The destiny of Italian prisoners in Austro-Hungarian POW camps during the First World War: remembering the defeat of Caporetto 100 years on.

The destiny of Italian prisoners in Austro-Hungarian POW camps during the First World War: remembering the defeat of Caporetto 100 years on. Infez Med. 2020 Mar 01;28(1):108-124 Authors: Sabbatani S, Fiorino S, Manfredi R Abstract The living conditions of Italian prisoners during the First World War were extremely difficult. At the end of the conflict, the treatment of Italian soldiers in Austro-Hungarian POW camps and in those of the German territories was recognized as particularly harsh in comparison with that of other prisoners. The reasons may be ascribed to three main factors. The Italian prisoners paid the price of being considered traitors, since Italy was allied with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and with Germany until 1914, subsequently switching to the side of France, the United Kingdom and Russia. The Italian government and the Italian High Command considered their soldiers poorly inclined to engage in a war which became over time increasingly costly in terms of human sacrifice. The strategy pursued by the General-in-Chief Luigi Cadorna was very aggressive and showed little care for the life conditions of his troops, who were frequently thrown into the fray and exposed to potential slaughter. Due to this negative judgement on their troops' willingness to fight, the government did not help, and even hindered, the despatch of packages of food and clothes to prisoners in the Austro-Hungarian and German camps via the Red Cross....
Source: Infezioni in Medicina - Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Infez Med Source Type: research