On the 7th of July 1915, the Italian leader of the Army Cadorna called off the attack and with that the first battle of Isonzo was over. Over 25.000 soldiers were lying dead all together on both sides after a 2 weeks of fighting, yet the Italians had a very little to show for this loss regardless their numeric advantage. The Austro-Hungarian General Boroevic, nicknamed the “Lion of Isonzo” utilised his army and the advantages of the terrain well and by this he managed to hold the front lines against and overwhelming force.
In the first Battle, the Italian Army made the same mistakes as all other major powers did in the beginning of the war and tried to overrun the enemy trenches and barbed wires with mass infantry attacks which only resulted in huge losses and very little gains. When the first battle ended, the Italians started to prepare for an even larger offensive across the Isonzo river, but did not learn from their earlier mistakes, so the plan was more or less the same. In the new Offensive the Italians pulled together the 2nd and the 3rd army with around 250.000 soldiers and 840 guns. Cadorna's to break through the Austro-Hungarian lines plan was to use heavy artillery bombardment then advance the Italian troops in a frontal assault against the Austro-Hungarian lines, try to overcome the enemy's barbed-wire fences, take the trenches, conquer Monte San Michele and Mount Cosich and by this opening up a route to Gorizia. However the shortage of war materiel, i am talking about rifles, artillery shells, or equipment's to cut barbed wire, almost completely nullified the Italians' numerical superiority.
Facing them over the lines the Austro-Hungarians only had around 78.000 soldiers and 420 guns, but they had an organised deep defensive trench system, Also Boroevic already was a battle hardened general as he fought and held back the Russians in the Carpathian mountains before he was sent to the Italian front.
On 18th if July the Italians launched their attack against the Austro-Hungarian lines. After heavy artillery bombardment the Italian 2nd and 3rd Army pushed in to the Karst Plateau where they found themselves against the Hungarian 20th Honvéd Infantry Division. They fought in close combat for days and the losses were huge. The Austro-Hungarian High Command realised the size of the attack and started transport units over from the Serbian and Eastern front to support Boroevic’s army. The Italians tried to break the lines and surround Gorizia but the Austro-Hungarian units broke their thrust and some attacking Italian forces were pushed back all the way to their own trenches.
But this did not stoip the italians and they kept launching attacks over and over! Eventually on 25th of july 1915, they captured the hill of Monte San Michele which was north from Doberdo. Although this was not a very high hill, yet it was high enough to give an advantage to the Italian Artillery to bomb the Austro Hungarian lines. The recapture of Monte San Michele was vital for the Monarchy's leadership for the defense of the Isonzo front so a counter attack was launched using the elite soldiers of Colonel Richter and with great sacrifices, but the mountain was recaptured. The Hungarian troops fighting in the epicentre of the offensive trying to hold back the Italians were the 20th Honvéd Infantry Division, during the fight they lost 2/3 of their soldiers.
On the North side of the front the Italians did managed to push back the Austro-Hungarian Soldiers and took Mount Batognica over Caporetto, which will have an important strategic value in future battles. After 16 days of heavy fighting, the Italians run out of ammunition, both sides were exhausted and Cadorna ordered to halt the offensive.
The II. The Battle of Isonzo claimed many more victims on both sides than the first Battle of Isonzo. Around 90,000 soldiers died in few weeks. The losses of the Monarchy amounted to nearly 46,000 men while the Italians lost around 42000, which is shockingly high casualty for the defenders. Although the Italians technically won the battle, the territorial gains of the Italians were minimal and they could not break the Austro-Hungarian lines. After their second failure of breaking through, the Italian leadership decided to stabilise their frontline and started to build a deep defensive trench system. At this point they had to settle for a slow grinding trench warfare instead of a quick win they initially hoped for.
The Austro-Hungarian recognised that the Doberdó plateau cannot be easily defended for a long time with the shallow trenches and weak shelters, as all this defensive line can be completely destroyed by the numerically superior Italian artillery. Therefore, Archduke Eugen Ferdinand who was the supreme commander of the front, ordered to build a more secure shelter and trench system by digging in to the mountains for the army. The Front stabilised at this point and both sides were preparing for the next clash, the Third Battle of Isonzo
