Italian Forces

Young Mussolini.

Journalist and political activist Benito Mussolini was in his mid 30s when, having abandoned Internationalist Revolutionary Socialism in favour of a pre-Fascist National Revolutionary stance, he volunteered for service in the Italian Army. Quite a turn-around - as a young Internationalist, he had fled Italy temporarily to avoid military service. He spent the best part of a year on the front line at the Isonzo, before being discharged in 1917 following a severe wounding caused by a grenade explosion in his trench - a very common occurrance in Italian trenches on the Isonzo. Italian records indicate that he was an exemplary soldier. Good view of his M91 rifle, a model (in several variants) still standard in the Italian Army in WW2. Best regards, JR.