THE ITALIAN SOLDIER STANDING BEFORE A COMRADE, EXECUTED FOR DESERTION, SEPTEMBER 1917

 Italian soldier standing before a comrade, executed for desertion, September 1917.



Although the original caption states the executed soldier as Italian, it is uncertain whether he was actually an Austro-Hungarian. It could also be an Italian soldier enduring some form of field punishment lighter than execution.

The soldier in front also looks more like an Austro-Hungarian than an Italian soldier, though all sources for this photograph I was able to find stated he was Italian. Perhaps he was one of the many Italian-natives in the Austro-Hungarian Army.

On September 28, 1915 Italian Chief-of-Staff Luigi Cadorna issued the following statement: "Discipline is the spiritual flame of victory; the most disciplined troops, not the best trained, win. The commanding officer has the sacred duty to immediately execute the recalcitrant and the cowards".

During the First World War over 170,000 Italian soldiers were convicted for military offences such as desertion, cowardice, disobedience, self-wounding, insubordinate language towards a superior officer, or sleeping on sentry duty. Over 100,000 for these were charged with desertion.

Of the 170,000 convictions, 15,345 were given life sentences prison and 4,028 were sentenced to death. 750 of these executions were carried out; 391 for desertion, 164 for surrendering or disbanding, 154 for indiscipline, 21 for espionage or treason, 12 for violence, 5 for self-wounding, 2 for greed and 1 for sexual offences.

This puts Italy at the second highest number of executions of the warring nations in the First World War, with Austria-Hungary on the top with 1,148 executions. 

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