In May 1915, Italy declared war on the Habsburg Empire. Nearly 750,000 Italian troops were killed in savage, hopeless fighting on the stony hills north of Trieste and in the snows of the Dolomites. To maintain discipline, General Luigi Cadorna restored the Roman practice of decimation, executing random members of units that retreated or rebelled. With elegance and pathos, historian Mark Thompson relates the saga of the Italian front, the nationalist frenzy and political intrigues that preceded the conflict, and the towering personalities of the statesmen, generals, and writers drawn into the heart of the chaos. A work of epic scale, The White War does full justice to the brutal and heart-wrenching war that inspired Hemingways A Farewell to Arms.
- ISBN10 0465013295
- ISBN13 9780465013296
- Publish Date 17 March 2009 (first published 4 September 2008)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Basic Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 480
- Language English