There are several open-air museums relating to the ghastly events of World War 1 along the Soca-Isonzo River valley. Six are found in the upper reaches from Bovec in the north to Tolmin in the south. Here, we concentrate on those found on three hillocks – one being Mengore – across the river from Tolmin on the west side which made up the Tolmin Bridgehead.
KEEP YOU FRIENDS CLOSE AND YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER
Austria-Hungary and Italy before World War 1 found themselves allied with Germany comprising the Triple Powers Alliance. The two countries were far from natural allies. Many in both countries viewed each other with outright suspicion. The Empire still remembered the lost territories due to the Risorgimiento of the mid-19th century. The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia expanded into the new Kingdom of Italy. Many Italians still looked to territories yet part of the Empire for redeemption as integral parts of a truer version of Italia. Italia irredenta!
Distrust of France originally brought Italy and Germany together. Austria-Hungary found itself added to the mix by Germany. She sought to mollify the effects of the 1866 Austro-Prussian War. As allies, war plans even included shifting an Italian corps north to the upper Rhine. This to help Germany against potential French aggression. Those Italians would traverse through Austrian Tyrolia.
Plans are plans. Unlike the Germans own Schlieffen-versions of actions against France, for Italy, they were not written in stone. At least, by her politicians. War erupted a month after the murder of Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand 28 June 1914. Italy declared neutrality seeing the war as aggressive in nature. The Triple Power Alliance was defensive by nature. And so, it began with Italy on the sidelines and Austria-Hungary, right in the middle of a two-front war.
THE GREAT WAR BEGINS
The summer of 1914 – and the following winter – was a horrific time for the armies of Austria-Hungary. Much of the regular army of the Empire was destroyed in the fighting especially on the vast Russian fronts. Meanwhile, Italian politicians worked to get the best territorial deal from the two alliances – Triple versus Entente. All the while, Hapsburg armies did their best impression of self-immolation.
The two allies never trusted each other. A series of – for the time – modern forts went up along the Austrian side of the border during the early 19th century, especially in the South Tyrol. The Austrian forts became matched by Italy. In the eastern part of the shared border, not as much work was accomplished before war fell upon the Empire. One of the few areas where fortification did take place was on a series of three small hills on the west side of the Soča-Isonzo River.
THE BRIDGEHEAD TAKES SHAPE
The three hills – Mengore-Cvetje-Bučenica (452, 510 and 590 meters high) lie directly south of the town of Tolmin. The hills protected the rail center of Santa Lucia – Most na Soči today – lying to the east. The rail line – Neue Alpenbahnen – ran south to Gorce and Trieste. Turning here to the east, the line connected to the interior of the Empire through the Bohinj Tunnel. By maintaining positions on the west side of the river, the Austrians a very important supply center for the region. As such, the bridgehead became an important target for the Italians. They were trying to flank the Austrians out of their positions in the mountains north of Tolmin. Taking the railhead would also potentially threaten the entire Austrian line south to Trieste.
Mengore Hill was the site of a pilgrimage church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The church levelled during the war but rebuilt since the end of World War 2. There is a small version of the shelter found atop Triglav dedicated to the priest Jakob Aljaž outside the church. Towering above to the west is the ridgeline known as the Kolovrat. Here the Italians set up their artillery bases to blast away at the fortifications here.
WAR COMES TO THE BRIDGEHEAD
Following the Italian capture of Kobarid on the first day of the war and the capture of Krn and Batognica high above, the bridgehead found itself attacked strongly by the Italians in their first offensives of the war on 22 June – 7 July. Of the attacks, only one battalion of the 66th Regiment Brigada Valtellina and a few men from the Brigada Bergamo made slight headway. They captured a section of the frontline trenches on the northwest side of Mengore. (There were three trench lines of defenses on the hill.) The strong Austrian positions held out to the frustration of Italian commanders.
On 12 August, following a strong artillery barrage delivered from newly placed guns high above on the Kolovrat, the Italians attacked anew. Men from the 25th Regiment Brigada Bergamo climbed as high as 588 meters on the south summit of Cvetje (Santa Lucia) but never cleared the summit. Their efforts left casualties of almost 1,700 men.
tRY, TRY AGAIN?
Another try came a few weeks later, 9 September with Brigada Valtellina and help from the Alpini battalions Susa and Exilles managed to reach the church on Mengore before pushed back in Austrian counterattacks. As part of the Third Battle of the Isonzo attacks launched once more 21-31 October. They were beaten off with over 4,000 more casualties coming from Brigadas Bergamo and Valtellina and the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment. A last attack launched as part of the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo 10 November – 2 December. A few meters of trench won with ever expanding casualty lists.
After the battles of 1915, the Italian attentions turned elsewhere, and conditions stabilized here in front of the bridgehead.
PAYBACK
Finally, at the end of October 1917, the Italians paid the price for not reducing the position. From here in the opening day of the Caporetto Offensive, also known as the Twelfth Isonzo Offensive – 24 October – German troops from the 12th Division broke through the Italian lines in the river valley to the north. Meanwhile, the men of the Alpine Corps – 1st and 2nd Bavarian Jäger Regiments and the Württemburg Mountain Battalion – erupted up the slopes of the Kolovrat. Further south, Austrian and German divisions streamed over Italian positions in the hills south of the Kolovrat.
Victory was added to by the Austrian 50th Division attacking down the steep and bloody slopes of Mrzli vrh helping the German 12th Division push farther in the afternoon to capture Kobarid-Caporetto. This made the situation for the Italians dire. The better part of two divisions still found themselves cut off high on the slopes of Krn and Batognica. The breakthrough here and to the north at Bovec led to catastrophic defeat moving the frontline 100 miles to the west on the Piave River and Monte Grappa.
VISITING MENGORE OPEN-AIR MUSEUM
ARTILLERY CAVERNS
Today, there are trails going to the top of all three hills. Bučenica gives a great view over Tolmin and the bloody battlegrounds of Mrzl vrh high above to the north. Other ruins on Cvetje are discoverable inside the regrown forests. But it is on Mengore the easiest war ruins can be explored, all a part of an open-air museum.
The Path of Peace organization has produced an overview of the actions here from 1915 to 1917, but it is only written in Slovene.
From a parking lot on the south side of the hill, a trail loop goes up a cart track through the woods gaining ground on a couple gentle hairpin turns. You come to a trail junction where a series of caves await. The caves housed artillery batteries of different platoons – Zug – as well as a cave where a searchlight unit – Schweinwerfer No. 33 – operated 60 cm searchlights out of. The base still in place with the ability to lift the light back into the cave in case of Italian attacks.
PILGIMMAGE CHURCH RESURRECTED
Continue off the main trail and walk up to the church atop Mengore past a group of ruined old barracks where amidst the vegetation – walkways, tunnels and shelters not yet restored. The church atop the hill dates to about 1500. Following the war, the church rebuilt in 1928. Views into the valley behind the bridgehead center on the village of Volče. The peaks of the Kolovrat rise 900 meters above from where Italian artillery belched at the Austrian positions.
CROATIAN REGIMENT ATOP MENGORE
Continue past the church and descend to the little saddle between Mengore and the little knob of Kuk to the north. A couple of hairpin turns takes you over Kuk to an observation post. Nearby is a trench leading to a cave which housed men of the 22nd Feldjäger Company 4th Battalion 53rd Regiment. The inscription reads “Špilja naših hrabrih junaka” – Cave of our valiant heroes. The company hailed from Zagreb before the war. A little further, a side path leads to a monument which used to stand next to a war time Austrian cemetery. The bodies removed to nearby military cemetery at Modrejce on the east edge of Bučenica.
Next is the former command post for the 4th Battalion of the 53rd KuK (Imperial and Royal – Kaiserliche und Königliche) Regiment. This battalion is the only one of the regiment to stay in the west to fight. The other battalions went to the Russian front. Continuing, the path circles back onto the east side – protected from Italian fire – of Mengore with more caves and foundations of former shelters among the regrown forest.
Finally, a cave invites you to enter and explore overlain with the entrance inscription remembering the efforts of the 10th Construction Company (Baukompagnie) of the 19th Landwehr Regiment – a reserve unit originally stationed in Lemberg-Lv’iv. Finally, you return to the artillery and searchlight positions to descend to the parking lot.
ONWARD
The road opposite the one to the parking lot takes you up to Cvetje. Or get back to where you turned off into the parking lot and turn left to Modrejce to look at the post-1917 cemetery. You can make a looping return to Mengore along the ridge of Bučenica.
As fascinating as the sites of the open-air museum are, a knowledge of the events which transpired helps bring them to life among the scenes of rustic nature trying hard to hide and reclaim the calamities of over a hundred years ago.