The young soldiers of the 1899 Class: our heroes of the time. While today there are those fleeing from the wars ...

(To Marco Valerio Verni)
23/07/18

The young soldiers of the 1899 class had the baptism of fire. Their behavior was magnificent, and on the river that now barred the pathways of the Fatherland to the enemy, in a superb counterattack, joined their ardent enthusiasm to the experience of the older comrades, they triumphed. Some Austrian battalions that had dared to cross the Piave were annihilated: 1.200 captured captives, some cannons taken by the enemy were reconquered and reported on the positions that the bodies of the artillerymen, heroically fallen into a desperate defense, still marked.

In this hour, supreme of duty and honor in which the armies with firm faith and a secure heart stem the wrath of the enemy on the river and the mountains, echoing that cry "Long live Italy" that has always been the call of victory, I want the Army to know that our young brothers of the 1899 Class have shown themselves to be worthy of the heritage of glory that descends on them. (War Zone, 18 November 1917 - Army Chief A. Diaz)

Thus recited the Encomium issued by the Supreme Military Command of the Italian Royal Army which, quoted in the Military Bulletin of 22 November 1917, was commuted to a Cross to Military Valor in the 1923, as a result of the Royal Decree of 9 July of that year.

The protagonists were the boys of the '99, young people, mostly from the lower classes of the population, just 18 years (and with a very improvised training, because of the urgency with which they had to be precept and then used in those dramatic months of war, in which everything seemed lost) were sent to the north-eastern front, the day after the defeat of Caporetto and which proved decisive in important battles, including the "arrest", fought between the Trentino and the Veneto the 10 November 1917, that of the "solstice", held in mid-June of the 1918 and, most recently, that of "Vittorio Veneto", which took place between the 24 October and the 3 November 1918.

It is also to these very young heroes that my thoughts turn, when today we celebrate thousands of young people fleeing (they say) from wars. And I think of the blood that our ancestors shed, on so many occasions, to deliver us what is - or should be - a democratic state, today too often battered and - anyone who is not of the same opinion will forgive me - put in serious danger. from some migration policies which, from their genesis (which, let's not forget, stems from a real trafficking in human beings) to their subsequent management, leave, euphemistically speaking, much to be desired.

The new course inaugurated by the newly-formed government I hope will take the European Union or, why not, the United Nations, which, in the past, have also interpreted - or allowed to be interpreted - "ad hoc" its Charter, to justify military interventions, with the different legal qualifications of the case, to intervene on the thorny - and now no longer a questionable matter - in a serious and consistent way even with those values ​​of solidarity that, too often flagged in words , they are often betrayed in deeds.

In this context, we should also say about humanitarian organizations, the management of funds for reception, integration processes, the singular institution of humanitarian protection, and more.

One might even wonder why, to date, the International Criminal Court (of which, just last 18 July, was celebrated for the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the relative Statute) has not acted concretely to investigate and arrest the various criminals involved (what that, although Libya does not appear among the States adhering to it, it could still fulfill the United Nations Security Council mandate mentioned above), resulting in today a simple investigation file which, more than on the causes of this its trafficking in human beings (with the enormous economic inducement deriving from it) seems to be going to investigate its effects (first of all, the alleged conduct by the Libyan Coast Guard which, as written by the same general secretary António Guterres - during the bailouts and / or interception at sea would be reckless and violent, and detention centers for migrants operating in Libya): that s tessa Court that - incidentally - in the geo-political context of the time (in which Sarkozy's France dominated), was invested in the 2011, right by the UN Council, of the possible incrimination of Gaddafi for alleged crimes against the 'humanity.

But here, what we wanted to remember, is a generation of Italian heroes who "... yesterday children and ... today so great!", As he wrote about them Gabriele D'Annunzio, defended with their lives the values ​​of our people, guaranteeing their survival against the invader.

Of course, today everything has changed and, to return to what was mentioned above, and net of other considerations, the wars in Africa, where they actually exist, have different matrices and consequences: but the substance should not change, since, save the children, women and the elderly (which every civilized nation should welcome and protect, as it should be: see, in this regard, what has already been written in a article), the twenty year old or the thirty, on the contrary, should perhaps remain in their land to fight - and eventually die - for those rights that, today denied, could be recognized in constitutional texts tomorrow, and allow future generations to lead their lives in their countries of origin.

Just as our ancestors did on many occasions and - for what is the tribute that here today we want to recognize in particular - the youth of the 1899 of which, the same General Diaz said: "I saw them guys from the 99. They went to the front line singing. I saw them return to a small number. They still sang ".

(photo: EUNAVFOR MED / web)