In the entry for the week of 10-24 June 1940, The Spitfire Site discusses Italy’s declaration of war again France and Great Britain.  On the heals of the German battlefield victories, Benito Mussolini sought territorial gains from a weakened France.  Upon entering the war, Italian forces invaded the French Alps in hopes of conquering Provence.  During the interwar years, the French constructed a series of bunkers and firing positions that overlooked the mountain passes leading through the French Alps.  Such fortifications were on par, or superior, to those built by the Austrian-Hungarians during the Great War.  Reminiscent of the failed human wave attacks at Isonzo during the First World War, Italian forces suffered many casualties from the static enemy gun emplacements.  After nine days of combat, Italian forces acquired little ground and incurred 1,247 men dead and 2,631 wounded.¹  Italian solders were saved from frigid mountain temperatures and French munitions only by the capitulation of France to the Germans.  In that sense, the Italian invasion of France was a catastrophic failure.  Consequently, it seems that as of the Second World War, Italy had not learned the costly lessons of the Isonzo battles.

6 June 1944, lest we forget

Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed the soldiers, sailors, and airmen prior to the invasion.  General Eisenhower’s speech encapsulated the significance of the D-Day landings in the war against tyranny.

In color, scenes of the D-Day landings reinforce the sacrifices made by the men and women of the free world.

Lessons of the Western Front were not reflected in the Italians attacks, with infantry assaulting fortified positions with inadequate artillery support. The Austrian-Hungarian forces had entrenched themselves on higher ground, much like their German counterparts had in France and Belgium. Even with superior numbers in both men and artillery, by 7 July the Italians had made meager gains while sustaining heavy casualties. Italy lost 300,000 men as a result of all eleven Isonzo battles, nearly half of all Italian First World War casualties. The Austrian-Hungarian military sustained 200,000 casualties on the Italian front. By wars end, both belligerents exchanged small tracks of mountainous land for large amounts of wounded and dead.

In modern times, the Isonzo battles have been overshadowed by the epic engagements that transpired on the Western Front. Austrians and Italians, however, remember the enormous human sacrifices both nations made in the name of empire.