The Battle of Caporetto, also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo or the Battle of Karfreit, took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid on the Austro-Italian front. Austro-Hungarian forces, reinforced by German units, were able to break into the Italian front line and rout the Italian army, which had practically no mobile reserves. The battle was a demonstration of the effectiveness of the use of stormtroopers and the infiltration tactics. The use of poison gas by the Germans played a key role in the collapse of the Italian Second Army.