ORDER OF BATTLE // June 10, 1917
Battle of Mount Ortigara
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 400,000 estimated
Italy
300,000
Medium-confidence figure
Austria-Hungary
100,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
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.
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