Page 117 - Il 1917 l'anno della svolta - Atti 25-26 ottobre 2017

II SeSSIone - Il 1917. ASpettI mIlItArI 117

in the night of the 28th of October, the extensively destroyed Gorizia was recon-
57
quered further in the south.
nd
At this point, about 200,000 prisoners had already been brought in. The 2
Italian army was largely shattered and the 3 Italian army endeavoured to reach
rd
the Tagliamento, leaving behind artillery and equipment. Subsequently, on the
28 of October, the k.u.k. 10 Army belonging to the Army Group Conrad, could
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also successfully join the offensive on the Carinthian Front. Through this, they
succeeded in exiting the mountains and reaching the Friulian Plain. The entire
Italian forces between the Carnic Crest and Adria partially found themselves in a
panicked retreat. The deployment of the Italian reserves was uncoordinated and
therefore they often ran straight into the spearheads due to the chaotic circum-
stances. Still others could not move forwards due to the completely congested
roads.
With this, the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the “Breakthrough at Bovec-Tol-
min” or “Caporetto” was de facto ended in the official military historiography.
The battles to reach the Tagliamento and the Piave, respectively, were merely
presented as “pursuit battles” in the military historiography, though they were no
less dramatic. Having reaching the Tagliamento in sight, the German Supreme
Army Command’s predefined operational goal in regards to the support which
was granted through German troops was reached, and a fundamental decision
concerning further procedures was necessary. Here, different approaches devel-
oped between the k.u.k. Armeeoberkommando and the Command of the South-
western front. Archduke Eugene did not under any circumstances want to let the
possibility of a further shattering of the Italian Army, either west or east of the
Tagliamento, slip away unexploited. In this, he found himself in accord with the
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subordinated commands, particularly the German 14 Army. On the other hand,
German requests for compensation in the form of a large offensive in the west,
which was planned for the spring, appeared to have been made possible by the
obvious military success. The deployment of k.u.k. troops on the west front ap-
peared to have been daunting for both Emperor Karl, because of the undeniably
worsening relationship with France, as well as for Arz von Straußenburg from
a military respect. Ultimately, the approval for the continuation of the offen-
sive fell after the already completed military manoeuvres. The Command of the
Southwestern front had the eastern shore of the Tagliamento reinforced and tried
to build a bridgehead on the western shore even before approval from the k.u.k.
Armeeoberkommando. At this point, chaotic scenes took place on the eastern
shore of the Tagliamento, especially when numerous wooden bridges and piers
were torn down by flooding and thousands of Italians were unable to retreat. At
the remaining crossing points, drumhead trials were held to filter out alleged de-

57 Armeeoberkommando, Isonzoschlacht, S. 11-13