Isonzo battlefields tour

[tomisitt]

A few snaps from my recent mountain bike trip to the lower Isonzo on the Italian Front. I spent three days exploring the Carso, where >250,000 men died fighting on this barren limestone plateau, “a howling wilderness of stones as sharp as knives”. There are very few roads, so the (electric-assist) mountain bike was the perfect vehicle, covering 40+ miles a day off-road.

Austrian “trenches” at Nad Logem (Quota 212). The recent brush fires have charred most of the trees, giving the battlefield a very monochrome appearance. High explosive rounds landing amongst these rocks caused carnage.

 

A drone photo of the front lines at Hudi Log, which look like they were dug yesterday. The Hudi Log salient was a major thorn in the side of the Italians, and they lost tens of thousands of men trying to take it.

 

Italian trenches near Brestovec, dominating the Valonne (Doberdobski Dol), constructed after the 6th Isonzo (July 1916).

More photos to follow shortly…

 

 

 

[tomisitt]

Austrian machine gun position near Pečinka, very typical Carso/Karst landscape, and a hellish place in which to fight…hot in the summer, freezing in the winter, and no water sources.
 

Austrian trenches near Monfalcone. Italy’s slow advance on the Isonzo gave the Austrians time to build impressive defences.

 

More positions near Monfalcone.

[tomisitt]

Being a limestone plateau, the Carso is riddled with natural caves that both sides turned into subterranean storage facilities and secure sleeping quarters for troops. The big ones could accommodate 1500 men, or many thousands of tonnes of munitions (supplied by light railway). Some are open to the public, others need members of the local caving team to escort you. 

 

 

[Tom Kilkenny]

Excellent pics Tom and the drone photo of the front lines (can we call them trenches?) at Hudi Log is especially noteworthy.

I need to convince my wife we should make a trip down there.

Edited 26 February , 2023 by Tom Kilkenny

[tomisitt]

22 hours ago, Tom Kilkenny said:

Excellent pics Tom and the drone photo of the front lines (can we call them trenches?) at Hudi Log is especially noteworthy.

I need to convince my wife we should make a trip down there.

There's plenty of non-WW1 stuff to placate significant-others (wine-tasting, pony-trekking along the banks of the Isonzo/Soca, museums, spa treatments in an original Roman baths, etc). 

[knittinganddeath]

Will you be giving a presentation about this trip to the Western Front Association? I really enjoyed your other videos from the area!

[tomisitt]

21 hours ago, knittinganddeath said:

Will you be giving a presentation about this trip to the Western Front Association? I really enjoyed your other videos from the area!

I’m not sure. I’ll certainly incorporate it into talks I give to WFA groups.

[slick63]

Impressive pics as usual, many thanks for posting them.

[Fattyowls]

I've read about the battlefield but it's the first time I've got a sense of the landscape. I am in your debt Tom. Nice looking wheels too.

Pete.

[tomisitt]

14 hours ago, Fattyowls said:

I've read about the battlefield but it's the first time I've got a sense of the landscape. I am in your debt Tom. Nice looking wheels too.

Pete.

Cheers Pete. What's particularly interesting about the Carso at the moment is the relative lack of undergrowth....for the first time since the war you can get good views of trenches and positions without resorting to a machete. A rare opportunity.

[Fattyowls]

4 hours ago, tomisitt said:

Cheers Pete. What's particularly interesting about the Carso at the moment is the relative lack of undergrowth....for the first time since the war you can get good views of trenches and positions without resorting to a machete. A rare opportunity.

That's interesting. Verdun has always frustrated me because it has both undergrowth and overgrowth so you can't see why a position was so important. According to our resident Verdun expert the logging due to bark beetle or a similar infestation has cleared some of it but it would appear that the brush has grown back so I've missed my chance. Glad to know that you had the chance to see an important battlefield in something closer to its original state. I was also wondering if the record temperatures over the last year might set off fires in Lorraine; it made me wonder if it might result in some long buried duds going off. I wonder if that was a similar hazard to the Italian firefighters, as the area was heavily fought over for a long period.

Pete.

[tomisitt]

3 hours ago, Fattyowls said:

That's interesting. Verdun has always frustrated me because it has both undergrowth and overgrowth so you can't see why a position was so important. According to our resident Verdun expert the logging due to bark beetle or a similar infestation has cleared some of it but it would appear that the brush has grown back so I've missed my chance. Glad to know that you had the chance to see an important battlefield in something closer to its original state. I was also wondering if the record temperatures over the last year might set off fires in Lorraine; it made me wonder if it might result in some long buried duds going off. I wonder if that was a similar hazard to the Italian firefighters, as the area was heavily fought over for a long period.

Pete.

Last summer the sounds of UXOs exploding in the fires on the Carso was quite common, and a Slovenian fire crew was uncomfortably close to one that went off. Certain areas were deemed too dangerous to operate in, and the fires were contained and allowed to burn out. 
 

I too have been frustrated at Verdun by the lack of sight-lines.