The History Book Club discussion

This thread is dedicated to the discussion of the Italian Front of World War I.

Please use this thread to discuss all aspects of this offensive, all battles, etc.

One good book that discusses this offensive and front is:

by John Keegan

I have mentioned the two books below in a number of other threads but if anyone is really interested in reading further about the Italian Front during WW1 I would highly recommend these two titles. The first book is by far one of the best books covering the Italian Front during WW1.

by John R. Schindler
Publisher blurb:
This title is an account of the struggle between the Austrian and Italian armies along the Isonzo River during WWI. The battles of Isonzo were ferocious and caused over 1.75 million casualties. Schindler contends that the Habsburg Empire lost the war for military and economic reasons.

by Mark Thompson
Publisher blurb:
The Western Front dominates our memories of the First World War. Yet a million and half men died in North East Italy in a war that need never have happened, when Italy declared war on the Habsburg Empire in May 1915. Led by General Luigi Cadorna, the most ruthless of all the Great War commanders, waves of Italian conscripts were sent charging up the limestone hills north of Trieste to be massacred by troops fighting to save their homelands. This is a great, tragic military history of a war that gave birth to fascism. Mussolini fought in these trenches, but so did many of the greatest modernist writers in Italian and German - Ungaretti, Gadda, Musil, Hemingway. It is through these accounts that Mark Thompson, with great skill and empathy, brings to life this forgotten conflict.

The famous Isonzo River I have been reading about. Yes, the monarchies did not fare well with World War I.

Thank you Aussie Rick for both adds. It is hard to fathom a million and a half men dying in North East Italy!

It is strange isn't it, it does appear to be a forgotten conflict of WW1 and I found the book by John Schindler such an eye-opener and a great account of the Italian Front. Well worth the effort to read but I think its a pretty expensive book.

The Italians were often ridiculed and yet a million and a half men died in North East Italy during the war; what a tragedy and such a shame that because of bias or whatever the reason they were not given their due. So awful for so many...Gallipoli, Isonzo, Verdun, Somme, all had their horrible story and too many deaths.

Why is the book so expensive?

Hi Bentley, all those places, the names ring with a resonance to our ears don't they? I think the cost is due to the publisher, a very specialist publishing house whose titles are always very pricey. I think its also now out of print.

Those names do now for sure. Out of print and a specialist publishing house would raise prices for sure.

This is of course the thread where you can discuss the Battle of the Isonzo (which is really a series of 12 battles!!!).

"Battles of the Isonzo" were a series of 12 battles between the Austria-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I. They were fought along the Isonzo River on the eastern sector of the Italian Front between June 1915 and November 1917. Most of the battles were fought on the territory of modern Slovenia, and the remainder in Italy.

During the First World War, the Isonzo valley was part of the Alpine sector of the Italian Front, along which the armies of Italy and Austria-Hungary clashed.

It is known as the Soška fronta in Slovene and is usually translated as the Isonzo Front by historians.

Source: Wikipedia

This source has links to write-ups on all twelve battles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_...

[image error]

Italian troops entrenched along the Isonzo river, World War I.

Date:

circa. 1915 - 1918

Here are another two books covering different aspects of the fighting on the Italian Front during WW1:

by John Wilks
Publishers blurb:
Rommel was but a lieutenant in 1917, assigned to one of the German mountain units sent to Italy for the new offensive. As the German and Austrian troops launched their surprise attack at Caporetto, Rommel often found himself in command of many times the number of troops normally led by one of his rank. Rommel led mountain infantry and machine-gunners in many daring advances over some of the world's roughest terrain, on one occasion taking 9,000 prisoners in a single day. Rommel came away from the campaign with Germany's most coveted decoration, and had laid the foundation of a legend.

by J Wilks
Publishers blurb:
After the Italian defeat at Caporetto, a British Expeditionary Force under General Plumer was despatched from France. This account describes the campaign which ended after the victory at Vittorio Veneto over the Austrians.

Here is a new book covering Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign of WW1:


by John Macdonald
Description:
From May 1915 to October 1917 the armies of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian empire were locked into a series of twelve battles along the River Isonzo, a sixty-mile front from the Alps to the Adriatic. The campaign was fought in the most appalling terrain for combat, with horrendous casualties on both sides, often exceeding those of the more famous battles of the Great War. The twelfth and final battle, Caporetto, resulted in a devastating defeat for Italy and led to one of the greatest breakthroughs achieved during the entire conflict. Yet this massive struggle is too often neglected in histories of the war which focus on the fighting on the Western and Eastern Fronts. John Macdonald, in this accessible and highly illustrated account, aims to set the record straight. His description of the Isonzo battles, of the battlefields and of the atrocious conditions in which the soldiers lived and fought is supported by a graphic selection of original photographs that record the terrible reality of the conflict. The impact of the intervention of British, French and German troops is covered, as are the parts played by famous individuals - among them Rommel, Mussolini, Badoglio and Cadorna, the notorious Italian commander in chief. But it is the front-line experience of the common soldiers on both sides that is most powerfully portrayed. Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign gives a fascinating insight into a conflict that was a pivotal moment in the history of Italy, Austria and the Balkans.

American Lions: The 332nd Infantry Regiment in Italy in World War I

by Robert J. Dalessandro (no photo)

Synopsis:
Told here is the riveting story of the 332nd U.S. Infantry Regiment in the Army in World War I. As Pershing's 'Propaganda Regiment' they were the only American regiment assigned to Italy, where they formed a phantom army that helped defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The 332nd fought in the Vittorio-Veneto Campaign and following the armistice, served in the occupation of Austria, Dalmatia, and Montenegro.

The Forgotten Front: The British Campaign in Italy 1917-18

by George H. Cassar (no photo)

Synopsis:
The importance of the Italian front in the First World War is often overlooked. Nor is it realised that British troops fought in Italy. The Forgotten Front demonstrates Italy's vital contribution to the Allied effort, including Lloyd George's plan to secure overall victory by an offensive on this front. Although his grand scheme was frustrated, British troops were committed to the theatre and played a real part in holding the Italian line and in the final victory of 1918. George H. Cassar, in an account that is original, scholarly and readable, covers both the strategic considerations and the actual fighting.

Faced by stalemate on the Western Front, Lloyd George argued strongly in 1917 for a joint Allied campaign in Italy to defeat Austria-Hungary. Knocking Germany's principal ally out of the war would lead in turn to the collapse of Germany itself. While his plan had real attractions, it also begged many questions. These allowed Haig and Robertson to join the French high command to thwarting it. The disastrous Italian defeat at Caporetto in October 1917 led, however, to the deployment of a British corps in Italy under Sir Herbert Plumer, which bolstered the Italians at a critical juncture. Subsequently led by the Earl of Cavan, British troops fought gallantly at the battle of Asiago in February to March 1918 and contributed significantly to the final defeat of Austria-Hungary at Vittorio Veneto in October.

Battles in the Alps: A History of the Italian Front of the First World War

by G. Irving Root (no photo)

Synopsis:
Far removed from the bloody battles of attrition in the rain and mud of northern France, there raged another desperate struggle between two of Europe’s strongest yet most underrated powers, the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Austria-Hungary. Here, along a twisting, curving 475-mile-long battle line, fierce fighting was conducted among the lofty peaks and rugged countryside of the continent’s most notorious mountain range, replete with all the difficulties of weather and the awesome challenges of movement and supply. Contingents of troops from all of the major warring powers eventually became involved in this war of extremes. Before it was over, two and one-half million casualties had been suffered and the map of Europe had been changed forever. Battles in the Alps chronicles this important theatre of the Great War, and explains in text and in maps the consequences of Italy’s entry into hostilities and the changes resultant from its aftermath. Related incidents in the skies over the Front and on the waves of the adjacent Adriatic Sea are also narrated.

Mussolini in the First World War: The Journalist, The Soldier, The Fascist

by Paul O'Brien (no photo)

Synopsis:

How did Mussolini come to fascism? Standard accounts of the dictator have failed to explain satisfactorily the transition from his pre-World War I "socialism" to his post-war fascism. This controversial new book is the first to examine Mussolini's political trajectory during the Great War through his journalistic writings, speeches and war diary. The author argues that the 1914-18 conflict provided the catalyst for Mussolini to clarify his deep-rooted nationalist tendencies. He demonstrates that Mussolini's interventionism was already anti-socialist and anti-democratic in the early autumn of 1914 and shows how in and through the experience of the conflict the future Duce fine-tuned his authoritarian vision of Italy in a state of permanent mobilization for war.

Great adds Jerome.

I'm looking for a pre-1923 (public domain) english language text (novel or poetry) of the Italian involvement in WWI for a theatre piece I am devising. Any suggestions?

Simon, I couldn't find much, but these may be of use:

by Ernest Hemingway

by Emilio LussuEmilio Lussu

Touring the Italian Front 1917-1918: British, American, French & German Forces in Northern Italy

by Francis Mackay (no photo)

Synopsis:

The guide describes the ground and operations covered by the British, French and US Expeditionary Forces deployed from France to the area North of Venice between November 1917 and Spring 1919. These Forces supported the Italians after their disastrous defeat at Caporetto and helped stem the Austrian and German onslaught.This is the first guide to the Allied contribution and the Piave Defence line. The guide also covers the rear areas - supply and repair services, training and recreation. It also describes the movement to Italy and subsequent service and care of the 16,000 British and 20,000 French horses and mules.

The Beginning of Futility:Diplomatic, Political, Military and Naval Events on the Austro-Italian Front in the First World War 1914-1917

by Gaetano V. Cavallaro (no photo)

Synopsis:

Based on half a century of interviews with surviving veterans, research trips to official archives in Vienna, Rome, London, Paris, and Berlin, many visits to the sites of battle, and a close reading of secondary sources, this work takes the reader on almost a day-by-day journey alongside the Italian peasants in uniform, and their Austrian and German counterparts, who fought and died in the mountains of Northern Italy during the Great War. The author recounts the complicated military events from the perspective of both sides, assessing the strategic and tactical decisions that led to such carnage on this often overlooked front in the war.

Futility Ending in Disaster :Diplomatic, Military, Aviation and Social Events in The First World War On The Austro-Italian Front 1917

by Gaetano V. Cavallaro (no photo)

Synopsis:

As noted in Volume I (The Beginning of Futility) after the Allies had induced Italy to join them against the Central Powers, the Italian Army used the lives of its illiterate peasant fanti as coin advancing to finally endanger Austro-Hungarian defenses. By August, 1917, Vienna’s generals were convinced that with German help they had to counterattack while Gen. Eric Ludendorff was wary of giving assistance. Finally he was won over after hearing a bold and daring plan later known as blitzkrieg. Italian Intelligence warnings of an enemy offensive were discarded as it was “too late in the year.”

On October 24,1917, Austro-German forces unleashed the first blitzkrieg battle of the century which the Italian Army as the Anglo-French in France in May 1940 could not handle. Using the four commandments of blitzkrieg (deception, infiltration, isolation , annihilation), they quickly advanced 100 miles through the confused Italian defenses halting at the Piave River and adjacent mountains. Unable to handle the assault, many disheartened troops had fled, but later, with heroic deeds, halted the enemy advance. Notwithstanding the great victory, Vienna was negotiating a separate peace with Lloyd George and President Woodrow Wilson both of whom who did not believe the Allies could win.

Disaster Ending in Final Victory: The Dissolution of te Astro-Hungarian Empire:Diplomatic, Military, Aviation and Social Events in The First World War On The Austro-Italian Front 1918

by Gaetano V. Cavallaro (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Beginning of Futility and Futility ending in Disaster discussed Italy's joining the allies and going on the offensive against Austria-Hungary. With Berlin's assistance deep penetrations were made into Italian territory resulting in allied troops coming to Italy's assistance while secret negotiations for a separate peace with Vienna between U.S. President Wilson and England's Prime Minister Lloyd George failed. A repeat Habsburg offensive was halted followed by the issuance of the Manifesto which would place the empire's ethnics as independent nations under the Habsburg crown a move which led to the disintegration of the Habsburg Army and Empire.

Thanks Jerome

An upcoming book:
Release date: July 19, 2015

Allies are a Tiresome Lot: The British Army in Italy in the First World War

by John Dillon (no photo)

Synopsis:

The year 2014 saw the start of four years of centenaries associated with the First World War. In the decades since that conflict ended there have been many books, plays, films and television programs which have variously characterized the war as ‘senseless’ and ‘futile’. In more recent years revisionist historians have attempted to ‘correct’ this portrayal; it was a war that Britain had to be join to thwart German hegemonic ambitions, and British soldiers were not needlessly sacrificed on the wire of Flanders by Chateau Generals. Whether the reader prefers the Blackadder or the revisionist learning curve narrative of the war, it is invariably viewed through the prism of the Western Front. In so doing the war becomes a north-European event rather than one of global scope, with the mud of Passchendaele as the paradigm for the experience of all British soldiers.

Good adds, as usual, Jerome. Thanks.

Caporetto 1917: Victory or Defeat

by Mario Morselli (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Battle of Caporetto in October 1917 was almost a catastrophic event for Italy. Eighty years after the event, this work reconsiders the meaning of that event in the wider framework of World War I. Following the Central Powers' breakthrough on the Isonzo front, there followed a huge collapse of the Italian army, which lost over half its men and material. Having suffered such losses, Italy was on the brink of total collapse. Yet, by December 1917, Italy had overcome the crisis and remained in the conflict. How did it manage to do this?

For Mario Morselli, the answer lies in the poor performance of the Central Empire's military leadership after the initial success of the offensive. In the weeks following the breakthrough, the Austro-Hungarian and German generals proved unable to surmount a series of strategic situations, which negated the value of the original breakthrough. Morselli notes that forcing a surrender was a secondary war aim for the German generals; the recall of German troops to the Western Front was crucial to Italy's survival.

Having read several books about Caporetto, this sounds quite interesting.

Jerome wrote: "The Beginning of Futility:Diplomatic, Political, Military and Naval Events on the Austro-Italian Front in the First World War 1914-1917

[bookcover:The Beginning of Futility:Diplomatic, Political,..."

Only avaliabe as an ebook ?

Dimitri wrote: "Jerome wrote: "The Beginning of Futility:Diplomatic, Political, Military and Naval Events on the Austro-Italian Front in the First World War 1914-1917

[bookcover:The Beginning of Futility:Diploma..."

According to Amazon, print copies do exist.

I am cross-posting this from another topic.

It is amazing that so much remains of the Italian Front of WWI. This book would be an excellent guide to anyone going to Italy or to the armchair historian.

The Guardians of Silence: A Photographic Journey of the Italian Front in WWI

by Andrea Contrini (no photo)

Synopsis:

The front that stretched between Italy and Austria in the first World War It was one of the most impressively fortified in the whole theater, encompassing substantial fortresses on both sides of the Great Plateaus of Trentino.

A century later, the front remains remarkably visible—worn by time and neglect, but nonetheless standing as a marker of the hostilities along what has for decades now been a peaceful border. Inspired by the centennial, photographer Andrea Contrini set out to explore the remnants of the front, and the result is this stunning full-color book. From the heights of crumbling fortress walls to the depths of forgotten caves, Contrini captures the physical remains of the deadly history of the region—all set amid breathtaking mountain scenery. Through Contrini’s lens, the Italian-Austrian front, and by extension the experiences of the men who struggled and died there, comes to life once more, a reminder of the war’s incredible physical and human toll.

I would love to have this book, but the cover is in Italian. Do you know if the text is? Is there an English version?

I think there is...............it is my understanding that if a book synopsis on GR is in English, then there is an English text volume.

An upcoming book:
Release date: August 19, 2018

Hell in the Trenches: Austro-Hungarian Stormtroopers and Italian Arditi in the Great War

by Paolo Morisi (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Austro-Hungarian Storm Troopers and the Italian Arditi of World War I were elite special forces charged with carrying out bold raids and daring attacks. These units were comprised of hand picked soldiers that possessed above average courage, physical prowess as well as specific combat skills. Many military historians have argued that World War I was mainly a static war of positional attrition, but these special shock troops where responsible for developing breakthrough tactics of both fire and movement that marked a significant change in strategy. Both armies used the special assault detachments to capture prisoners, conduct raids behind enemy lines and attack in depth in order to prepare the way for a broad infantry breakthrough. The book traces the development of Austrian and Italian storm assault tactics in the context of trench warfare waged in the mountainous front of the Alps and the rocky hills of the Carso plateau. It not only examines their innovative tactics but also their adoption of vastly improved new weapons such as light machine-guns, super-heavy artillery, flame throwers, hand grenades, daggers, steel clubs and poison gas.

This book offers a historically dense narration of the organizational development of the shock and assault troops, of their military operations and it also covers their combat methods. The bulk of the chapters are devoted to the historical reconstruction of the assault detachments combat missions between 1917-18 by utilizing previously unreleased archival sources such as Italian and Austrian war diaries, official manuals, divisional and High Command reports and the soldiers own recollections of the war. Finally, it offers a comprehensive description of their uniforms, equipment, and weapons, along with a large number of illustrations, maps and period photographs rarely seen.

This epic trial of military strength of these special storm troops cannot be properly understood without visiting, and walking, the battlefields. The appendix thus offers the reader a series of walks to visits key high mountain fortifications in the Italian Dolomities, many of which have attained almost legendary status.

Woohooo !

Italian And Austro Hungarian Military Aviation On The Italian Front In World War One

by Alexis Mehtidis (no photo)

Synopsis:

This is a revised and expanded edition of Italian Military Aviation in World War One, 1914-1918 (published 2004). The chapters on Italian anti-aircraft units and Austro-Hungarian military aviation serving on the Italian front during the war are completely new.

Note: I got the above from Amazon. It appears that goodreads write-up is talking about Indians!

Jerome wrote: "An upcoming book:
Release date: August 19, 2018

Hell in the Trenches: Austro-Hungarian Stormtroopers and Italian Arditi in the Great War

[bookcover:Hell in the Trenches: Austro-Hungarian Stormtr..."

A recent review:
The author should be heartily congratulated on a book that is not only extremely well written, but is also about a very little known part of the Great War. The bravery and audacity of the Italian and Austria-Hungarian troops shows in every picture and almost every page. Mankind's ability to overcome nature is shown in the book to be absolutely astounding. The fact that both sides had to, at most times, use explosives and sheer manpower to cut their trenches into the very rock of these heights is mind boggling.
- Robert Peterson, A Wargamers Needful Things

also I recommend Emilio Lussu's work recently republished

Antonio, thank you, thank you for your post - we love to hear from all of our members all of the time. Thank you for the recent review that you posted from A Wargamers Needful Things. We always add the photo of the author and then the authors name in linkable text. So our members will be able to look them up but also so that the goodreads software will capture your post and the name of the book and the author in the right hand whitespace of this thread and every thread on our group site.

Emilio Lussu

Lussu died in 1975 - which book of his are you referring to that was just republished. I will add it to this thread as well.

Thank you again and keep posting your thoughts and input.

It’s lussu’s classic diary A Soldier on the southern front his most renowned work which has a new edition out now

Thank you Antonio - you may want to try to add the book and author using the add book/author on the top of the comment box.

We would help you along the way. And your post would then be memorialized on the right hand side of the thread.

I have added the citation so that both the book and the author will be on this thread's list of books and authors for The Italian Front.

by Emilio Lussu

On Warmer Tides: The True Story of Italy's First World War Naval Commandos

by Matthew C. Hall (no photo)

Synopsis:

In 1915 the young Italian state became embroiled in the great European conflagration of 1914 – 1918. The infant nation's youthful enthusiasm for the conflict stemmed from a bitter revanchism, which gripped her elites with the concept of a Greater Italy. An Italy which would be a suitable successor to the myriad of wondrous renaissance states which had immortalized the peninsula, as one of sophistication and thassalocratic potency. Yet of all the images of her past, the Italian political class's favorite lay in the ultramarine imperial portrait of the Venetian Republic. The city state's former glories across the Adriatic, the Istrian peninsula and out into the eastern Mediterranean, granted Italy's radically nationalist, educated strata, a picture of a past which existed a mere century ago and could thus, be feasibly restored in a not too distant future.

To undertake the reconquest of Venetian lands across the sea from the perfidious hands of the House of Habsburg though, would require an impossible opportunity to emerge. By the end of 1914, the hurricane of modern warfare had torn through Vienna and her defeats had shown her martial power to be a 19th century phantom. A year later, on a sweltering Rome day in May, Italy and the Habsburg Empire went to war. It is here where anglophone histories of the First World War typically pass a glance at an Italian campaign, commonly portrayed as an incompetent combat between two second tier militaries. But the bombastic ruination of massed infantry across the humid flatlands of north-western Italy, masks a hitherto much maligned maritime campaign – The Adriatic Campaign of 1915 – 1918. A campaign which gave birth to the first modern naval commandos: the MAS Flotillas, an organization whose operational prowess would serve as the proof-of-concept for undersea special forces throughout Europe.

On Warmer Tides: The True Story of Italy's Seaborne Commandos takes place inside this dynamic campaign, focusing specifically on this pioneering special forces group. In doing so the work seeks to take the reader on a journey out of World War One's traumatic land based narrative, and to the luscious littoral waters of Italy's white sand beaches, and the wind blasted rockfaces of the Dalmatian coastline. The biography of the MAS Flotillas is one of innovation, audacity, and determination. The unit's development saw the pioneering of new nautical technologies, pushing the boundaries of what is possible whilst undersea. Technological endeavors including man ridable torpedoes, jumping boats and underwater explosives to name a few. Leading to daring exploits such as the Raid on Buccari Bay, the nocturnal attack on the SMS Wien or the audacious infiltration of the Pula Naval Base. Behind this action driven façade, the work looks to build an excellent account of underwater warfare, and to push the boundaries within which Italy's First World War experience is recounted.

An upcoming book:
Release date: August 31, 2025

The Generalissimo: Luigi Cadorna and the Italian Army, 1850–1928

by Marco Mondini (no photo)

Synopsis:

Luigi Cardorna remains one of the most controversial generals in Italian history. Appointed chief of the armed forces in 1914, he led the Italian army in the field from May 1915 until the aftermath of their calamitous defeat at Caporetto in 1917.

In this major new biography, Marco Mondini traces Cardorna's rise, the nature of his command, the course of the Isonzo campaign, and the battles over his post-war reputation. He brings a new cultural perspective to Cardorna's life, demonstrating the role of Italy's military and national culture, the myths of the Risorgimento, and the mobilization of propaganda in creating an effective cult of personality.

Utilizing ego-documents, memoirs, letters and public writings, Mondini delves into the ideology and psychology that combined to create such an untouchable autocrat, arguing that the history of fascism in Italy cannot be fully understood without appreciating Cardorna's role in the First World War.

Thank you, Jerome.

Another:
Release date: October 15, 2025

Thunder in the Mountains: World War One on the Italian Front

by Tom Isitt (no photo)

Synopsis:

Thunder in The Mountains looks at WW1 on the Italian Front, the little-known theatre of war where men fought amongst the towering peaks and glaciers of the Italian Alps. Lavishly illustrated in colour, and using QR codes to access extra content, this is military history done differently.

Part history, part travelogue, and part battlefield guidebook, Thunder in The Mountains tells the extraordinary story of battles fought in the most inhospitable environments, from the ‘howling wilderness’ of the arid Carso plateau to the avalanche-ravaged mountains of the Dolomites. Feats of incredible daring and bravery were carried out against a beautiful backdrop, as men dug tunnels in ice, blew the tops off mountains, and made advances that measured in vertical metres.

The author spent six years exploring the battlefields and researching this subject, and in addition to authoritative and engaging text there are 149 photos and 26 maps to help the reader understand the scope and difficulty of mountain warfare, and appreciate the wild beauty of these battlefields.

In a radical departure from other military history books, Thunder in The Mountains also contains QR codes that link to additional photos, maps, videos, animations, and downloadable battlefield walks. This additional content can be viewed alongside the text, giving readers a deeper understanding of this incredible conflict.