These continue into 1916, we get all the way into the 5th Battle of the Isonzo River. It's actually a very mountainous region, and as we'll see the Italian Front involved many, many battles along the Isonzo River, in fact 12 battles in all.Īnd these continue into 1916. So it goes right along, right along this area right over here. The Isonzo River contours the then border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They don't declare on Germany until the next year.ġ915- Declares war on Austria The first combat happens in June, happens in June With the first battle on the Isonzo river. So we can start in 1915 we already saw that in May, Italy declares war. So this next map that I'm going to show you is essentially a zoom in of this part of this map. So that lays the setting for the actual combat along the Italian/ Austro-Hungarian border that they share right over here. It actually wouldn't formally declare war on Germany until 1916. Then in May, it actually declares war on Austria-Hungary. You fast forward to the beginning of WW1, Italy tried to stay neutral arguing that the Triple Alliance was being on the offensive as opposed to the defense.Īnd then as we mentioned in early 1915, in the Spring to 1915, it signs the secret Treaty of London with the Allies. The memory of bitter battles fought here is a reminder that it is necessary to do everything to make sure that wars, which have caused so much suffering, never occur again”, said Matej Tonin.In the last video, we saw that despite the fact that Italy was an original member of the Tripple Alliance It was a very awkward relationship. “Concern for war graves and the preservation of the victims’ memory is a very important task for us, since attitude to the dead is a fundamental ethical issue. The minister stated that the defence and military cooperation between Hungary and Slovenia has been excellent to date, thanks to the joint training programs and co-deployment in foreign missions as well as an agreement on war grave care, and this friendly relationship has further deepened with the inauguration of the memorial site. “Many brave Hungarian soldiers lost their lives, and we are paying tribute to the memory of their young souls here, in front of the monument”, he said. Slovenian Defence Minister Matej Tonin pointed out that European history is a history of bloody wars, and the one-time Isonzo front was among the most destructive ones in the First World War. For if needed, they are the ones who sacrifice their lives even today for your freedom”, said the minister of defence in closing his speech. Have faith and trust in the soldiers, be they Hungarians, Slovenians or of any other nationalities of the Alliance. “They will always remember the noblest examples of courage and self-sacrifice during the battles of the Isonzo a hundred years ago and the events of today’s foreign missions. Tibor Benkő pointed out that these days, too, our soldiers are fighting for peace and serve it even by sacrificing their lives if needed. Although this division lost half of its men during the fighting, it successfully defended its almost indefensible mountainside positions against Italian assaults, thereby preventing the collapse of the front, and making the Caporetto breakthrough possible with an almost incredible effort. The Royal Hungarian 20th Infantry Division was tasked with defending this strategic position. The newly unveiled monument – which commemorates the heroism and sacrifice of Hungarian soldiers killed in action during the battles – has been established as a part of the Park of Nations located on the slopes of Monte Santo and Monte San Gabriele, where the very bloody battles of Monte San Gabriele took place in the First World War. It was not until the 12th Battle of Isonzo that the stalemate of the war was broken, when the Monarchy troops, reinforced with German forces, broke through the Italian defences and gained a lot of ground. The ensuing trench war took a toll of 550,000 men of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and more than 1 million men on the opposite side. The Italians attempted to break through the defences of the Monarchy on 11 occasions, but all of their attempts failed. The battles fought between the Italian forces and the forces of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy along River Isonzo lasted from June 1915 to September 1917. The monument dedicated to Hungarian soldiers who had fallen in the Battles of the Isonzo was unveiled in Slovenia on Tuesday in the spirit of transnational collaboration.
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