The White War
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Review
'If today's political situation in Italy gives cause for concern, this book is an excellent place to start trying to understand it.'
--Jon Latimer, Daily Telegraph
--Jon Latimer, Daily Telegraph
Professor Richard Bosworth, author of Mussolini and Mussolini's Italy
`Just terrific, a marvellous balance between military history and all the rest - politics, poetry, geography - beautifully written and well achieved.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I fully agree with what the other reviewers have said about this book, which is a marvellous overview of the Italian front during 1915-18. Not only a military history - though it is that, of course, but also a political and cultural history. And not only of the Italian experience, even though that is the main focus, but also of "the other side", the multi-national Habsburg empire. The outnumbered Austrian army (with bosnians and croats strongly represented here) fought well on the Italian front, in contrast with other theatres.
The author gives a balanced, beautifully written, exciting and very moving account of this not-so-known part of the Great War: how Italy tumbled into it 1915, the desperate and futile fighting along the Isonzo, the debacle of Caporetto, the recovery and the peace settlement eventually leading to the establishment of fascism. The author is very much inside his material, and the book has a very strong sense both of time and of place. At times it reminded me of Alistair Horne or John Keegan. Strongly recommended, and not only to military history buffs!
The author gives a balanced, beautifully written, exciting and very moving account of this not-so-known part of the Great War: how Italy tumbled into it 1915, the desperate and futile fighting along the Isonzo, the debacle of Caporetto, the recovery and the peace settlement eventually leading to the establishment of fascism. The author is very much inside his material, and the book has a very strong sense both of time and of place. At times it reminded me of Alistair Horne or John Keegan. Strongly recommended, and not only to military history buffs!
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm italian and I know italian literature about the Great War is excellent both in quality and in breadth (altough it is often more devoted to specific topics than to general overviews of the whole war). It is always interesting to see it from a foreigner's point of view, years ago I read Schindler's Isonzo that while it had some qualities it also left a lot to be desired, so when I ordered "The White War" I did it with low expectations. At the end I was much more than surprised, Thompson's work is not only an excellent book by itself but it also compares favourably with the best ones currently available in italian language. Thompson masterly combines all the political, military and social aspects of the war in a single engrossing volume. I must admit that even italian histories of the war usually overlook one or more of the subjects treated by him. He does so with a skilfull use of primary and secondary sources, histories, memories, newpapers, interviews, etc... in which he shows a profound understanding of italian culture and society of early XX century. All his criticisms are always backed up by sources and thoughtfully asserted. And, surprisingly, he's immune by those oversimplifications, slants and prejudices typical of a foreigner studying a so called "minor" front. My only criticisms are minor, among other things Thompson seems to support the idea that an offensive to cut the Trentino salient would have been a valid strategic option, to me this is nonsense. Howewer in the end I can only praise his book and I'd give it 6 stars if possible.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Although ostensibly written from an Italian perspective, the reader inevitably feels sympathy with the Habsburg armies. Few leaders on the Italian side emerge with any credit, and many of the key figures are downright evil. Italian troops--many of them illiterate peasants who had no idea what they were fighting for--were sacrificed in huge numbers to satisfy the blood-lust of Italy's intellectuals, generals and politicians. One can sympathise with the more conservative elements of Italian society that opposed the war: the Pope, the aristocracy and business leaders joined the workers in opposition to this madness. And Italian war aims were hypocritical--nearly all the areas they wanted to conquer were occupied by foreign people. Which is one reason why the Habsburg armies fought so effectively against them; ethnically, its soldiers were more representative of the areas they were defending. Their general, Boroevic, was a Slovene: like many of the Balkan races, the Slovenes regarded the Empire as their protector. German-speaking Austrians comprised a relatively small percentage of the soldiers fighting Italy. Boroevic, unlike the bone-headed Italian general Cadorna, deployed his forces rationally, and held the Italians to a virtual standstill despite being outnumbered by a ratio of 10 to 4.
However, the Habsburgs had to fight on many fronts, and their economy was backward. By 1917, they were hard-pressed to repel the human waves released by Cadorna--so Germany loaned them seven divisions for a daring counterattack at Caporetto. Edwin Rommel was a major, and with 200 men he captured a string of vital hills where Italian artillery was threatening the Austro-German attack. As Thompson emphasises, he was able to do this because command in the German forces was devolved to the lowest levels, and Rommel was able to exploit opportunities without referring back up the chain of command. Cadorna, by contrast, insisted that all decisions, right down to the lowest level, had to be endorsed by his staff. As a result, he lost his entire 2nd army, and Italian forces were driven back almost all the way to Venice.
Mark Thomson has written a brilliant history of a war, a popular history which doesn't patronise its readers. It's not really a military history: the maps are far too sketchy to satisfy a military historian. But it does put this forgotten conflict into an overall perspective of the times--especially the intellectual forces that created the perverse mentality responsible for this tragedy.
However, the Habsburgs had to fight on many fronts, and their economy was backward. By 1917, they were hard-pressed to repel the human waves released by Cadorna--so Germany loaned them seven divisions for a daring counterattack at Caporetto. Edwin Rommel was a major, and with 200 men he captured a string of vital hills where Italian artillery was threatening the Austro-German attack. As Thompson emphasises, he was able to do this because command in the German forces was devolved to the lowest levels, and Rommel was able to exploit opportunities without referring back up the chain of command. Cadorna, by contrast, insisted that all decisions, right down to the lowest level, had to be endorsed by his staff. As a result, he lost his entire 2nd army, and Italian forces were driven back almost all the way to Venice.
Mark Thomson has written a brilliant history of a war, a popular history which doesn't patronise its readers. It's not really a military history: the maps are far too sketchy to satisfy a military historian. But it does put this forgotten conflict into an overall perspective of the times--especially the intellectual forces that created the perverse mentality responsible for this tragedy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very good but just a tad flawed
This is a really good book about a part of WW1 that isn't know too much about in the UK, particularly as there are chapters on the "futurists", the press coverage and also... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Geoff Saunders
A REVELATION
I was enthralled by this book. I had read many about the First World War, but never anything in detail about the Italian Front. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Stephen Cooper
A good read
For someone whose grandparents were from this area its a great read for a background on how Trento/Alto Adige ended up as being Italian provinces. Read more
Published 8 months ago by K2
White War review
This book is so interesting for those who would like to learn about the little-known war being fought on the Italian/Austro-Hungarian front during WWI. Read more
Published 13 months ago by sulis
Excellent history of a brutal but almost forgotten war
I visited the Vittorio Emmanuel monument in Rome a few years ago. The Italian tomb of the Unknown Soldier is part of the monument and there are displays on Italian military... Read more
Published 13 months ago by haunted
Excellent
The author aims for an ambitious span of approaches and succeeds. You are left with a solid basic narrative of the events, the historical background, the terrain, the tactics the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Jan
Illuminating and engaging account of a forgotten war
For many, like myself, the Italian Front of the Great War was a forgotten front oft-omitted from academic studies and certainly not a prominent fixture in any student's learnings... Read more
Published 14 months ago by C. Dearden
omissions
While very informative it is very sad that no mention was made of the Austrian colonialist atrocities or the fact that
they were occupiers of much of Italian territory and the... Read more
they were occupiers of much of Italian territory and the... Read more
Published 18 months ago by joshua
Disappointing
After seeing the plaudits that covered this book, I began it with eager anticipation. However, the author's perculiar approach of alternating his narrative of the campaigns with... Read more
Published 21 months ago by D. Spencer
Trench warfare 10,000ft up a mountainside...
Mark Thompson's history of an often-overlooked theatre of the First World War reminds us (as if we needed it) that when megalomaniacal leaders decide upon military expeditions for... Read more
Published on 19 April 2010 by James Hayes
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