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Battles - The Seventh Battle of the Isonzo, 1916

Bridge over the Isonzo river at Gorizia in 1916A short, sharp encounter fought from 14-17 September 1916, the Seventh Battle of the Isonzo saw Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna shift his focus from broad-based diversionary attacks to tightly focussed initiatives directed at single targets.  This latest Isonzo battle saw the Italians try to extend their hold of their newly-won Gorizia bridgehead in attacks to the left of the town.

For a single-article background to the Isonzo battles click here.

However despite the greater concentration of resources upon a single point - as much intended to reduce the severely high casualty rate sustained to date - the Italians' success of the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo was not repeated, and the attack was called off after three days of heavy casualties, on 17 September 1916.

Nevertheless Cadorna's continued offensives along the Isonzo did succeed in wearing away at Austro-Hungarian resources, both in terms of manpower and in crucial artillery availability.  As each battle proceeded the Italians' war of attrition seemed ever more likely to wear the Austro-Hungarians into defeat, short of assistance from their German allies.

The Eighth Battle of the Isonzo followed on 10 October 1916.

Click here to view a map charting the progress of the first eleven battles of the Isonzo.

Photograph courtesy of Photos of the Great War website

By 1918 the percentage of women to men working in Britain had risen to 37% from 24% at the start of the war.

- Did you know?

Battles

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