At the end of October 1917 thousands of men, women and children chose to abandon their own homes to escape the advance of the Austro-German forces. On this subject there are hundreds of diaries, memories and articles that narrate the emotions, the sensations and the sentiments that were experienced by people in those dramatic and hectic days. The descriptions of the typical landscape in autumn time are very striking with each and every step highlighted by the unceasing rain, by the mud that had invaded the fields and the streets, by the confusion that could be easily surmised. It is likely that some of the most moving pages were those written on the strength of their own experiences by men and women who at the time of these events were still children. No one better than then was able to capture the frenzy and the fear of those days, details that allow us today to understand how the defeat of Caporetto left a very deep mark on the history of Italy.
Ettore Bulligan, an eight-year old child from Udine, was the son of a craftsman builder who just a few days before the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo went back to Friuli (he had migrated with the whole family to Switzerland). On 27th October 1917 his father decided to leave Udine again because he feared the arrival of the Austro-German troops who were now descending rapidly from the Natisone Valleys. "Chiusa alle spalle la porta del nonno, sotto una fitta pioggia gelida, nel buio più assoluto, in fila indiana e in silenzio, cominciammo la nostra odissea" ("After having closed the door of the grandfather's house behind us, under a heavy icy rain, in pitch darkness, in single file and in silence we started our odyssey." in Giacomo Viola, Storie della ritirata nel Friuli della Grande Guerra, Gaspari, Udine, 1998, page 24).
Unlike many other families, his family managed to reach the bridges on the river Tagliamento and to head towards Pordenone from where trains with refugees used to travel towards Padua. He recalls how his family could not follow the easiest way (the road from Udine to Codroipo to Pordenone) since this road was reserved for the army and so they had to carry on along secondary roads in Basaldella, Pozzuolo, Nespoledo, Lestizza and finally Madrisio. After having reached Pordenone, they received organized assistance for the first time: "[…] a ogni profugo erano state distribuite dalla Croce Rossa una pagnotta e una scatoletta, ma noi bambini ci eravamo messi in fila più volte e così ci eravamo procurati una piccola scorta di viveri. E per fortuna che ci arrangiammo, perché nessuno si interessò più di noi e la fame fu una compagna presente per tutto il viaggio" ("[…] to every refugee the Red Cross distributed a loaf and a box but with other children we lined up several times and so we were able to obtain a small supply of food provisions. We were lucky that we were able to fend for ourselves in this way because nobody ever again showed any interest in us and hunger was our companion throughout the whole of our journey" (Giacomo Viola, Storie della ritirata nel Friuli della Grande Guerra, Gaspari, Udine, 1998, page 36).
