Armament, Equipment, Protective Gear and Badges

Now available!

About the book

Double volume with dust jackets in hard cardboard slipcase, 736 pages in total, more than 1,200 colour and black-and-white illustrations, format: 29.5 x 26 cm

The authors

Davide Zendri, Francesco Frizzera, and others

Price

€ 149.90

ISBN

978-3-903341-40-1 (English)
978-3-903341-39-5 (German)
978-3-903341-41-8 (Italian)

Weight

5.50 kg

Content

At the outbreak of the First World War, Italy was a country where a process of industrialization had begun, but with a delay compared to major continental competitors. The State, pursuing great power policies, had established an Army based on mass conscription and compulsory military service that, in the event of conflict, could rely on the option of enlisting and calling up millions of citizens, similar to what happened in most European states and empires.

The size of the mobilization, which involved over five million adult males, the duration of the conflict and the innovations introduced during the war – specific to trench warfare or linked to the use of new and different offensive systems – put the Italian industrial, ­logistical and supply apparatus to the test.

This illustrated double volume recounts the transformations experienced by the Italian Army during the war, through the presentation of over 500 weapons, equipment, protective gear, badges and decorations. Divided into 14 chapters, written by 15 authors, the text delves into the evolution of edged weapons and firearms (short, long, individual, team firearms) and the progressive introduction and development of hand and rifle grenades. ­ It then focuses on individual equipment, equipment for mountain warfare, the use and development of wire cutters, equipment in military healthcare and communication tools. The volume than presents individual protection systems (gas masks and protective gear developed for chemical warfare; trench shields), with a review of individual fatigue and work equipment (fatigue uniform, other protective clothing, footwear). It ends with the presentation of insignias, badges and official medals in use by the Italian Army, during the war and in the aftermath of the conflict.

The items described come from the collections of the Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra and other public and private international collections. The repertoire covers all the army’s supplies – except for artisanal production – up to the end of the First World War and is accompanied by a very rich black and white photographic apparatus, with over 500 historical photos, aimed at better describing the pieces.