The Battle of Pozzuolo del Friuli was fought during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on 30 October 1917, between the Italian II Cavalry Brigade and two infantry battalions of the Infantry Brigade "Bergamo", against two divisions of the

German Imperial Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the ...

and one division of the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

at Pozzuolo del Friuli.

Prelude

On 24 October 1917 Austro-Hungarian forces, reinforced by German units, commenced the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...

. German forces were able to break into the Italian front line at

Caporetto Kobarid (; it, Caporetto, fur, Cjaurêt, german: Karfreit) is a settlement in Slovenia, the administrative centre of the Municipality of Kobarid. Kobarid is known for the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Er ...

and rout the Italian forces opposing them. The breakthrough forced the Italian 3rd Army to retreat westwards. However with the Central Power forces advancing rapidly towards the

Venetian Plain The Venetian Plain, or Venetian-Friulian Plain ( it, Pianura Veneta or ) is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately from the River Adige to the River Isonzo, in a southwest-to-northeast direction, including almost all the ...

the 3rd Army was in danger of being encircled. Therefore, the II Cavalry Brigade under Brigadier General Emo Capodilista and the II/25th Battalion and III/26th Battalion of the Infantry Brigade "Bergamo" under Colonel Piero Balbi were sent to Pozzuolo del Friuli and ordered to delay the central powers long enough for the 3rd Army to escape across the

Tagliamento The Tagliamento () is a braided river in north-east Italy, flowing from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea at a point between Trieste and Venice. The Tagliamento river is considered as the last morphologically intact river in the Alps. (Its c ...

river over the bridges at

Codroipo Codroipo ( fur, Codroip) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southwest of Udine. Codroipo borders the following municipalities: Basiliano, Bertiolo, Camino a ...

and at Latisana. The II Cavalry Brigade consisted of the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th) and

Regiment "Lancieri di Novara" (5th) The Regiment "Lancieri di Novara" (5th) ( it, Reggimento "Lancieri di Novara" (5°) - " Lancers of Novara") is a cavalry unit of the Italian Army based in Codroipo in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The regiment is the reconnaissance unit of the 132nd Arm ...

Battle

The cavalry units arrived in Pozzuolo del Friuli in the late afternoon of 29 October, while the "Bergamo" units arrived after a forced march at noon on 30 October 1917. The two commanders decided that one "Bergamo" battalion would defend Pozzuolo, while the "Lancieri di Novara" would cover the right and the "Genova Cavalleria" the left flank of the village. The remaining "Bergamo" battalion was sent to the north-west to block the road to

. A roll call on the morning of the 30 October showed that the cavalry brigade consisted of only 968 men. All morning patrols of the cavalry regiments had encountered advance parties of the German 117th Infantry Division and by 14h the four Italian battalions were under full attack by three enemy divisions: the "Bergamo" battalion on the road to Codroipo was attacked by the German 5th Infantry Division, while the "Genova Cavalleria" was attacked by the German 117th Infantry, while the Austrian-Hungarian 60th Infantry Division advanced on the village of Pozzuolo del Friuli. With the "Genova Cavalleria" under heavy attack the lancers of the "Lancieri di Novara" began to harass the left flank of the enemy in repeated

cavalry charge A charge is an offensive maneuver in battle in which combatants advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in a decisive close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decis ...

s. By 17:30 the cavalry brigade had suffered almost 400 dead and the enemy had entered the village of Pozzuolo. Around 18h General Capodilista ordered his troops to disengage and retreat. Colonel Balbi and the "Bergamo" troops remained in Pozzuolo to cover the retreat. Fifteen minutes later the remnants of the II Cavalry Brigade rode in formation south towards Santa Maria di Sclaunicco. The last unit to leave Pozzuolo was the 4th Squadron of the "Genova Cavalleria", which executed a last suicidal charge against the enemy to cover the other units' escape. By nightfall the brigade had lost 467 of its 968 men, while the "Bergamo" units were completely destroyed. After the battle the standards of the two cavalry regiments were awarded a

Silver Medal of Military Valour The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...

, while the brigade's commander general Emo Capodilista was promoted to Major General and awarded the

Military Order of Savoy The Military Order of Savoy was a military honorary order of the Kingdom of Sardinia first, and of the Kingdom of Italy later. Following the abolition of the Italian monarchy, the order became the Military Order of Italy. History The origin o ...

. In total 176 medals and awards were given to the men of the "Bergamo" and the cavalry brigade, among those two Gold Medals of Military Valour in memoriam: one to the commander of the Machine Gunners Squadron of the "Genova Cavalleria" Lieutenant Carlo Castelnuovo delle Lanze, and the other to the commander of the 4th Squadron of the "Genova Cavalleria" Captain Ettore Laiolo, who had perished in his squadron's suicidal last charge.

Aftermath

The Italian victory at the Battle of Pozzuolo del Friuli gave the 3rd Army enough time to cross the Tagliamento river. After the army had retreated behind the Piave river the II Cavalry Brigade was brought back to full strength and fought in 1918 in the final battles of the war on the Italian front: the

Battle of the Piave River The Second Battle of the Piave River, fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. Though the battle proved to be a decisive blow to the Austro-Hungaria ...

in June 1918 and the

Battle of Vittorio Veneto The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troop ...

in October 1918.

References

* Mario Silvestri, Caporetto, una battaglia e un enigma, Mondadori, 1984, * Italian Defence Forum, accessible at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pozzuolo Battles of the Italian Front October 1917 events

Prelude

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References