La grande retrovia in territorio nemico. Bologna e la sua provincia nella Grande Guerra (1914-1918)

The First World War is generally considered the first total war of the history. Besides the suffering of the soldiers at the front there was an intense mobilization of civil society: the reorganization of economic systems, the rationing of food resources, and severe limitations of personal freedom. This book analyzes the deep transformations that took place in Italy during these crucial years, seen from the point of view of the Province of Bologna. The government declared the main town of Emilia and its territory “war zone” since the very beginning of the war: this choice was bount to break off any possible opposition to the mobilization of the army by the socialist movement, which was deeply-rooted in these areas. With the prolongation of the war the “red province” emerged more and more as a “great deep backline” of crucial strategic importance to the war effort. The decision to maintain an exceptional regime was therefore confirmed. Strict control, however, was not enough. Since the first months of the war a dialogue was set up among the civil and military powers of the State and the socialist organizations. It concerned the most important issues related to the life of civil society: the management of economic conflicts, the rationing policy, the organization of local welfare. The result was a complex web of repression and collaboration, affected both by the general political and military events, and the attitudes and strategies of the different actors: the civil authorities, military commands, the “interventionist” parties and the socialist movement in its different and contrasting facets. Studying the Great War in Bologna means therefore to investigate the Great War in Italy and, in many respects, in Europe.