Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
On April 26, 1915, Italy joined the Allies. A month later, it declared war on the
Austro-Hungarian Empire (which included Slovenia). Italy unexpectedly invaded the
So
č
a Valley, quickly taking the tiny town of Kobarid, which it planned to use as a
homebaseforattacksdeeperintoAustro-Hungarianterritory.Forthenext29months,
Italylaunched10moreoffensivesagainsttheAustro-Hungarianarmy,whichwasen-
camped on higher ground on the mountaintops. All of these Italian offensives were
unsuccessful,eventhoughtheItaliansoutnumberedtheiropponentsthreetoone.This
was unimaginably difficult warfare—Italy had to attack uphill, waging war high in
the mountains, in the harshest of conditions. Trenches had to be carved into rock in-
steadofmud.Thefightingcoincided withoneofthemostbrutalwintersincenturies;
many unprepared conscripts—brought here from faraway lands and unaccustomed to
theharshwinterconditionsatoptheAlps—frozetodeath.Some60,000soldierswere
killed by avalanches.
Visitorstakealookatthistightvalley,hemmedinbyseeminglyimpassiblemoun-
tains,andwonder:Whywouldpeoplefightsofiercelyoversuchinhospitableterrain?
At the time, Slovenia was the natural route from Italy to the Austro-Hungarian cap-
itals at Vienna and Budapest. The Italians believed that if they could hold this valley
and push over the mountains, Vienna—and victory—would be theirs. Once commit-
ted, they couldn't turn back, and the war devolved into one of attrition—who would
fall first?
Inthefallof1917,Austro-HungarianEmperorKarlappealedtohisallyGermany,
and the Germans agreed to assemble an army for a new attack to retake Kobarid and
the So
č
a Valley. In an incredible logistical accomplishment, they spent just six weeks
building and supplying this new army by transporting troops and equipment high
across the mountaintops under cover of darkness...above the heads of their oblivious
Italian foes dozing in the valley below.
On October 24, Austria-Hungary and Germany launched an attack that sent
600,000 soldiers down into the town of Kobarid. This crucial 12th battle of the So
č
a
Front, better known as the Battle of Kobarid, was the turning point—and saw the in-
troductionofbattlefield innovations thatarecommonplace inthemilitary today.Ger-
manfieldcommanderswereempoweredtoactindependentlyonthebattlefield,react-
ing immediately to developments rather than waiting for approval. Also, for the first
time ever, the Austrian-German army used elements of a new surprise-attack tech-
nique called
Blitzkrieg
. (One German officer, Erwin Rommel, made great strides in
the fighting here, and later climbed the ranks to become famous as Hitler's “Desert
Fox” in North Africa.)
