| Conflict: | Seventh Battle of the Isonzo |
| Partof: | the Italian Front (First World War) |
| Date: | 14 – 17 September 1916 |
| Place: | Gorizia, Italy |
| Territory: | Soča River Valley, Slovenia |
| Result: | Italian tactical victory |
| Commander1: | Luigi Cadorna (Chief of Staff of the Italian Army) Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia (Commander of Third Army) |
| Commander2: | Archduke Friedrich (Supreme Commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army) Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf (Chief of the General Staff) Svetozar Boroević von Bojna (Commander of Fifth Army) |
| Strength1: | 240 battalions 1,150 artillery pieces |
| Strength2: | 150 battalions 770 artillery pieces |
| Casualties1: | 17,000–21,000 |
| Casualties2: | 20,000[1] |
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.[2]
A short, sharp encounter fought from 14 to 17 September 1916, the Seventh Battle of the Isonzo saw Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna shift his focus from broad-based diversionary attacks to tightly focused initiatives directed at single targets.[3] This latest Isonzo battle saw the Italian Third Army, with a large amount of artillery, attack on the Carso toward Nova Vas. Following a successful first day, Nova Vas was assaulted on the second day with substantial artillery bombardments on German bunkers. Within minutes of the Italians ceasing fire, the Austro-Hungarian forces surrendered.[4]
Nevertheless, Cadorna's continued offensives along the Soča (Isonzo) did succeed in wearing away at Austro-Hungarian resources, both in terms of manpower and in crucial artillery availability. As each battle proceeded the Italians' war of attrition seemed ever more likely to wear the Austro-Hungarians into defeat, short of assistance from their German allies.
The Eighth Battle of the Isonzo followed on 10 October 1916.[5]