IR 87

IR 87 was a Styrian regiment. Its command and recruitmen area was in Cilli (now Celje, Slovenia), and most of its crew were Slovenian. The regiment was originally assigned to the defense of Pola. His battalions were also stationed there. Then, in the Great War, they fought with the 28th Division, first on the Russian and then on the Italian front.

The regiment’s insignia shows a small section of the Italian battlefield that became important from the end of 1916, Mt San Gabriele. In 1916, the Italians occupied the bridgehead in front of Görz. Then the weight of their attack shifted to the left bank of the Isonzo river. The key to the defense here was the possession of this mountain north of Görz. As the badge shows, particularly fierce battles took place here from the end of 1916 to September 1917, until the 11th Battle of Isonzó. In the summer of 1917, the 87th gave their place to the regiments of the 20th Honvéd Division (I wrote about their battles on San Gabriele here).

The badge shows a panoramic view of the Isonzo valley as seen from Mt Santo. The Görz railway line ran under the Mt San Gabriele, whose bridge over the Isonzo was blown up in 1916 by the troops forced to evacuate Görz. I wrote more about the history of the bridge here.