St Lucia

St Lucia was a small town of perhaps thousand people during the Great War located at the confluence of the Isonzo and Idria rivers. The place is surrounded by smaller mountains, so its location is very favorable from a military point of view. There was a bridge in this place already in the Middle Ages. The town’s current name also reflects this: Most na Soci: “Isonzo Bridge”.

This point was the center of the Tolmein bridgehead during the Great War. Until 1917, it was the terminus of the railway line supplying the northern Isonzo front. The defense of the bridgehead was important to the Monarchy for this reason alone. But the Italians didn’t really attack it. Rather, they tried to conquer the surrounding high mountains, especially the Krn group.

The 4/58th Battalion was a unit of the 8th Mountain Brigade. This brigade was stationed at the bridgehead in 1915-16. On his badge, in the background of the battle scene, the outline of the town can be seen to the left, you can recognize the tower of the parish church. In the foreground of today’s city view, instead of the rocky riverbed, a dammed lake is visible. The town in the background is unchanged.