L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, Memor- ial Day, was origi- nally called Decora- tion Day, a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. Observed May 28th, the last Monday in May, it was passed by Congress in 1968 to ensure a three day weekend for federal workers. Italy declared war on Austria- Hungary on May 24th, 1915 and on Germany August 27th, 1916. The USA and President Woodrow Wilson stayed neutral until he signed a declaration on April 6th, 1917 taking the USA into the war. On November 11th, 1918 the Armistice agreement was signed and fighting on the battlefield ceased at 11 am. The guns of World War I fell silent. After four long years and an esti- mated ten million dead, the "war to end all wars" was finally over. In 1919 President Woodrow Wil- son proclaimed November 11th as Armistice Day to remind Americans of the tragedy of war. Here are some of the USA, Italy and worldwide connections to World War I from 1914 to 1918: On June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Aus- tro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife were assassinated by a Ser- bian in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The Austrians made drastic demands on the Serbians to right this wrong, but the Serbs, backed by Russia, were in no mood to be bullied. On August 2nd, Germany invades Luxembourg, declares war on France and next invades Belgium. By August 4th, Britain and Belgium have declared war on Germany. In Turkey, the Ottomans close and fortify the Dardanelles, the narrow straight separating Europe from Asia and connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara. On August 6th, Austria declares war on Russia and Serbia on Germany. A week later, Britain and France declare war on Austria and an expeditionary force lands in France. By August 20th, German troops have taken Brussels and, a few days later, Japan declares war on Germany and attacks the fortified German pro in Qingdao, on Chinese terri- tory. In Belgium, around Mons, the British are forced to retreat after bitter fighting with the Germans, but at sea they sink three German cruisers and two destroyers off the German-held island of Hel- goland Bight, in the North Sea. All this in the first month of World War I, in 1914. Weeks after war was declared by Britain and France against Germany, men from throughout the British Empire, Australia, Canada and New Zealand rush to London to volunteer.  Volunteers from neutral USA rush to Paris to enlist. Although Italy declared war against Austria-Hungary in May 1915, and soon after on Bulgaria, it does not declare war on Ger- many until August 27th, 1916. The war stretches on and, in late October 1917, the Italian Army is shattered by a surprise German onslaught and is forced to retreat in disarray towards the Piave river, some fifteen miles from Venice. The Italian army, which com- fortably held off the Austrians though 1916, captured the strong- hold of Monte Santo only two months before, and seemed well entrenched in the mountains around Caporetto and Udine, is rattled by a surprise gas attack. Losses are high with 10,000 Italians dead, 30,000 wounded and nearly 300,000 troops cap- tured. A year to the day, on Octo- ber 30th, 1918 the Austrian army completes its evacuation of the Italian territory after being defeat- ed in the final battle of the con- flict, at Vittorio Veneto. The Ital- ians captured over 600,000 prisoners, 6,000 guns and ended the war with a victory. A week later on November 11th, 1918 World War I was over. *** The "Festa della Repubblica Italiana," the national holiday to celebrate the birth of the Italian Republic, is coming up. On June 2nd, 1946, the Italian Republic was proclaimed by public referen- dum, making the end of the monarchy in Italy. During the week, the Consul General of Italy usually hosts a party to celebrate Italian Republic Day, just as American consulate officials serv- ing in various cities throughout the world host Independence Day celebration on July 4th. *** Marie-Josè and her husband Umberto were crowned on May 9th 1946. On June 2nd, Italy voted in a referendum to become a republic. The couple, who reigned only for 27 days, were Italy's last king and queen. The previous Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III, who had co-oper- ated with the dictator Benito Mus- solini, had abdicated, hoping to save the monarchy. His son Umberto and Marie-Josè, he said, provided a fresh start. But the Italians wanted a fresh- er start. During the Second World War, while the Germans had easy vic- tories in Western Europe, Italian armies were defeated in North Africa and Greece. When Italy surrendered to Britain and the United States in 1943, Germany took over much of the country until its own defeat in 1945. The monarchists' hopes had really rested on the popularity of Marie-Josè of Saxony-Coburg. It could not be said that everyone liked her: she was a rarity among the royals of Europe, she was politically on the left. But ordi- nary Italians loved to hear about her rebellious ways. Admirers of Marie-Josè tend to portray her as a resistance heroine, standing up to the iniquities of Mussolini. Marie-Josè's parents were the king and queen of Belgium, regarded as a liberal-minded cou- ple for their time. Her mother Elisabeth was, at the age of 82, the first European royal to visit the Soviet Union, an enterprise that earned her the nickname of Red Queen. With Marie-Josè's native Bel- gium swiftly annexed in 1940 (as it had been in World War One), she had good reason to loathe the Germans, whom she called pigs and liars. She went to see Hitler at his retreat in Berchtesgaden to plead, without success, for food for starving Belgium. Her main recol- lection was that he ate chocolate throughout the interview. She had her little victories. She refused Mussolini's request to Ital- ianise her name to Maria Giusep- pina. But he valued her as the head of the Italian Red Cross. She accompanied the Italian army on its invasion of Abyssinia (later Ethiopia) in 1935. The picture that emerges of her is that of a woman loyal to her husband's country, but disturbed by a Europe run by tyrants. She had talent with words. After the war, she chose to live apart from her husband, and made Geneva her new home. She built a career as a writer. One of her books is a history of the Italian royal family.

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