Nationalism and Revolution

Abstract

This chapter is on the experience of soldiers and veterans in Italy in 1919, with particular focus on those who volunteered to join Gabriele D’Annunzio’s occupation of Fiume. The seizure of the city was carried out in opposition to the Italian government and the Allies, and the ensuing regime crystallised many of the profound transformations in social power and relationships in Europe. A critical moment for the Italian state, it can also be regarded as an – inherently transnational – microcosm of the complicated patchwork of revolution and counter-revolution, civil war, anti-colonial movements, industrial unrest, demobilisation, nationalism and reaction that shook Europe between 1917-23. An examination of how these post-war changes were internalised and expressed by soldiers and veterans in their own words and through their actions provides insights into the nature of Italy’s post-war crisis and into veteran subjectivities. This case study investigates, through collective biographies, the mosaic of identifications of the soldiers and volunteers who joined the expedition, illustrating the fluidity of mentalities. The D’Annunzian challenge to Wilsonianism occurred in a context of widespread land seizures, protests and food riots involving soldiers and veterans who were determined to reshape Italian society along more democratic and equitable lines. The occupation was both a result of and a response to these developments. This reflection on soldiers’ actions, ideas and beliefs considers their role in a near-revolutionary moment and complicates our understanding of the political, social and military violence in post-war Italy.