What Are You Currently Reading? 2014

[Firn]

I became aware that after the Italian collapse at Caporetto, corps sized British and French formations were sent as reinforcements. My local infantry regiment, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment were on the Asiago Plateau when attacked later. There is a UK historian who writes on this period, but being a Sunday my memory cannot recall him.

The contribution of allied troops in Italy is perhaps one of most neglected elements of the Great War from an 'Italian' perspective. The rise of fascism did more then it's share there through the instrumentalisation of the Great War and in addtion the allies of those years became the competitors and afterwards enemies in the next big thing. The most visible traces of fascist glorification can be seen on prominent hills or mountain tops along the front. In some cases a few 'ossari' were also built far away from it, close to the new border. The Italian Wikipedia offers a rather long article on those sites and their story.

In looking over Thompson’s book yesterday afternoon the thing that most jumped out at me was that 3x as many Italians died during WWI as during WWII. I had no idea.

It is more 2.5 IIRC, but higher then that percentage-wise.