NRDC -I TA on exercise

exercise Eagle tour 09 by CAPT (ITA A) Andrea Cubeddu

The yearly NRDC-ITA Battlefield Tour audience to have an initial snapshot of the was conducted during the period 28th Sep- approaching activity. tember – 02nd October 2009 in Slovenia and and was focused on study the 1st World Battle of Vittorio War Battles of Caporetto (XII Battle of Iso- On Monday, 28th, the group left the nzo) and . “Ugo Mara” barracks very early in the The exercise, named “EAGLE TOUR morning and reached, by plane, the air- 2009”, was addressed to the NRDC-ITA key port of . Then, by coach, straight to leaders (Command Group, DCOSs, ACOSs, Nervesa della Battaglia where is located and National Senior representatives of the the 1st WW Ossuary with a very 15 Contributing Nations) and aimed to pre- interesting museum and a good view to- pare them for large-scale operations and wards the valley. train them in decision-making. Two military historians, COL (ITA-A) Antonino ZARCONE, Head of the Army Study Day Historical Office in Rome, and LTC Lajos On October 2009, 16th, a preparatory NEGYESI, from the Hungarian Historical study day was run in Solbiate Olona in or- Department in Budapest, gave the histori- der to give to the Exercise participants a cal background mainly focused on the Bat- first flavour of the historical facts occurred tle of Vittorio Veneto, October 1918. during the 1st WW along the Italian and After a short lunch-break in town cen- Austro-Hungarian front and an overview tre, the group was conducted to the 1st WW about the exercise key points and main ad- museum, hosted in a sixteenth century min issues. This activity, settled by the palace, where two local guides illustrated Engineer Branch, primary responsible for the collections of field-materials, the offi- the whole exercise, gave the chance to the cial battle-documents and the photo gal-

2 Issue14 nrdc-ita magazine lery of the relevant personalities and events of the battle. Battle of Caporetto On Tuesday, the morning program in- cluded the visit of the Sv. Gora (Monte Santo), which offered some very beautiful views towards the Sabotin ridge, the Bain- sjce plateau, where the VI and XI Isonzo battles took place respectively. The next day was completely dedicated poretto and in the Austro-Hungarian cem- to the visit of the Isonzo valley. The per- etery in Ravelnik. sonnel from the Headquarters were able to visit and see the locations where the harsh fighting occurred. First stop was in the st1 SVN Units NRDC -I TA on exercise WW museum of Caporetto where the di- The last day was dedicated to the visit of rector gave a complete overview of the the 1st Infantry Brigade in Lubiana were the facts occurred in 1917 and lead the group Brigade Commander and his staff gave some along the very interesting and well-kept presentations depicting the structure and rooms of the museum. the capabilities of the Slovenian Army, the In the afternoon the group had the op- Brigade itself and the SVN Battle Group re- portunity to visit the Kolovrat range which cently affiliated toNRDC -ITA. Afterwards a static display and a dynamic demonstration offered a very good view-point towards were presented under a heavy rain. They Tolmin and the places where the German gave the opportunity to the participants to started their offensive through the Italian be aware of the out-standing training level lines. The spot was also an open-air mu- reached by the named units. seum where Italian trenches have been re- cently restored. At the end of the tour in the Isonzo val- Social and ley, on Thursday, the visit followed in Cultural events Bovec and Ravelnik, defensive positions of A social dinner hosted by the NRDC- the Austro-Hungarian Army. ITA Commander, LTG Gian Marco CHI- Along all the historical stands, the two ARINI, that saw the participation of the historians gave personnel the narration of whole delegations and some Slovenian the historical facts during the war-cam- Army guests, was held in a Slovenian tra- paign, which engendered useful discussion ditional restaurant on the hills of Medana, among the audience. Their lectures were near Nova Gorica. mainly focused on the opposing plans, op- Furthermore a visit to caves of Postumia posing commanders and tactics employed was settled to give the delegation the unique during the battles at both the tactical and chance to see the huge and amazing natural operational level. beauty that the caves may offer. Ceremonies Conclusions Along the visit of the named historical The Exercise EAGLE TOUR 2009 has stands, the group had the chance to pay been a unique opportunity for the NRDC- respect to the hundred – thousands fallen ITA delegation to better understand the during the war of both the Italian and problems faced by the old generations of Austro-Hungarian / German sides. Some soldiers during those battles and take simple wreath laying ceremonies were car- from them lessons to improve their profes- ried out in the largest Italian memorial sional skills. Moreover it made easy the and in the Austro-Hungarian cemetery in mutual relationship among the multina- Redipuglia, then in Italian Ossuary in Ca- tional members of the Headquarters. 

nrdc-ita magazine Issue14 3