7. bitva na Soči (Isonzu) [1916]

In the offensive, which began with a traditionally massive artillery training, the Italians tried to expand their goric bridgehead. Tough fights took place especially at Lokvice, Opatje Sela and Nova Vas. Austro-Hungarian troops maintained their positions and the Italian command finally canceled the offensive after three days. Italians lost 17,000 men, Austrians 15,000 ...


Source:
Josef Fučík, Marek Pavlík: Sočská fronta 1915-1917 (Prague 2008)

From the witness's memories:


... We've been closer to Monte Cimone for a few days now. He is rumored to have been drilled by Linz sapters and to be blown up. And indeed. On September 20, 1916, at half past four in the morning, coffee was distributed, and then the entire team to the caverns, except for the guards. At half past six in the morning, the trenches were electrically ignited. There were several. The effect was terrible. 15,000 kg of dynamite was loaded there. 400 Italian men were captured and 12 officers and about 100 Italians buried. Terrible fire began from the Italian side. The entire top of the conical mountain that dominated the area was knocked down. The mountain had to be occupied by us right after the explosion. No shelters, positions or trenches, and we, like a flock of scattered sparrows, jumped in huge artillery of all calibers from stone to stone. And no wonder several men, seeing all the horror and hopelessness, went mad. Such drum fire has a terrible effect on men with strong nerves, let alone on mentally and physically exhausted people. With the darkness of the evening approaching, the front guards stood up. Oh, that was misery. On the steep slope, crouched behind a boulder, lay every man, waiting to be hit by a fragment of a grenade or spilling stones. Many could not move because he was in constant danger of going down several hundred meters. When the artillery died down for a moment, the terrible roar of the half-buried Italy could be heard, lying with broken limbs on the slope of the hill, to which no one could help them in the current situation. The next day, a parliamentarian went with our party to the enemy, negotiating a brief truce in this section so that the wounded and buried Italians could be helped, but in vain. The Italian headquarters was afraid that the armistice would be used on our side as well as for fortifications, so the thunder continued and hell continued for us and for the poor people who were slowly calming down, but on the third day someone came here and there ... "



Source:
Antonín Sladký: Memories from the Italian Front, in Domov za války III (Prague 1930)