Zweibund — the Dual Alliance — Germany and Austria-Hungary united, were the core of the Central Powers, and here join hands. The bars of Germany's flag border the top left, and those of the Habsburg Austrian Empire and ruling house the bottom right.
Schulter an SchulterUntrennbar vereintin Freud und in Leid!'Shoulder to shoulderInseparably united in joy and in sorrow!
"The year 1915 ended with the Third and Fourth Battles of the Isonzo, fought between 18 October and 14 December. Winter came early. Snow between 6 and 8 yards deep covered up natural caves and trenches hacked into the rough rocks with the result that troops on both sides sought 'safety' in defensive works of ice and snow. Life at the front became a living hell. Snow and ice storms as well as almost unbearable cold ravaged soldiers huddled in makeshift shelters at 2000 to 3000 yards altitude — only to be offset by warm Mediterranean winds that turned valleys and roads into raging streams and rampaging mud slides. Avalanches were a constant danger. Pack animals hauled 37 million cartridges, 706 000 artillery shells, and 76 000 hand-grenades up to the front. By the time the fighting was ended by total exhaustion on both sides, Boroević's Fifth Army had suffered 71 691 casualties, the Italians 116 000."
Italian Commander-in-Chief Luigi Cadorna had launched his Fourth Battle of the Isonzo on November 10 on the heels of the Third. Rescued by Germany on the Russian Front, and by Germany and Bulgaria on the Serbian Front, Italy held its own on the Isonzo Front, where it mostly held higher ground than the Italians.
The First World War: Germany and Austria Hungary 1914-1918 by Holger H. Herwig, page 172, copyright © 1997 Holger H. Herwig, publisher: Arnold, publication date: 1997
1915-12-14, 1915, December, Fourth Battle of the Isonzo, Fourth Isonzo, Battle of the Isonzo
