Brigade, who retook Redipuglia, and Major General Novak von Arienti who retook Hill 383 (overlooking Plave) with his 1st Mountain Brigade.
Early in July the commander of the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army, General Svetozar Boroević, received two reinforcement divisions, which put an end to the Italian efforts at breaking through the Austro-Hungarian lines.
Macdonald, John, and Željko Cimprič. Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign: The Italian Front, 1915–1918. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military, 2011. ISBN978-1848846715OCLC774957786
Page, Thomas Nelson, (1920) "Italy and the World War". New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, Full Text Available Online.
Schindler, John R. (2001). Isonzo: The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Great War. Praeger. ISBN0275972046. OCLC44681903.
The Walks of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation. The Foundation preserves, restores and presents the historical and cultural heritage of the First World War in the area of the Isonzo Front for the study, tourist and educational purposes.
