In towns and villages behind the war zones, residents had to live side by side throughout the war with the constant presence of military personnel. In addition to two million civilians, as from May 1915 to October 1917 there were also four million soldiers. On a practical level, this aspect of the First World War undoubtedly represented a problem for these civilians; the military machine was certainly cumbersome and soldiers were sometimes involved in excesses and violent behaviour.
When they arrived in these areas away from the war zone, many of them would have just passed a relatively long period in the frontline, in the middle of trenches and in close contact with death. Stress, nervousness and despair would often push them to “let off steam” when they got back to a more or less normal life. The addiction of many of them to alcohol would often lead to squabbles, violence and to explicit attention to the girls of these localities. These episodes grew strongly in number and became increasingly serious in localities that a few months earlier belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In places such as Cortina d'Ampezzo or in towns in Medio and Basso Isonzo (Caporetto, Cormons, Gradisca, Sagrado, Monfalcone and later Gorizia too) both the civilian population and the military personnel did not trust each other. The Austro-Hungarian propaganda in the spring of 1915 had highlighted the poor character of Italians who were portrayed as traitors who could resort to any kind of malice. The Italian side on the other hand would warn its soldiers (as well as officers) always to keep their eyes wide open: anybody could in fact be a spy or a double agent. This confusion also increased because of the language: many farmers from Friuli speak only the dialect of Friuli whereas those who lived in the areas of Karst, of the Natisone Valleys and in the valley of Caporetto used to communicate with each other only by means of the Slovenian dialect.
This kind of attitude repeated itself even during the occupation by the Austro-German forces of the whole of Friuli and of the eastern and northern part of Veneto. Throughout 1918, those who remained in their own homes were often mistaken for Italian spies. Whoever was discovered (or whoever was believed to have been discovered) was destined to be shot while instead those who were “simply” suspects could be arrested and deported.
In the midst of all this continuous violence, however, there were also some instances of peaceful coexistence between the civilian population and military personnel. There were some families which ended up housing soldiers in their own homes, washing their uniforms and cooking food for them. Boys who had just turned into youths found a maternal figure in some local women, a safe refuge from the violence and the horrors of war. At the same time others, such as military personnel who were constantly engaged in areas away from the war front (such as doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff) established daily contacts with the residents of these places and there were also instances of engagements and even marriages with local girls.
