Karst and World War I

 

("Italian alpine troops" by Agence Rol - Bibliothèque nationale de France via Wikimedia Commons.)

As described on our College website, “to commemorate the centenary of one of the largest military conflictsto engulf the world, Franklin & Marshall College this academic year offersa series of events, from lectures and reading groups to exhibits and music,reflecting on World War I and its aftermath... In commemorating the war, we hope to educate our students and ourselvesabout the war's complex legacies and, in so doing, enhance our understanding ofthe contemporary world.”

Some of these legaciesendure in the Classical Karst type locality. As WWI began in August, 2014, Italy was part of the Triple Alliance withthe Central Powers of the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires, but did not immediately enter the war.  Instead, following secretnegotiations with France and Great Britain, Italy joined the Allies against theCentral Powers in May, 1915, forming the Alpine Front (an extension of theWestern Front south of neutral Switzerland). The Italians outnumbered the Austro-Hungarians along this front, andinitially thought they could attack northeastward across the Kras (Carso inItalian) Plateau and quickly threaten the Austro-Hungarian Capital of Vienna.

But the rugged terrain and harsh weather (not to mention machine guns and artillery) stalled the advance.  High alpine trench warfare ensured, punctuated by generallyunsuccessful offensives including the First through Eleventh “Battle of theIsonzo”.  Killed, wounded and missing onthis front totaled nearly 2.2 million for Italy and over 7 million for Austro-Hungary.

In an odd consequenceof climate change, retreating Alpine glaciers have recently begun exposing frozen corpses of some of these casualties (warning: graphic photos). Another legacy is persistent heavy metal pollution of the aquifersbeneath parts of the Carso by copper, zinc, chromium, cadmium, and lead –resulting from the decay of abandoned underground war machinery and ubiquitous shrapnel embedded in the bomb-fractured rock.

Historical account largely from:

 Italy and the World War With Maps 

Thomas Nelson Page, American Ambassador to Italyfrom 1913 to 1919

New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1920