Battle of Gorizia (1916)

The Eighth Battle of the Isonzo was fought October 10–12, 1916 between Italy and Austria-Hungary.

The Seventh Battle of the Isonzo was fought from September 14–17, 1916 between the armies of the Kingdom of Italy and those of Austria-Hungary. It followed the Italian successes during the Trentino Offensive and the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo in the spring of 1916.

Gorizia (Italian pronunciation: [ɡoˈrittsja] ; Slovene: Gorica [ɡɔˈɾìːtsa], colloquially stara Gorica 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; Standard Friulian: Gurize, Southeastern Friulian: Guriza; Bisiacco: Gorisia; German: Görz [ɡœʁts] ; is a town and comune (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia and is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin town of Nova Gorica has developed on the other side of the modern-day Italy–Slovenia border. The region was subject to territorial dispute between Italy and Yugoslavia after World War II: after the new boundaries were established in 1947 and the old town was left to Italy, Nova Gorica was built on the Yugoslav side. The two towns constitute a conurbation, which also includes the Slovenian municipality of Šempeter-Vrtojba. Since May 2011, these three towns have been joined in a common trans-border metropolitan zone, administered by a joint administration board.The name of the town comes from the Slovene word gorica 'little hill', which is a common toponym in Slovene-inhabited areas.

Gorizia Centrale railway station (Italian: Stazione di Gorizia Centrale; German: Görz Südbahnhof (former name)) is the main station serving the town and comune of Gorizia, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, northeastern Italy.

The province of Gorizia (Italian: provincia di Gorizia; Slovene: Goriška pokrajina; Friulian: provincie di Gurize) was a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Initially disbanded on 30 September 2017, it was reestablished in 2019 as the regional decentralization entity of Gorizia (Italian: ente di decentramento regionale di Gorizia; Slovene: enota deželne decentralizacije Gorica; Friulian: ent di decentrament regjonâl di Gurize), and was reactivated on 1 July 2020.

Gorizia Castle is an Italian fortification dating to the 11th century on the hill which dominates the city of Gorizia, Italy, from which it takes its name. The medieval House of Gorizia was named after the castle.

The First Battle of the Isonzo was fought between the armies of Italy and Austria-Hungary on the northeastern Italian Front in World War I, between 23 June and 7 July 1915. The aim of the Italian Army was to drive the Austrians away from its defensive positions along the Isonzo ( Soča) river and on the nearby mountains and hopefully capture the port of Trieste. Although the Italians enjoyed a 2:1 numeric superiority, their offensive failed because the Italian commander, Luigi Cadorna, employed frontal assaults after impressive (but short) artillery barrages. The Austro-Hungarians had the advantage of fighting from uphill positions barricaded with barbed wire which were able to easily resist the Italian assault. The Italians had some early successes. They partially took Monte Nero (Monte Krn), took Monte Colowrat, and captured the heights around Plezzo. However, they were unable to dislodge the Austro-Hungarian troops from the high ground between Tolmino and the Isonzo, which would later form a launching off point for the Caporetto Offensive. The heaviest fighting occurred around Gorizia. In addition to the natural defenses of the river and mountains, bastions were created at Oslavia and Podgora. The fighting at Gorizia consisted of street-by-street urban combat interspersed with artillery fire. Italian troops, such as the Italian Re and Casale Brigades, were able to advance as far as the suburbs but could get no further and were driven back. They made small footholds at Sagrado and Redipuglia on the Karst Plateau south of Gorizia but were unable to do much else. On the Austrian-Hungarian side two commanders distinguished themselves: Major General Géza Lukachich von Somorja, commander of the 5th Mountain Brigade, who retook Redipuglia, and Major General Novak von Arienti who retook Hill 383 (overlooking Plave) with his 1st Mountain Brigade. Early in July the commander of the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army, General Svetozar Boroević, received two reinforcement divisions, which put an end to the Italian efforts at breaking through the Austro-Hungarian lines. The final Italian gains were minimal: in the northern sector, they conquered the heights over Bovec (Mount Kanin); in the southern sector, they conquered the westernmost ridges of the Karst Plateau near Fogliano Redipuglia and Monfalcone.

Šempeter pri Gorici (pronounced [ʃɛmˈpeːtəɾ pɾi ɡɔˈɾiːtsi] or [ʃəmˈpeːtəɾ pɾi ɡɔˈɾiːtsi]; Italian: San Pietro di Gorizia. Also Localy known as simply just Šempeter) is a town and the administrative centre of the Municipality of Šempeter-Vrtojba in the Slovene Littoral region of Slovenia. There is a border crossing into the Italian town of Gorizia. Through most of its history, it was linked to the town of Gorizia (Slovene: Gorica), which is now in Italy, whence also its name, literally meaning 'St. Peter near Gorizia'. Since 1947, it has been gravitating towards the newly established town of Nova Gorica, with which it forms a continuous conurbation.

Pristava (pronounced [pɾiˈstaːʋa]; Italian: Prestava, Friulian: Rafût, German: Prestau), also known locally as Rafut (pronounced [ɾaˈfuːt]), is one of the four suburbs of the town of Nova Gorica in the Gorizia region of western Slovenia (the other three are Solkan, Rožna Dolina, and Kromberk).Between the late 18th century and 1947, it used to be a suburb of the town of Gorizia (now in Italy). When the city was partitioned in 1947, most of the city center remained in Italy, while its eastern suburbs were annexed to Yugoslavia. Part of Pristava (Rafut) remained in Italy, and while part of it became part of Slovenia. In some cases, the border was drawn literally between individual houses. Until Slovenia's entry into the Schengen zone in 2007, a local border pass functioned in Pristava.The Kostanjevica Monastery, in which Charles X of France is buried, is located on a hill above the settlement.

Rožna Dolina (pronounced [ˈɾoːʒna dɔˈliːna]; Italian: Valdirose, German: Rosenthal) is one of the four suburbs of the town of Nova Gorica in western Slovenia (the others being Solkan, Kromberk, and Pristava). It is on the border with Italy. Before 1947, it used to be a suburb of the town of Gorizia, which was left to Italy in the Paris Peace Conference of February 1947. It was the site of one of the major engagements in the Ten-Day War for the independence of Slovenia in June 1991. The University of Nova Gorica is located in Rožna Dolina.The largest Jewish cemetery in Slovenia and one of the largest in the Alpe-Adria region is located in Rožna Dolina. Among other graves, it contains the tomb of the Italian philosopher Carlo Michelstaedter. Lucy Christalnigg, first victim on the Isonzo Front, was a resident of Rožna Dolina. She was on her way back to Rožna Dolina in August 1914, when she was shot by two Landsturm guards at a roadblock.

The University of Nova Gorica, UNG (Slovene: Univerza v Novi Gorici), is the fourth university in Slovenia. It is located in the towns of Nova Gorica, Vipava, and Ajdovščina.

Podgora, also known in Italian as Monte Calvario, is a hill on the Karst plateau west of Gorizia, on the right bank of the Isonzo, with an elevation of 241 meters above sea level. Due to its commanding position over the Isonzo valley and the Gorizia plain, it was the theatre of bitter fighting during the First World War, from June 1915 to August 1916.Along with Sabotin and San Michele, Podgora was one of the main bulwarks of the Austro-Hungarian defense of Gorizia during the early battles of the Isonzo, being heavily fortified with multiple orders of trenches, barbed wire and machine-gun posts. The Podgora was repeatedly attacked by Italian troops in June 1915, before and during the First Battle of the Isonzo, without success, and in July, before and during the Second Battle of the Isonzo, when a regiment of Carabinieri managed to make some gains. Further advance occurred in October 1915, during the Third Battle of the Isonzo, and in November, during the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo. The summit was finally captured by the "Casale" Infantry Brigade on 8 August 1916, during the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo; Gorizia fell shortly thereafter.