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Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

Slovenian and other soldiers, in their memories and testimonies, express the shock of fighting on the front lines, which exceeded the limits of their expectations, suffering, and combat. In addition to this portrayal, which, it seems, does not surpass the range of experiences and emotions felt by soldiers of other nations, the Soča Front is particularly unique because, beyond the fighting in the Karst, Gorizia, and the Soča Valley, it carried a special mental energy. This energy stemmed from its territorial position—situated on land that soldiers of Slovenian nationality mostly recognized as part of their national and ethnic heritage. Along with this front, a national defense narrative emerged: the struggle against the treacherous Italian who sought to take Slovenian land.

Prisoners of war and Austro-Hungarian soldiers passing by warehouses and a field hospital near the Voss Hut, the present-day Erjavčeva Koča.

(property of Uroš Košir)

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

The memory of the Soča Front is also shared by many civilian inhabitants of Slovenia, even though they experienced it either directly or were indirectly affected by its consequences, as its impact reached deep into the hinterland, encompassing much of the Slovenian ethnic territory (Guštin, 2005, pp. 64–70). Many Slovenians experienced the establishment of the battlefield most directly when they observed some of the approximately 30,000 people from the Gorizia region, the Karst, and the Soča Valley, who were forced to evacuate the border areas quickly as front lines were being established.

For the “Gorizia refugees,” the Soča Front left an even deeper mark, as these predominantly rural residents were compelled to abandon their properties, not only to move into the unknown—makeshift camps or with relatives—but also to completely change their way of life (Svoljšak, 2010, pp. 228–240). How could the memory of the Soča Front not leave an imprint on the members of the “transport unit” of the Ljubljana Volunteer Firefighting and Rescue Society, who voluntarily transported wounded soldiers daily from the Ljubljana railway station to numerous improvised military hospitals in the city and back to the trains? Over four years, they transported 1,500,000 wounded (ZAL 1).

Thousands of residents in western and central Slovenia listened with concern to the rumble of artillery bombardments, particularly those concentrated at the start of the Soča battles, which echoed as far east as the Ljubljana Basin (Guštin, 2005, p. 71). Daily newspapers warned of the Italian threat:

“The danger that threatens you from the old enemy has united the entire Yugoslav nation in the south. We see and know only this: Austria’s cause today is the Yugoslav cause. This land is Austrian and Yugoslav. Austria’s enemy cannot be our friend, just as our enemy was not, is not, and will not be Austria’s friend. That it is so with the Italians is evident even to Serbs outside Austria. Today, the entire Yugoslav world rises with a thunderous cry against Italian insolence. The words of the leader of the Croatian-Slovenian Club, Dr. Korošec, have resounded as a signal: ‘Hands off our land and our destiny!'” (Slovenec, May 25, 1915, p. 1).

The Soča Front also worried intellectuals and politicians. For them, it became an additional reason for concern and a deeper connection with the Austro-Hungarian state and army, as the Soča Army protected Slovenian territory from wartime destruction and indirectly defended not only the borders of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy but also Slovenian lands and national boundaries (Škerl, 2007).

Besides politicians, young Jože Šinc from Breginj decided to remain loyal to the emperor, convinced that only the emperor and a strong empire could protect them from the Italians and their king, who sought to seize Slovenian territory. As a resident of Breginj, he was acutely aware of what it meant to live under Italian rule. The memory of 1866, when the Italians annexed Venetia and Resia, was still very vivid in this region (Šimac, 2002, p. 194).

A view of the storage facilities Fassungsstelle Vosshütte beneath the modern-day Erjavčeva Koča. In the first year of the war, various military tents were set up for storage and were later replaced by wooden structures.

(property of Uroš Košir)

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

Slovenian soldiers experienced the Soča Front even more directly and later remembered it vividly. For a Slovenian conscript, mobilized in 1914 or during the early months of 1915, the Soča Front was their second front after Galicia or the Carpathians. Most Slovenian soldiers, already battle-hardened from previous fronts, only arrived at the Soča battlefield in the early summer of 1915. Until then, the first echelon sent to the front consisted primarily of reservists and soldiers awaiting assignment to replenish their parent frontline units, namely replacement battalions. Experiencing the Soča Front was quite different for them compared to the frontline soldiers who followed.

The atmosphere at the outbreak of hostilities with Italy was vividly described at least five years later by Ivan Matičič, a soldier of the 27th Home Guard Infantry Regiment, which was renamed the 2nd Mountain Rifle Regiment in May 1917:

“The ninth march battalion of our regiment had to move to the Gorizia front because Italy betrayed its ally Austria. We wandered around the Tolmin area for a few weeks, digging trenches. When war became inevitable, on May 20, 1915, we went up the mountain to Saint Mary’s Church to the left of Tolmin and occupied it. On Pentecost Sunday morning at three, we received a short telephone message: ‘As of midnight, we are at war with Italy. Prepare yourselves!’ This unexpected news shook us. We looked at each other and bitterly smiled. Lieutenant Ringel, who appeared to be a brave man but eventually fled to the rear lines, began shaking his fists: ‘Thank God! Finally, the opportunity has come to take bloody revenge for all the treacherous intrigues and crimes they inflicted on us! Wait, you Italian hypocrites, you worthless cockroaches, you’ll get what’s coming to you, even if there are only a few of us! Let’s get started, boys!'” (Hmelak, 1968, pp. 36–37).

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

THE SLOVENIAN SOLDIER

Who was the Slovenian soldier on the Soča Front? Like others, Slovenian soldiers did not choose their battlefields; their assignment to the Soča Front was determined by military commands, which distributed units among three fronts: the Eastern, Balkan, and Southwestern fronts that the Austro-Hungarian army had to maintain. During the two and a half years of fighting between the sea and Rombon, there were several notable concentrations of Slovenian troops at specific points along the 90-kilometer front.

Initially, in dire circumstances, replacement battalions of Slovenian regiments were deployed. By the summer of 1915, the 27th Home Guard Infantry Regiment was stationed in the Upper Soča Valley for most of the time between 1915 and October 1917. The 17th Infantry Regiment was stationed on the Karst until the spring of 1916, when it was reassigned to units preparing for a major offensive into the Venetian Plain and did not return to the Soča Front. The 87th Infantry Regiment was stationed in the Gorizia sector of the front, while the 7th and 47th Infantry Regiments—representing most of the “Slovenian regiments,” the core infantry units with the highest concentration of soldiers from Slovenian ethnic territory—belonged militarily to the Graz Corps. Fewer Primorska soldiers were among them, as the 97th Infantry Regiment, composed mainly of men from the Littoral region, was deployed on the Eastern Front throughout the war due to the presence of Italian soldiers in their ranks.

Slovenian soldiers, including officers, also served alongside various nationalities in artillery, transport, and other specialized units, and even as pilots in the air fleet (Guštin, 2006, pp. 138–139). Thus, we can speak of a diverse yet comprehensive and large-scale military experience of Slovenian soldiers on the Soča Front. Many recorded their experiences and passed them on to us.

Until more detailed analyses become available through the database of fallen soldiers from Slovenian territory, the question remains open whether the Soča Front was the battlefield of the Great War where the highest number of Slovenian soldiers lost their lives.

The project Collection of Data on Military Casualties of the First World War in Slovenia began in 2015, and the database has been publicly accessible since November 2018. Sixteen institutions and individuals are involved in the project, with the Institute of Contemporary History serving as the coordinator.

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

REMEMBERING AND EXPERIENCING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

The Great War, in its vastness and transcendence of previously known and possible boundaries, inadvertently took on the role of a great promoter of literacy (Svoljšak, 2011, p. 523). Soldiers, who were mostly literate at a basic elementary school level, began to document their experiences of the war on the battlefield and manage affairs at home. Among the sources about the Great War, a considerable number of soldiers’ letters from the front and diary entries have survived. Writing letters became a popular and often the only possible form of communication with their civilian microcosm, families, and friends. Thus, alongside the upper, more educated and literate classes, ordinary people also took to writing. Both groups used their letters to share their wishes, yearnings, and hardships, maintaining contact with their loved ones. Even behind the most rigid and inexpressive words, one can detect the struggles, fears, and hopes of their writers (Luthar, 2000, p. 17). It could be said that differences between social classes were blurred in the intimate experience of the war.

The same applies to soldiers’ diaries and those of their loved ones. Luthar notes that writing was intended to help overcome the horrors and tensions of war and to seek rationality in its events. Writing allowed soldiers to retain a sense of intimacy within the masses. From a psychotherapeutic perspective, writing served as a means of resolving personal crises and expressing despair, as well as a desire to improve one’s personal situation, but most importantly, to relieve emotional pressure. Keeping a diary offered a retreat into a world that could endure the horrors of war and helped soldiers maintain their sanity (Luthar, 2000, p. 529). Reflecting on their hardships also helped many people survive the war.

Diaries are a more comprehensive source for reconstructing the mindset and intimate history of contemporaries than letters. Diaries represent an uncensored reflection of events and, unlike letters—more or less censored—reveal much more about the emotional and material lives during the First World War (Luthar, 2000, p. 20).

In contrast, war memories describe the war as the authors recall it from a temporal distance. This distance was crucial in shaping these memories. Because of it, later recollections do not exhibit the same despair and anger over the experience of war as found in contemporaneous diary entries. The experience of war was primarily that of a young person, who felt life and death with a different intensity than in times of peace. To understand the changes that war induces in a person, time and the establishment of distance from what the writer remembers about themselves are necessary (Svoljšak, 2011, pp. 527–528).

Autobiographical sources do not provide a complete view of wartime experiences but rather a fragmented glimpse into the mental world, emotions, and experiences of the writers. Diaries, letters, and memoirs also tell us much about the environment in which the soldier experienced their war, meaning they are also marked by segments of objective events (Verginella, 2005, p. 178).

The former Austrian soldier Hans Pölzer described in his memoirs the last three days he spent near the Soča River. Members of the 6th Infantry Division (6. K.u.K. Infanterie Division), including Pölzer, arrived near Prvačina by train between October 28 and November 1. From there, they occupied positions along the front line and participated in the 4th Battle of the Soča from November 10 to December 14, 1915. When describing the condition of the defensive trenches, he noted that wooden planks and felt-covered roofs could not withstand the constant artillery bombardment. He was in the area during a rainy period and gave a harrowing account of the conditions in the communication trenches. Thick, oily mud of a reddish-brown color flowed through the trenches, seeping from every rocky crevice during the rain. In many trenches, the mud accumulated to such an extent that it reached over a grown man’s head, with parts of decomposing human corpses floating in it (Pölzer, 2011, pp. 4–15).

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

SLOVENIAN SOLDIERS ON THE SOČA FRONT

Slovenian war testimonies are primarily the stories of soldiers who served in the Austro-Hungarian army at the time. These accounts were written without guilt or justification for serving in a “foreign” army. They understood their participation in the war as part of military duty, which they carried out loyally and thoroughly, regardless of the battlefield (Svoljšak, 2009, p. 314). On a broader scale, they found it harder to accept being deployed to battlefields in Serbia and Russia. During the initial battles in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian soldiers encountered industrial warfare for the first time, an experience that was unimaginable not only for them (Bobič, 2014, p. 86).

The Soča Front differed from previous war experiences only in how the environment shaped it—mountains instead of plains and stone instead of soft soil. Another significant factor was the moral component, which could be described as intensified patriotism and, consequently, improved combat morale. The strong awareness among Slovenian soldiers that defending the Soča Front also meant defending their homeland motivated many of them. After Italy’s declaration of war against the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Slovenian soldiers began to see the battle along the Soča as a necessary call to defend their homeland. They even spoke of a “longing” to go into battle against the “Lahi” (a colloquial term for Italians).

Andrej Dobravec, who fought on the Balkan front but was sent to the rear due to rheumatism, asked his local priest to write a letter on his behalf to the military command, requesting to be sent to the Italian front. The priest submitted the request with a warm recommendation. Similarly, a Slovenian soldier wrote from the border with Italy: “We are of Slovenian blood, and we are ready to spill it for Slovenian soil if necessary.” (Bobič, 2014, pp. 86–87).

This willingness to sacrifice themselves for the defense of the state and their national interests was also recognized by military authorities. Austrian official reports noted that Slovenian soldiers, despite their Yugoslav aspirations, heeded the emperor’s call and hoped to achieve political autonomy as a reward for their loyalty to the emperor. They were reportedly willing to sacrifice everything, even their last drop of blood, with joy. Everywhere, Slovenian boys fought and shed their blood for their homeland. The conduct of individual Slovenian units was described as exemplary (Svoljšak, 2009, p. 299).

With Italy’s declaration of war and its first attacks on Austro-Hungarian positions beyond the border, the “bloody dance” with a new and formidable enemy began—one that could not be underestimated. Austria-Hungary now faced an additional, lengthy front, and despite quiet suspicions and speculations, Italy’s declaration of war came unexpectedly. The following chapter offers a glimpse into the personal world of individuals who fought on the Soča battlefield and documented their experiences in diaries accessible to us.

Soldiers who had the opportunity to compare different fronts experienced the Soča Front as distinct, even more demanding and dangerous. Experienced Austro-Hungarian soldiers with prior combat in Galicia and the Carpathians described the war on the Soča battlefield with both respect and awe. “Men and officers who fought on the Galician battlefield say they have never experienced anything as terrible as what they see here,” wrote artilleryman Mihael Mohor (Svoljšak, 2014, p. 16).

What was so terrible? On the Soča battlefield, the front line ran through high mountains and across the Karst, where the attackers’ pressure was most intense. On the rocky Karst terrain, defenders had poor shelters, and digging them required much greater effort. Understrength units barely sufficed to hold the line. The inadequate transportation infrastructure, hastily built by the military, worsened communication with the rear and made timely and sufficient supplies difficult to deliver. The rocky Karst terrain amplified the effects of artillery shelling. Offensives on the Soča battlefield began with hours-long artillery barrages, followed by infantry charges across fields riddled with wire obstacles. Soldiers tried to stop the attackers with their last remaining strength in close-quarters combat. Survivors spent their nights reinforcing destroyed trenches and digging shelters.

A constant shortage of water was a severe problem on the Karst front. Food supplies for soldiers on the front line were poor and irregular. During the day, defenders avoided movement to avoid revealing their positions. In addition to constant Italian shelling, defenders along the Soča often faced challenges from the weather. Heavy rain and wind destroyed their shelters, and torrents swept them away. When the shelling subsided briefly, soldiers worked to repair the trenches (Hrovat et al., 2015). What had been destroyed during the day, they tried to repair at night. Although the Italian artillery usually paused at night, defenders were threatened by Italian sharpshooter patrols who lay entrenched, sometimes just a few meters from the defenders, firing throughout the night.

Shelters were in ruins, losses were heavy, and the wounded groaned and begged for water. Ivan Matičič described their conditions as unbearable (Hmelak, 1968, pp. 65, 87). Soldiers eagerly awaited relief after 14 days or three weeks on the front line so they could retreat to the rear (Videmšek, 2014).

The lack of water was a common problem for the warring sides on other battlefields as well. An interesting account comes from Vladislav Fabjančič, who fought as a volunteer in the Serbian army, including in the Battle of Cer. He wrote: “At a certain well near Ub, I had the opportunity to witness and participate in a fierce nighttime fight over a bucket (of water; ed.). Sergeants and officers who wouldn’t let us drink—since a break had not been ordered—were immediately pushed aside. Any soldier with stronger fists got to drink. Jenko (Avgust Jenko, also a volunteer; ed.) and I were among them. Getting hit on the back with the flat of a saber didn’t bother us too much. The terrible thirst was at least temporarily quenched.” (ZAL 2).

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

The high intensity of battles, especially on the Karst, was particularly burdensome. Italian artillery heavily shelled supply lines, which forced efforts to resolve the issue through nighttime food deliveries (Stergar, 2015, pp. 4–5). Franc Grošelj, a medic on the Soča Front and a member of a military medical unit, recounted that during battles, soldiers ate only once a day, typically in the evening, around 11 p.m. When the shelling eased, soldiers worked on repairing trenches (Hrovat et al., 2015).

A significant problem was the water supply and thirst, as water was scarce in the Karst region and in the high mountains. Despite guarded wells and prohibitions against drinking unclean water, testimonies indicate that soldiers drank any water they could find, leading to the spread of infectious and dangerous intestinal diseases. The military authorities began building water pipelines and made efforts to deliver water regularly, but months passed before they succeeded (Štepec, 2016, p. 33).

The pressures of the battlefield drove many defenders to the brink of madness, leading to blame directed at both Austria and Italy. Austria was accused of sending them to their deaths, while Italy was killing them (Hmelak, 1968, p. 88). Slovenian defenders despised Italian territorial greed. Ivan Matičič expressed his outrage in his writings: “Where is this Italian devil heading? This greed must disgust anyone to their core. On the very first day, they already claimed their people were liberated. But why do they keep advancing into our land? Surely, they don’t think they’re liberating us?” (Hmelak, 1968, p. 88).

Following Italy’s declaration of war, Slovenian stereotypes about “treacherous Italians” resurfaced (Stergar, 1996, p. 71). Given that Italy’s war aims were well-known and the content of the Treaty of London was roughly understood, it is no surprise that prejudices against Italians gained solid ground and new reinforcement. Slovenians, as well as Croats and other South Slavs of the monarchy, justifiably felt threatened and competed in condemning Italian demands. The notion of Italians as poor soldiers, a view not exclusive to Slovenians, became a popular topic at the time. The three most prominent Slovenian stereotypes about their western neighbors were that Italians were treacherous and untrustworthy, poor soldiers, and that their army barely deserved to be called an army. These stereotypes also surfaced among defenders on the Soča Front. Later historical events only reinforced them, and they remain present even today (Stergar, 1996, pp. 72–73).

An interesting departure from the stereotypes about the Italian enemy and the horrors of war is the war novel Doberdob by Prežihov Voranc. Written 20 years after the war, the author dismantles the myth of heroic warfare, portraying confused and frightened soldiers on both sides of the battlefield. The relationship of the main character, and partly that of Voranc himself, with the Italian enemy is complex. Nationally, the Italians are perceived as true enemies—destroyers of what is dear to them, future occupiers, and oppressors of Slovenian freedom. However, on a human and personal level, they are victims of the same senseless war (Kač, 2016).

Soldiers’ memoirs often include criticism of their superiors, particularly due to their arrogant attitude and mistreatment of subordinates. Such differences become more understandable when considering that this was a society where class distinctions were commonplace and taken for granted. The military was strictly hierarchical. Even before the war, military leadership instilled in both active and reserve officers a sense of belonging to a social elite—one that issued orders to soldiers but did not associate with them (Stergar, 2015, pp. 26–27).

Daily confrontations with death evoked different reactions in individual soldiers, depending on their character. While some clung feverishly to faith in fear of death, others seemed resigned to their fate and turned inward. Ferdinand Wigele, born in 1898 in Stari trg pri Rakeku, wrote in his diary on February 24, 1917, that his current life was worth nothing, even though he had not yet been confronted with the reality of the Soča battlefield and was only training near it for combat with the enemy. “You must not look to the future, as you could be dead by the next day,” he wrote (ZAL 3), though he did not see death as something terrifying. Instead, he feared becoming disabled and dependent on others. In such a case, he would rather end his own life. Faced with the anticipation of possible death, he reflected on the past, idealizing it. He spoke of wonderful times he had failed to take advantage of and regretted not living more simply (ZAL 3).

In the constant confrontation with death and fear, past life seems so simple. This idealization of the past evokes in a person a sense of unfulfilled living.

The establishment of the Soča (Isonzo) Front must be understood in the context of the Kingdom of Italy’s longstanding dissatisfaction with its border along the Adriatic Sea. According to Italian political views, these were territories that the Italian army occupied as being “within Italy’s natural borders.” The “redeemed territories” reflected the fundamental goal of Italian policy and the reasons for its involvement in the war (cf. Svoljšak, 2003).

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

On February 8, 1917, during the Off(izzier) Fortbildungskurs (officers’ training course) in Št. Peter on the Karst, the commander read out an order from the Italian military leadership to their soldiers as a warning about the seriousness of the situation. The order stated that the next Italian offensive might be the last in this war. Accordingly, the Italian military leadership expected every soldier to fulfill their duty and do everything in their power. Italy was confident in its absolute superiority. On February 11, a regimental doctor lectured the trainees about various battlefield diseases, during which he remarked: “No one will leave this battlefield alive for the Hinterland.” (ZAL 3).

On February 12, Wigele noted in his diary that preparations pointed to “something big” and that he would likely soon have to “face the fire.” He felt ready but wished to visit home and Cirila (likely a romantic interest) one last time, saying, “If it must be, then I’ll go.” (ZAL 3). On February 26, his unit was transferred to a technical training ground at Primož near Pivka, where the commander of the Soča Front, Svetozar Borojević von Bojna, and a battalion of officers also arrived (ZAL 3).

In early March, Wigele remained at Primož. The time there was spent not only on training but also on relaxation. He described an evening when wine and music softened the hardened hearts of the soldiers. Captain Popp, apparently part of “I. R. 43. Marsch,” stood up during the music and recounted the 8th Battle of the Soča. He had gone into battle with 600 soldiers and 16 officers, but only 15 soldiers and one officer returned (ZAL 3). These stories reinforced Wigele’s awareness of the transience of life and his expectation that his turn would come. His diary reveals his belief that arriving at the battlefield marked the end of one’s life.

On March 14, Wigele was assigned to the “4th Field Company” in Škrbina. He expressed relief that he (still) did not have to enter the trenches like some of his comrades. He received military equipment, including a gas mask and 130 rounds of ammunition, but he also dealt with lice and rats. He exclaimed, “Oh God, what a life, and how long must one live like this?” He was desperate, convinced in that moment that death was the only solution. He wished to be wounded soon or struck fatally by a bullet (ZAL 3). Although he had not yet been in battle, its proximity filled him with horror and a mixed “desire” to be injured or fatally wounded. Nothing he saw seemed human anymore.

While visiting a cemetery, he admired the towering cypress trees swaying proudly in the wind, but this brief detachment from reality was fleeting. Observing the graves, he wrote, “Blessed are you, who did not see this misery; you left before it came. Blessed are you. But your sons are dying near you.” (ZAL 3). Though he had not yet fought on the battlefield, its proximity pushed him into self-destructive thoughts and a “search” for a connection with death. The cemetery gave him a sense of peace, as those buried there had escaped the horrors of war. Looking around, he saw only ruined houses and exclaimed, “Inhabitants of this place, stay where you are, so you do not see this poverty, so you do not see your homes.” (ZAL 3).

Ferdinand Wigele was conscripted on April 28, 1916, and assigned to the 17th Infantry Regiment. His preserved diary covers the period from 1916 to March 1918. At the beginning of the first notebook of his diary, he wrote that he was not writing for others but for himself, so he could remember his youth in old age, if he lived to see it. If he were to die on the battlefield, he asked that whoever found the notes destroy them immediately and inform his family, whose address he had included, of his death. When the Italians captured him on June 19, 1918, they apparently confiscated his notes covering the period after March 20, 1918, suggesting that he later reconstructed them from memory.

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front

Memory of the Isonzo front

His writing was constantly interrupted by the overflights of Italian planes. He vividly described the Austro-Hungarian artillery firing at an Italian aircraft. Even at night, there was no peace, as the enemy shelled “terribly.” Lice and Italian artillery deprived him of sleep.

Around March 20, his unit was in Kobjeglava and then moved to Kopriva. On April 2, he noted that he had been promoted to Zugsführer (sergeant). He was very pleased about this promotion, as it meant he no longer had to perform technical duties, and he also sewed new insignia onto his uniform. He celebrated his promotion in Sežana with a comrade, drinking a liter of wine (ZAL 3). During this phase, his writing became lighter again. He described his daily life without delving into deeper thoughts. Clearly, the promotion had lifted his morale, but he also began to grow weary of the monotony of military life, writing: “I’ve never lived such a dull life, always the same.” (ZAL 3).

At this stage in his diary, Wigele seemed to have distanced himself from his earlier frequent thoughts about death. However, he grew frustrated with the monotony, and his anger is evident in a sharp remark about his new superior, Oblt. Trattnik : “He is, in every sense, a pig.” He added that others also realized he was not a good person (ZAL 3). In his diary, his private world amidst the war, Wigele allowed himself open criticism of his superior—something strictly forbidden and severely punished in the rigid military and societal hierarchy of the time.

Ferdinand Wigele’s diary entries reflect the maturation of a young man who had, in his youthful naivety, volunteered to join the army but ended his military journey in Italian captivity as a hardened and prematurely matured individual. Many soldiers experienced this premature hardening and forced maturity.

When Ljubljana’s mayor Ivan Tavčar received news on October 28, 1917, about the Austro-Hungarian reoccupation of Gorizia and the triumphant advance of the Austro-Hungarian army into Italian territory, he addressed the city council at a ceremonial session on November 6, 1917 (ZAL 4). The attendees expressed their recognition of their emperor and ruler, Karl, who had led the Austro-Hungarian army to “complete victory.” They pledged their loyalty and “unwavering” devotion to him. On this occasion, they also paid tribute to their honorary citizen, the commander of the Soča Army, Svetozar Borojević, who had defended Slovenian land in eleven battles against the numerically superior Italian enemy. They also honored all soldiers who had fought under impossible conditions and sacrificed their lives for their homeland.

The mayor and city council expressed pride in the participation of Slovenian soldiers, who “never wavered and were among the first in the ranks pursuing victory” (ZAL 4). They also extended their gratitude to their German allies.

The successful advance of the Austro-Hungarian army was seen at the ceremonial session as a victory over Italy and a step toward a just and lasting peace. The attendees expressed hope that justice in the monarchy would no longer be applied unevenly but equally for all. They believed that justice would grow from the Slovenian blood spilled on the Soča. Emperor Karl, described as the “true representative of true justice,” was seen as a guarantor of this hope (ZAL 4).

However, subsequent developments revealed that their expectations tied to victory on the Soča Front were overly optimistic, both internally and externally. Italy gained a large part of the Slovenian ethnic territory, and Austria-Hungary remained so neglectful that it was abandoned at the moment of its defeat.

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front Memory of the Isonzo front

Slovenian memory of the Isonzo front source: here

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