Geographical Representation of the Royal Italian Army War Sectors and Sites during the First World War

Abstract

AbstractThe commonly agreed representation of the Italian front during the First World War places it along the border between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy. However, Italy also sent troops to many other fronts throughout Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa (Cotillo, Italy during the World War. The Christopher Publishing House, Boston 1922). The geographical knowledge related to troop deployments along these war fronts often lacks detail about the actual locations of those places.After 5 years of research, places involved during the war and their locations are now represented using geographical tools. The research is based on a geographical information system (GIS) technology and is aimed at identifying, cataloguing and georeferencing the so-called places of war.Dissemination of this information relies on two different, but complementary, tools: a gazetteer and an online GIS. The gazetteer facilitates searching with the online GIS and provides unambiguous results for sites related to the deployment of military units, airfields, harbours, war cemeteries, prisoners of war camps and military logistics infrastructure. Both the gazetteer and online GIS provide geographical support not only for historical studies but also for the preservation of local history and the memory of men and events.KeywordsWWIItalian frontMilitary geographyGeographic information systemGazetteer