Battle of Mount Ortigara

Overview

The Battle of Mount Ortigara was fought from 10 to 25 June 1917 between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies for possession of Mount Ortigara, in the Asiago Plateau.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Mount Ortigara, fought from 10 to 25 June 1917 on the Asiago Plateau, pitted an Italian force of approximately 300,000 against an Austro-Hungarian force of around 100,000 in a contest for possession of Mount Ortigara. The disparity in casualties — roughly 23,000 Italian against 9,000 Austro-Hungarian — indicates that the Italian effort to seize the position was costly and, by that measure, unsuccessful in delivering a decisive gain commensurate with the forces committed. The battle added to the mounting attrition suffered by the Italian army under Cadorna in 1917, a period of repeated costly offensives that would culminate later that year in the disaster at Caporetto. Ortigara illustrated the persistent difficulty Italian forces faced in dislodging Austro-Hungarian defenders from elevated terrain on the Trentino front.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (4)