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)

| 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 = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy|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 "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 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 Italian supply convoys to the front line.

On August 13, 1918, a small group of Alpini mountain troops (308th Company, Battalion "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 "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. 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 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.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3592268.stm "WWI bodies are found on glacier"] BBC News 23 August 2004Roberto 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