Page - 411 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The War of Attrition 411 November. The Italians lost 67,000 men, with 41,000 lost among the Imperial and Royal troops. The gains from the battle consisted of a few trenches. On the mountain front, attacks were launched that had been organised in echelons in advance and were conducted in parallel to the events on the Isonzo, similarly with only minor territorial gains. For a short time, the Italians occupied the peak of the Col di Lana, but lost it again, while a further 26 attacks remained unsuccessful. The Italians then began to chip away at the peak fortifications on the Col di Lana. The fortifications were then detonated in April 1916. The Fourth Battle of the Isonzo almost directly followed the Third. It lasted un- til mid-December and again brought no operational gains. Now, Cadorna urgently needed to achieve a success, since Italy’s allies made no effort to conceal their contempt for the Italian Army, while in the parliament in Rome and among the people, oppo- sition was growing to the continuation of this costly and unsuccessful war, which, as everyone knew, had after all been wilfully instigated by Italy.980 The Third and Fourth Battle of the Isonzo took on the characteristics of the battles of attrition that had until then been conducted only on the western front. However, as was the case there, even the use of massed artillery and barrages lasting hours was not enough to enforce a breakthrough. In December, the fighting finally came to a halt in all sections. After seven months of fighting, it could be concluded that against their own misgivings, the Imperial and Royal troops had not only withstood the appearance of a new and powerful enemy, but that despite the burden of defence, the operations by the Central Powers in Russia and in Serbia had by no means been negatively influenced or delayed to any significant degree. However, the 35 Italian divisions had engaged 19 Imperial and Royal and one German division in the new theatre of war ; divisions that otherwise would have been available in the Balkans or in Russia, and that perhaps in Russia in particular would have led to an earlier collapse of the Tsarist Empire than was then the case. Italy’s role in the war could therefore only be assessed within the strategic framework. It conducted a war of attrition. And naturally, this affected not only the front, but equally the hinterland. Here, as in all the belligerent states, the ‘factory war’ was waged in which the industrial capacities to be mobilised and the ability to produce or obtain sufficient quantities of essential goods were of decisive importance.