The first two battles of the Isonzo did not achieve the results that were expected and had revealed the absolute lack of preparations by the Italian army to take part in a war based on positional warfare and that would not last a short time. After a few months the optimistic predictions that were made at the end of spring were replaced by preoccupation and frustration at not having reached practically any of the objectives that had been established earlier.
Cadorna therefore decided to change his tactics and chose to set his sights on Gorizia as he momentarily abandoned the push towards Trieste. The city on the river Isonzo, called "the Nice of the Adriatic" in the last decades of the 19th century, seemed an objective within the reach of the Italian army: if the advance would continue northwards towards Tolmino and southwards on Mount San Michele, Gorizia would be surrounded and the Hungarian and Dalmatian troops inside the city would have no other option but to surrender.
The Third Battle of the Isonzo started on 18th October 1915 with more than 1,300 cannons that began to bomb the Austro-Hungarian lines on a front that was some 50 kms wide, from the Julian Prealps to Monfacone. The first attacks on Mount Mrzli and on San Michele gave positive results but after a few hours the very strong counterattacks forced the Italian soldiers to retreat to their starting positions. The number of casualties assumed that of a tragedy: in ten days losses amounted to 67,000 men and some brigades were practically wiped out (on Mount San Michele the Catanzaro Battalion lost almost 3,000 soldiers).
The same situation occurred on Mount Calvario, on Mount Sabotino and on Height 121 of Monfalcone where all the attempts to conquer the Austro-Hungarian trenches failed.
The only small positive result which, too, came at great human cost was the conquest of the trenches onMount Sei Busi. On 23rd October, after three days of battle, the Siena Battalion succeeded in gaining possession of the important line of fortifications on the mountain. Exhausted, the military formation was replaced by a regiment of bersaglieri soldiers and by the Sassari Battalion who succeeded in resisting the usual counterattack by the enemy that was suspended on 04th November.
