Page 108 - Il 1917 l'anno della svolta - Atti 25-26 ottobre 2017

108 il 1917. l’anno della svolta

th
5 Infantry Division in a similarly approximately 2 km wide zone of action. 32
Almost immediately after the establishment of the general directives through
the Armeeoberkomando on the 12 of September, the deployment of the first
th
troops began, which, of course, had to be transferred from varying theatres of
war. So, three Austro-Hungarian, four German divisions, and four independent
battalions (later condensed with other units into the Jägerdivision) from the east-
ern theatre of war, as well as two divisions from the western front, were to be
transferred and brought to their marshalling areas in the Ljubljana Basin and on
both sides of the Karawanks. In addition to this, shifts in resources, equipment
and supplies still occurred within the respective k.u.k. Army Groups (Conrad
and Boroević) in the Italian theatre of war. Ultimately, 2,245 hundred-axle trains
should have been moved until the beginning of the attack on the 24th of Octo-
33
ber, although numerous transports, especially in regards to artillery ammuni-
tion, were not yet finalized or transloaded, and continued to deliver even after
the attack began. The deficient railway system in the area of the front proved
to be problematic and time-consuming, especially in regards to the in part only
single-track expansions, as well as the minimal cargo capacity of the stations
near the front, whereby the bulk of the materials already had to be unloaded and
handled in the areas of Villach-Tarvisio, Klagenfurt Basin, Assling and Ljubljana
Basin, in order to reach their operational area within an average of a six days
march. In the beginning, the artillery formations received priority in regards to
deployment, as they did not just need to establish their positions, but also had
to prepare and test-fire their artillery. The batteries were initially given orders
to achieve their complete state of tactical readiness by the 18th of October. The
Command of the Southwestern Front was then supplied with about 1,500 ad-
ditional artillery pieces and 420 mid-sized and heavy mortars in the period of
th
34
time from the end of September until the 20 of October. The ammunition
provisions for the Austro-Hungarian batteries were designated, on average, to be
about 1,000 rounds for every field and mountain gun, 800 rounds for heavy How-
itzers and 100 rounds for every 30.5 cm Mörser. For all calibres, this amounted
to roughly 1,000,000 rounds altogether in the firing position zones. In addition
to these, reserves of up to 500,000 additional rounds were delivered to support
areas. These amounts corresponded to the output of the Austro-Hungarian am-
munitions industry in approximately five to six weeks, albeit these ammunitions
could only be provided in due to the waning intensity of battle in the east, in

32 K.u.k. Armeeoberkommando. Chef des Generalstabes. Op.Geh.Nr. 700. Die 12 Isonzo-
schlacht. Die Offensive gegen Italien, Wien 1918, S. 10
33 Österreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg, VI, Beilage 21
34 Armeeoberkommando, Offensive gegen Italien, Beilage 1