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HEMINGWAY, ERNEST (1898-1961) Isonzo Front
From 1915 when the Isonzo Front was opened up until the end of the battle in 1917 by when
over a million people had been killed or driven away and the Italians had suffered a
temporary defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire a temporary victory. Over 600.000 soldiers
fought on the Isonzo Front. In the twelfth and final Isonzo battle alone, the decisive
struggle in which fortunes turned to the advantage of the Austrians (giving the battle the
name Miracle of Kobarid), the Italians left behind 100,000 dead. Some 350,000 soldiers and
450,000 civilians had to flee. With the help of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, the
Austrians drove the Italians far back into Friuli ... but only so that the following year
they would return and rule over Slovenia's Soča region for the next twenty-five years.
Kobarid, a small town by the
river Soča is famous for its museum of World War I, that was proclaimed European Museum
of 1993 by the Council of Europe. It leads us through the various phases of the Soča
hell. There you can find a small table with a visitors' book, a United States flag and a
large picture of Ernest Hemingway. |