The formation of the Czech-Slovak legion in Italy : a difficult alliance in Italian military documents

A few days after the conclusion of the Council of the Oppressed Nationalities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Rome 16-18 April 1918), the Italian government authorized the enrolment of prisoners of war of Czech and Slovak nationality in a special legion under the Royal Army. Diplomatic documents and reports of the Army General Staff, issued between 1915 and 1918, considerably downplay the self-celebratory aspect of the Rome Pact as an expression of Italian support for the Czech-Slovak national cause. The analysis of the documents opens new investigative perspectives, highlighting a mutual political-military opportunist motive underlying the agreements between the Italian authorities and the Czech-Slovak interim government.

From all of this, the subordination of the Italian governments' choices to the needs of the military commands and to the pressures of international diplomacy seems to clearly emerge, as they were increasingly determined to take advantage in the intricate war scenario of the First World War of the tensions existing between the national groups within the Empire. [Publisher's Text].