Company avalanche

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The Lawine company (also known as the Tonale Offensive ) was a renewed attempt by Austria-Hungary in 1918 to influence the war in its favor.

War planning

The main attack was to be carried out on June 13, 1918 over the Tonale Pass on the one hand in the direction of Edolo (down the Oligio to the south) and on the other hand in the direction of Bormio (to the north). It was, this is a relief action for a few days later in Veneto started Second Piaveschlacht .

course

Approach route of the Brigade Ellison von Carisolo through the Val di Genova

The units deployed by the Austro-Hungarian armed forces for the Lawine company belonged to the 10th Army and consisted of the 1st Infantry Troop Division on the left wing (after Edolo ) and the 22nd Rifle Division (until 1917 the 22nd Landwehr Infantry Division) on the right wing (after Bormio ). The company was in command of Lieutenant Field Marshal Metzger . However, the Italian leadership had seen through the intentions of the Austrians and, with forces of the 5th Infantry Division, had already conquered the Cima di Presena and the Monticello ridge, which gave the Italians deep insights into the Val di Sole and into the Austrian deployment area. On June 12, the 163rd Brigade ( Colonel Ellison) was supposed to secure the left flank and to regain Monticello (2837 m), Castellacio (3,020 m) and Cima di Presena (3,082 m) from the Italians south of the Tonale. The 1st and 2nd Austro-Hungarian infantry brigades were to attack one after the other over the top of the pass, which was only 2 km wide. North of the top of the pass, the high mountain companies No. 21 and No. 30 under Captain Kristof were set to occupy the mountain ridges southwards towards Tonale from Punta di Albiolo (2,970 m). The group of Lieutenant Colonel Taxis was supposed to secure the Valle di Viso from the Montozzoscharte (Forcellina di Montozzo 2,613 m), if possible advance through the adjacent Valle di Pezzo to Ponte di Legno and meet the attacking troops.

The attack surface of the Brigade Ellison from Val di Genova against the Cima di Presena (left)
in the background the Cima Presanella (3558 m)

In the meantime, however, the Italian leadership had brought in new forces to secure and expand the conquests of May. The advance attack of the Ellison Brigade had collapsed immediately due to the bad weather, the danger of avalanches and the men who were no longer capable of such feats. The command of the 1st Infantry Troop Division then only wanted to try to force a breakthrough at the top of the pass. For this purpose, the 2nd Brigade in the south and the 1st Brigade in the north were deployed side by side.

Monticello ridge with Monticello di Mezzo (seen from the east).
Conquered by Lt. Scheider and the HgbKp 17

The well-entrenched Italians inflicted heavy losses on the attackers with massed artillery and rifle fire. Only the Hungarian Infantry Regiment "Ritter von Frank" No. 61 from Temesvár , Crkvice and Debrezin of the 1st Brigade managed to break into the Italian positions, while the sister regiment , the Hungarian Infantry Regiment "Freiherr von Klobucar" No. 5 from Eperies , Rogatica (Bosnia), Szatmárnémeti and Kisszeben were already lying before the first barbed wire entanglement. The 2nd Infantry Brigade made no progress either. Only the Ellison Brigade had made modest progress, as only the high mountain company No. 17 under its leader, Lieutenant Peter Scheider from Kaiserschützen Regiment III , recorded a remarkable success when they were able to conquer and maintain the Monticello ridge in a stroke of a hand. For this, Lieutenant Scheider received the highest military award of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order .

Although the hopelessness of the situation was clearly visible, Field Marshal Lieutenant Metzger intended to carry out another attack with the 22nd Rifle Division the next day. However, AOK 10 disagreed and prohibited all further attacks. The Lawine company failed on the first day. No conclusions were drawn for the Piave offensive, which began two days later and was equally unsuccessful in the end.

swell

  • Austrian State Archives / Vienna War Archives

Footnotes

  1. ↑ However, writing of the kuk Militäradministratur to 1918 since the spelling reform of 1996 as Field Marshal Lieutenant referred

literature

  • Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito - Ufficio Storico (ed.): L'Esercito Italiano nella Grande Guerra (1915-1918). Vol. V - Tomo 1 ° (narrazione): Le operazioni del 1918. Gli avvenimenti dal Gennaio al Giugno. Roma 1980.
  • Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito - Ufficio Storico (ed.): L'Esercito Italiano nella Grande Guerra (1915-1918). Vol. V - Tomo 1 bis (documenti): Le operazioni del 1918. Gli avvenimenti dal Gennaio al Giugno. Roma 1980.
  • Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito - Ufficio Storico (ed.): L'Esercito Italiano nella Grande Guerra (1915-1918). Vol. V - Tomo 1 ter (carte e schizzi): Le operazioni del 1918. Gli avvenimenti dal Gennaio al Giugno. Roma 1980.
  • Austrian Federal Ministry for National Defense / War Archives (Ed.): Austria-Hungary's Last War 1914–1918. Seventh volume: The war year 1918. Verlag der Militärwissenschaftlichen Mitteilungen, Vienna 1938.
  • Heinz von Lichem : The lonely war. First complete documentation of the mountain war 1915–1918 from the Julian Alps to the Stilfser Joch. 5th edition. Athesia, Bozen 1990, ISBN 88-7014-174-8 .

Coordinates: 46 ° 15 ′ 41.2 "  N , 10 ° 35 ′ 37.5"  E