View source for Battle of San Matteo

{{Other uses|Battle of San Mateo (disambiguation){{!}}Battle of San Mateo}}
{{Short description|Battle in the summer of 1918}}
{{coord|46|22|44|N|10|34|0|E|display=title}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Battle of San Matteo
| partof      = the [[Italian Front (World War I)|Italian Front]]<br>([[World War I]])
| image       = Battle.of.San.Matteo.memorial.JPG
| image_size  = 300
| caption     = Italian monument dedicated to the victims of the battle, on the way to the Gavia Pass
| date        = 13 August – 3 September 1918
| place       = [[Punta San Matteo]]
| result      = Austro-Hungarian victory
| combatant1  = {{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
| combatant2  = {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}
| commander1  = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} [[Arnaldo Berni]]{{KIA}}
| commander2  = {{flagicon|Austria-Hungary}} [[Hans Tabarelli de Fatis]]
| strength1   = 307th and 308th [[Alpini]] Companies of the Battalion ''"[[Ortler|Monte Ortler]]"''
| strength2   = 150 [[Kaiserschützen]] (3rd KuK [[Kaiserjäger]] Regiment)
| casualties1 = 10 killed
| casualties2 = 17 killed
}}
{{Campaignbox Italian Front}}
The '''Battle of San Matteo''' took place in the late summer of 1918 on the [[Punta San Matteo]] (3,678 m) during [[World War I]]. It was regarded as the highest [[battle]] in history until it was surpassed in 1999 by the [[Kargil Conflict]] at 5,600 m.

At the beginning of 1918 [[Austro-Hungarian Empire|Austro-Hungarian]] troops set up a fortified position with small [[artillery]] pieces on the top of the San Matteo Peak. The base of the peak lies at 2800m altitude and it takes a four-hour ice climb up a glacier to reach the top. From this position, they were able to shell the road to the [[Gavia Pass]] and thus harass the [[Italy|Italian]] supply convoys to the [[front line]].

On August 13, 1918, a small group of [[Alpini]] mountain troops (308th Company, Battalion ''"[[Ortler|Monte Ortler]]"'') conducted a surprise attack on the peak, successfully taking the fortified position. Half of the Austro-Hungarian soldiers were taken prisoner; the other half fled to lower positions.

The loss of the San Matteo Peak constituted a [[loss of face]] to imperial Austria, and reinforcements were immediately sent to the region while the Italians were still organizing their defence on the top of the peak.

On September 3, 1918, the Austro-Hungarian forces launched operation "Gemse" ("chamois"), an attack aimed to retake the mountain defended by now by the 307th [[Alpini]] Company, Battalion ''"[[Ortler|Monte Ortler]]"''. A large scale [[artillery]] bombardment, followed by the assault of at least 150 [[Kaiserschützen]] of the 3rd KuK [[Kaiserjäger]] Regiment stationed in [[Dimaro]], was eventually successful and the lost position was retaken. The Italians, who already considered the mountain lost, began a counter-bombardment of the fortified positions, causing many victims among both the defending Italian and the Austro-Hungarian troops.

The Austro-Hungarians lost 17 men in the battle and the Italians 10. The counterattack would be the last Austro-Hungarian victory in World War I. 

During the [[Battle of Vittorio Veneto]], the peak of San Matteo would be taken for the second and final time by the Alpini on November 3 after an intense artillery preparation.<ref> L'Esercito Italiano Nella Grande Guerra (1915-1918), Volume V, Tomo 2, Le Operazioni Del 1918, Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Ufficio Storico, Roma, 1967, p. 788 </ref> The [[Armistice of Villa Giusti]], concluded on November 3, 1918, at 15:00 at Villa Giusti (near [[Padua]]) ended the war in the mountains on November 4, 1918, at 15:00.

In the summer of 2004, the ice-encased bodies of three Kaiserschützen were found at 3400{{nbsp}}m, near the peak.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3592268.stm "WWI bodies are found on glacier"] ''BBC News'' 23 August 2004</ref><ref>Roberto Bianchin [http://www.repubblica.it/2004/h/sezioni/cronaca/soldatimummie/soldatimummie/soldatimummie.html Il ghiacciaio dei soldati-mummia Corpi intatti dopo 86 anni] ''La Republica.it'' 22 August 2004</ref>

==See also==
*[[White War]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050127095220/http://www.alpinia.net/libri/berni/pre.htm "Un Capitano sepolto nel ghiaccio"] a collection of letters written by [[Arnaldo Berni]], the Italian captain that led the conquest of [[San Matteo Peak]], was wounded by the first Austrian bombardment and finally killed in the Italian bombardment. His body was never found.

==Further reading==
* [[:de:Kaiserschützen|Kaiserschützen]] (in German)
* [[:it:Arnaldo Berni|Arnaldo Berni]] (in Italian)
* Georg Bönisch [http://www.spiegel.de/spiegelspecial/0,1518,296104,00.html "Die toten Augen im Berg"] [War in the eternal ice of the Alps] ''Der Spiegel'' 30 March 2004 (in German)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of San Matteo}}
[[Category:Battles of the Italian Front|San Matteo, Battle of]]
[[Category:Military history of Italy during World War I]]
[[Category:Battles of World War I involving Italy|San Matteo, Battle of]]
[[Category:Battles of World War I involving Austria-Hungary|San Matteo, Battle of]]
[[Category:Alpini]]
[[Category:1918 in Italy]]
[[Category:1918 in Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:August 1918 events]]
[[Category:September 1918 events]]