IR 21 in the defence of Hudilog
The southern section of the Italian front stretched across the Karst plateau. The Italians fought their way here for miles and miles in successive Isonzo battles at the cost of huge losses. The front lines of the 8th 9th and 10th Battles are shown in the attached outline map. It can be seen that the line of defense was pushed back 20 kilometers inwards from the edge of the Karst. The Karst front in the north was then held by the VII. Corps, in the south the XXIII. corps was stationed. Just at the junction of the two was the village of Hudilog, which was protected by the 21st Infantry Regiment of the 10th Division. At this point, the front between the two corps was broken. To the north it was rolled back further in the 9th Isonzo Battle. Here the eastern cone of the Fajti Hrib was the main line of defense. To the south, the east bank of the Vallone Valley remained the line of defense. The 10th Battle of Isonzo aimed the southern section to approach Triest. That is, one of the main directions of the attack was the southern part of the Karst.
The 21st Infantry Regiment was commanded to the Italian front in May 1916. Here, first in the 8th Battle of Isonzo in October they were active in the 57th Division around Monte Santo. They were transferred to the Karst Plateau in November, to stiffen the 26th Division pushed back here. At that time the Italian advance was halted in the new defensive positions created at the Fajti Hrib. Between 3 and 6 November, 27 dead and 152 wounded were lost in the fighting here. The regiment was then commanded in the area of Nova Vas, where they were tasked with recapturing the 208 height. This was not achieved despite the loss of 200 people, so a new front line was formed south-east of the elevation point. In January 1917, the regiment first entered the Lukatic-Hudilog line of defense. In February, west of Jamiano, they were commanded behind the 144th high point occupied by the Italians. Here the trenches were only 15 steps apart in some places, so there was intense fighting even during the quieter period of the front line.
In May 1917, the regiment was again in the posts around Hudilog when the 10th Battle of Isonzo began. The fighting intensified from May 21st. The constant artillery fire claimed great losses. The main focus of the Italian infantry attacks was to capture the Hermada mountain above Trieste on the southern edge of the Karst plateau. Of course, the middle section also received an attack. So on May 23 and 24. On the 24th the fierce Italian attack threw the regiment out of the first line trenches and therefore the regiment retreated to reserve positions. In those two days, the regiment lost 150 dead and 400 wounded. 400 have disappeared (presumably captured). The Italian attack did not achieve its goal due to the tough resistance. Although they got close to Trieste, they only managed to occupy Mount Hermada temporarily, they could not keep it. Again, the new front line has changed only minimally. He was about 10 miles back in a short distance.
The suffering and perseverance of the 21st Regiment at Hudilog became a notable event for the Regiment. The postcard attached to the post remembered that. I will not enclose the insignia of the 21st Regiment with this entry, because I have already presented it here. Now we see the Karst front badge of the company ARKANZAS, which shows the protection of the Karst Plateau more humorously than with pathos. In the vicinity of Hudilog, there is also a monument with Czech script today.
