Chapter 264: Isonzo
It had been close to a year since the Great War Broke out, or at least well over three-fourths of the way there. And in this time the Allies had not gained a single victory, whether on land, at sea, or in the air. They were thoroughly trounced with each and every attempt to fight the Central Powers.
One might say that if they continued any longer, their populations would lose the will to fight and riot at the end of the war. It was perhaps because of this that the Italians who had little to gain from joining this conflict to begin with were in a particularly anxious state.
Over the course of the last year they had pushed into the Alps in an attempt to break through into South Tyrol, lands rightfully ruled by the Habsburg Dynasty as given to them by God. Now, however, the Italians sought to claim these lands, and in doing so were recklessly sending men into the slaughter.
Five times they had fought, and five times they had been repelled. That is, until today. As the winter snow still froze upon the mountain tops of the Alps, both sides sat in the trenches, freezing and starving as they waited for one another to make the move.
It was obvious that the Austro-Hungarian Army, with their elevation advantage and exceptional fortifications, would not be making the move, so then naturally, it fell to the Italians to charge. And charge they did.
But not like they normally had. Rather as if learning something from lessons waged in the Balkans. The Italians made use of their own "stormtroopers" to covertly make their way into a weaker part of the Austro-Hungarian defenses where its guards were currently drinking and smoking around a fire pit.
Mother Europe was cold and filled with frost, enough so to kill a lesser man. It was this hardship that its children had grown in. It surrounded them, molded them, and created a hardy race of men who, at this point in time, more or less had conquered the known world.
And today was especially cold. The darkness of the storm clouds unleashing a blizzard upon the otherwise winter wonderland, as the soldiers huddled in their warmest clothes around fires. Only a fool would dare to venture into no-man’s-land, where they could rely only on the warmth of their thick wool clothing to protect them from the elements on this day.
Or perhaps a man desperate for a victory. The Austro-Hungarian forces had underestimated their Italian opponents, who needed a victory, or else they would lose the war altogether. And because of this, few men were properly at their post where they should be.
It was perhaps because of this that they were so surprised when they saw men walking in their trenches who were not wearing proper Austro-Hungarian equipment. It was hard to tell at first, what with the blinding frost fall.
They, after all, more or less wore the same color of uniforms. And nobody in their right mind was wearing a helmet right now. Rather, they wore furs and hats designed to protect the wearer from the extreme cold.