Atlas of Battles

battle, major, First World War

Second Battle of the Isonzo

Second Battle of the Isonzo was a battle fought on 18 July 1915 at Soča, in what is now Italy; it lasted 16 days. It was part of the Italian Front, which ran from 1915 to 1918. The recorded result: Italian tactical victory. Recorded strength: 240 battalions against 105 battalions.

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World War 1 - Italian Army: Second Battle of the Isonzo - 20th Cavalleggeri di Roma Cavalry Regiment position in the Carso
World War 1 - Italian Army: Second Battle of the Isonzo - 20th Cavalleggeri di Roma Cavalry Regiment position in the Carso. Italian Army Photographers 1915-1918, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought18 July 1915lasted 16 days
WhereSoča, Italy45.863N, 13.528E
OutcomeItalian tactical victory
BelligerentsKingdom of ItalyagainstAustria-Hungary
Casualties and losses41,800 lossesand46,600 losses
Part ofItalian Front1915 to 1918

Where it sits in the Italian Front

Battles of the Isonzo, 1915Battle of Monte Piana, 1915Battle of Hill 383, 1915First Battle of the Isonzo, 1915Second Battle of the Isonzo, 1915Third Battle of the Isonzo, 1915Fourth Battle of the Isonzo, 1915Fifth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Battle of Doberdò, 1916Seventh Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Eighth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Ninth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Battle of Istrana, 1917Tenth Battle of the Isonzo, 1917Battle of Pozzuolo, 1917First Battle of the Piave River, 1917Battle of Monte Grappa, 191819151918Second Battle of the Isonzo, 1915
18 placed engagements of the Italian Front in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date18 July 1915
to 3 August 1915
PlaceSoča, Italy
45.863N, 13.528E
KindBattle, First World War
Strength240 battalions105 battalions
Casualties and losses41,800 losses46,600 losses
Commanders
Second Battle of the IsonzoSecond Battle of the IsonzoBattle of DoberdòBattle of IsonzoThird Battle of the IsonzoNinth Battle of the IsonzoSixth Battle of the IsonzoBattle of IsonzoThird Battle of the IsonzoNinth Battle of the IsonzoLjubljanaVeniceFerraraMariborBolzanoKlagenfurtPulaRijeka100 km45.863N, 13.528E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Second Battle of the Isonzo
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Second Battle of the Isonzo today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-08-21. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 106 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 3 to 274 m, 271 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 81% tree cover, 14% grassland, 3% built-up.

tree cover: 81%grassland: 14%built-up: 3%tree cover 81%grassland 14%built-up 3%
west to east, 10.0 km19 to 195 mnorth to south, 10.0 km7 to 176 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1915

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: IT 2ND & 3RD ARMIESDefender: AUS 5TH ARMY
Strength200,000128,500
Casualties41,866 (20.9%)46,640 (36.3%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1036
Outcomedefender won
Duration2 days
Front width29 km29 km
Attacker advanced0 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 297), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Second Battle of the Isonzo is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q233242, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Second Battle of the Isonzo, revision 1380584609, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.