An Italian soldier lying in the snow waving a handkerchief to a plane overhead. The logo is for Societa Italiana Aviazione, founded in 1916, which became part of Fiat Aviation in 1918.
Logo: SIAReverse:S.I.A. Societa Italiana Aviazione Lingotto - TorinoAlfibri E. Lacroix Milano Inc. St Imp.
"Another incident occurred on 20 December [1915] at Kammo, on the middle Isonzo, directly below Krn, when a regiment of the Salerno Brigade was ordered back to the first line. Apparently fuelled by drink, someone fired a shot at the officers' mess. The divisional command surrounded the regiment with four battalions, complete with machine guns and artillery. The following morning, an extraordinary court martial considered the charge of 'revolt in the presence of the enemy' — a dubious charge, as the rebels were not in the line. Eight were sentenced to death, others to hard labour for 20 years. The condemned men wept as they were led away. After witnessing the executions, the regiment was escorted back up the line by carabinieri (military police)."
From Mark Thompson's account of mutinous incidents in the Italian Army in December, 1915. The first was by men of the 48th Regiment of which, from 3,000 men, 700 survived after four months in the trenches. When 200 were granted rest and the other 500 were sent back to the front line, shots were fired. A court martial condemned two men to death, both shot the day after the incident. Krn was one of the peaks of the Dolomites the Italians and Austro-Hungarians had fought and died over in the four Battles of the Isonzo River in 1915.
The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919 by Mark Thompson, page 153, copyright © 2008 Mark Thompson, publisher: Basic Books, publication date: 2009
1915-12-21, 1915, December, Isonzo, execution, mutiny, Italian soldier, soldiers
