Introduction

In this course, I would like to focus on the soldiers who fought and sacrificed on the Isonzo river front in Italy. Surely they deserve to be remembered. The fact that it was one of the largest Czech war sacrifices in history remains mostly unknown.  For a number of social and political reasons, we were not able to learn a great deal about the experiences of our forefathers during this time. It is a paradox of Czech historical consciousness that the victims of this war remain forgotten, their significance and fate distorted. On the battlefields of the Italian front (what is today Slovenia, Italy and Austria), in mountain battles, in avalanches, in battles of bayonets, in bombing shells and shrapnel, thousands of men from Czech lands lost their lives.

The outbreak of fighting brought a number of soldiers from different nationalities to the Italian front. They were suddenly forced to fight for survival and live in a hitherto unknown environment, which was complicated by greatly unfavorable weather conditions.  We will learn about their daily military life, the hardship and renunciation, by closely examining historical documents, diaries, testimonies, and articles that have been preserved in museums and private collections.