Words of War from the Alpine Front

What we can learn from written correspondence during the First World War, including an account of a hard fought battle for the Castelletto.

Photographs and drawings from World War One may captivate our imaginations, but only letters and diaries from participants provide a more thorough account of what it felt like to fight under such trying conditions from 1914-18. Letters allow us to reconstruct battles such as that at "Castelletto," an Austro-Hungarian strongpoint dominating supply routes despite being exposed and thus Austro-Hungarian commanders were aware that Italian forces might soon overrun it.

After multiple unsuccessful attacks by Italy's Alpini troops against Austro-Hungarian positions, they turned their focus toward mining beneath them using picks and eventually pneumatic drills. At that time Hans Schneeberger, 19, served as commander of Castelletto due to being young without family responsibilities; during this period Hans Schneeberger wrote letters detailing battle activity around his position; eventually Italian forces completed their tunnel which they learned of via intercepted transmission, with Schneeberger writing that everything is as before except another 24 hours have gone by and we are closer towards death."

Miraculously, Schneeberger would survive having 35 tons of bombs detonate under him while sleeping at Austro-Hungarian barracks on Castelletto at night while sleeping, fighting off an Italian assault, then withdraw under cover of darkness - as documented by war diaries like that of Erwin Rommel who served on Italy Front during WW1. War diaries often go into great depth about this unique terrain for battle.

Weight of Words
Italian soldiers received and sent more than 4 billion letters and cards during World War One; this figure pales in comparison with 10-30 billion items sent by France and Germany respectively - even taking into account that Italy mobilized far fewer soldiers; additionally there was also its relatively low literacy rate: at war's start about 40% of Italian citizens couldn't read or write!

Unable to communicate with their loved ones or find any escape from war's experience through traditional communication channels, illiterate men would often turn to fellow comrades or military chaplains for writing assistance or instruction. Italian military forces issued many postcards designed for ease of filling out by less educated soldiers, with preprinted text and clear spaces reserved for address information. However, these cards could serve a dual function: by offering such limited writing space on each card to soldiers themselves, it would prevent soldiers from sharing too much about their experiences, controlling how much information would reach civilian populations and making mail censors' job simpler - common during WW1, this resulted in letters and cards becoming far less specific and descriptive than would otherwise have been.

Snowberger describes not only machine guns, artillery and poison gas weapons used during high altitude combat but also their unique threats posed by it: boulders rolling down steep slopes and cliff faces, shellfire-induced avalanches releasing tons of rock debris onto steep terrain, rope cutting ladders climbed by Alpini then laughing when their death ensued - such as when his sergeant cut one when Alpini attempted to climb it! He recalls one instance where an attacker cut a rope ladder being used by Alpini then laughing when Alpini attempted to climb it but cut it with his sergeant's knife! Schneeberger recalls when one such soldier cut Alpini off in mid air thus leading them both into battle resulting in their deaths!