Italy in WW1. Redipuglia and the Isonzo war memorial

The Isonzo war memorial at Redipuglia in north eastern Italy is, I believe, the largest war memorial in the world and commemorates the dead of the Isonzo Front 1915 - 1917.

On 23 May 1915 Italy declared war on Austro Hungary and invaded the dual monarchy on the following day. Due to the failure of the politicians to liase with the military, the offensive was badly organised and slow. It took the Italians several days to occupy the almost undefended plain, giving the Austrians plenty of time to fortify the Alpine border with Italy. In the southern sector, it more or less followed the line of the Isonzo river which gave its name to twelve battles which happened here from 14 June 1915 to October 1917. At the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, Italian CinC, Luigi Cadorna, pushed the line back in the mountains only to be outflanked by the Austrians and Germans after the battle of Caporetto and everything had to be given up in retreat to avoid being outflanked. The Italian monument at Redipuglia commemorates the battles along the Isonzo river and is located very close to Monte Sei Busi, one of the first heights to be captured by the Italians in 1915.

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