. Battlefields of the World War, western and southern fronts; a study in military geography . yards. cially advanced in support of the claim were obviously the claim to the southern Trentino on racial grounds wasvalid, and strong strategic arguments could be adduced tosupport demands for further territory beyond the racial bound-ary. This was sufficient to bring the Trentino into the fieldas a prize of war, as well as a field of maneuver for hostile armies;and, in accordance with the rule if you want a piece of groundyou must sit on it, it was considered highly important thatItalian a
. Battlefields of the World War, western and southern fronts; a study in military geography . yards. cially advanced in support of the claim were obviously the claim to the southern Trentino on racial grounds wasvalid, and strong strategic arguments could be adduced tosupport demands for further territory beyond the racial bound-ary. This was sufficient to bring the Trentino into the fieldas a prize of war, as well as a field of maneuver for hostile armies;and, in accordance with the rule if you want a piece of groundyou must sit on it, it was considered highly important thatItalian armies should affirm the right of the kingdom to theterritory in question by doing all that was practicable to conquer STRATEGIC POSITION 497 it. That Austria should dispute the attempted conquest wasinevitable, and hence the two contestants were sure to clashupon the difficult terrain of the Trentine Alps. The Battlefield of the Trentino is of peculiar interest alsobecause it lay across the shortest and easiest route from theland of Italys strongest foe, Germany, to the Italian Fig. 124—A teleferica on the slope of the Adamello group. The Brenner Pass, only 4,495 feet high, is not only one of thelowest and most accessible passes in the Alps but is the onlyone by which the central part of the massive barrier can becrossed without traversing other additional passes. Here, andhere only, valleys cut clear through to the central axis on eitherside, and a single low gap divides the two transverse was the direct route from Berlin to Rome in time of peace,and from time immemorial the chief route for invading Italyfrom the north. The natural defenses against such invasion arefound on the Battlefield of the Trentino. 498 BATTLEFIELD OF THE TRENTINO The Form of ItalyIt was not merely the fact that Italy was in danger of attackfrom the north which made the Trentine Alps so vital from themilitary standpoint. The geographic form of Italy and thelocation of her gre
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectworldwar19141918
