Italian-Czechoslovak Military Cooperation (1918–1919) in the Official Historical Memory of the Interwar Period

T collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918 led to a rupture in Central-European geopolitics, the likes of which were effectively unimaginable a mere four years earlier. Having a hand in the establishment of Czechoslovakia became an important source of political capital, which individual actors used to increase their influence and prestige on both the international stage and at home. In this paper, we discuss two dimensions of the memorialisation of Italian-Czechoslovak military cooperation in 1918–1919: one pertaining to ceremonies and the formal aspects of remembrance, and the other centred on the effects of international politics—specifically, the often-turbulent Italian-Czechoslovak relations—on commemorative practices. The main aim of the public commemorations of historical events was to strengthen and unite Czechoslovak society by providing some definite markers on which to build a national identity.1 In view of space constraints, this paper should be understood as a typological overview of the most significant methods and manifestations of official historical remembrance concerning the given era rather than a complete and exhaustive summary.


The emergence and early days of Italian-Czechoslovak military cooperation, 1918-1919
The Czechoslovak movement abroad led by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Milan Rastislav Štefánik, and Edvard Beneš, attempted to enlist support of the United States and the Entente powers for creation of the state of Czechoslovakia. Their most successful tools in these efforts were propaganda and the Czechoslovak Army Abroad (the Legion), which was mostly comprised of former Austro-Hungarian POWs in Russia, France and Italy. Establishment of the Legion was probably most difficult in Italy, whose territorial ambitions in the Adriatic conflicted with those of Yugoslavia, causing Rome to be suspicious of the exile political movements of Austro-Hungarian nations as a whole. Such worries were partly dispelled by Štefánik, whose successful diplomatic mission to the Apennine Peninsula in the spring of 1918 culminated in the signing of a treaty on the creation of a Czechoslovak Legion in Italy on 21 April, and subsequently the handover of a battle flag to the Legion on 24 May during a ceremony held on the third anniversary of Italy's entry into the war at the Vittoriano (the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II) in Rome. 2 The Legion in Italy entered the fray in the summer of 1918 under the command of General Andrea Graziani with their most important deployment being at the Battle of Doss Alto. Because the legionnaires had been originally sworn to the Austro-Hungarian monarch, as soon as they fell into enemy captivity, they were executed. Forty-six of them in total met this fate.
Czechoslovakia officially came into existence on 28 October 1918, but securing its borders-or in the case of Slovakia, demarcating them-was still a significant challenge. Legionnaires in Russia had no way of returning to their homeland so Beneš, as minister of foreign affairs, petitioned the French and Italian governments to send soldiers stationed in their countries back to Czechoslovakia. Rome was far prompter and more accommodating in its response, dispatching around 20 thousand men to the newly founded state led by an Italian military mission headed by General Luigi Piccione, who had replaced General Graziani. The Italians not only equipped and arranged the redeployment of Czechoslovak legionnaires from France (around 10 thousand men) to their homeland, they also organized groups of Czechoslovak POWs in their own country into so-called civil defence units (eventually these would be around 80 000 strong). 3 The first phase of securing Slovak territory under Piccione's command proceeded without serious impediments and was completed in January 1919. Moreover, the legionnaires from Italy also joined the fight against Poland for Tešín (Cieszyn) Silesia.
However, because Beneš and the French were dismayed to see Italy's increasing influence in Czechoslovakia, they agreed to dispatch a French military mission led by General Maurice Pellé to the country. Pellé became Chief of the General Staff of the Czechoslovak Army and a deputy to Marshall Ferdinand Foch. Tensions between the two foreign generals escalated into an open conflict, which was only resolved by a compromise specifying exact terms for the end of the Italian military mission in Czechoslovakia. It was negotiated by Minister of War Štefánik, who was far more sympathetic towards Italy than Beneš.
At the same time, Italy's image in Czechoslovakia was deteriorating. While the Italians considered themselves neutral peace-makers-and acted as such in ethnically diverse territories-the Czechs viewed their approach as effectively "pro-Hungarian". Also, Czechoslovakia's support for Yugoslavia's demands at the Peace Conference did not help relations between the two countries. This, along with failures in Slovakia, had a decisive impact on the formation of the historical memory concerning the Italian military mission. In April 1919, when General Piccione was ordered to advance to the new demarcation line (the existence of which remains a source of controversy to this day), he could not proceed on account of the Czechoslovak army's limited combat capacity. 4 A subsequent attack by the Hungarian Soviet Republic compelled the troops to fall back. The fact that the French military mission 5 had by this time assumed full command of the Czechoslovak forces had little bearing on such developments. The Hungarians only retreated behind the demarcation line following an intervention by the Peace Conference. Despite that, in Czechoslovakia an image persisted of the Italians as those who had "failed" and the French as those who had successfully "saved" Slovakia. 6

Italian-Czechoslovak relations in the interwar period
Throughout the early 1920s, both countries were attempting to resolve the initial friction of their mutual relations with varying degrees of success. The ascent to power of Benito Mussolini in 1922 initially had a positive impact on Italian-Czechoslovak relations, which may seem paradoxical in light of later events. Mussolini was in charge of Italian foreign policy and until September 1929, he was also "interim" head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His goal was to "mould Italy into a mighty and formidable nation that its foreign partners would finally take seriously and would play a leading role on the global stage". 7 With the exception of Romania, Czechoslovakia was surrounded by countries staking territorial claims against it, and so it had an eminent interest in maintaining the international status quo and supporting the principle of collective security, guaranteed by the League of Nations. In 1924, after the resolution of the Rijeka (Fiume) Question and the resumption of Italy's relations with Yugoslavia, Italy and Czechoslovakia even signed a treaty of friendship, but it remained mostly on paper. 8 4 For more on this and related events, see KŠIŇAN Although in practice, Italy and Czechoslovakia were rival powers in Central Europe and the Danubian lands, they did share some common interests. Both were attempting to prevent the Anschluss of Austria, which would leave too much power in the hands of Germany, and at the same time, competing for economic influence in this country. 9 Czechoslovakia had extremely strong ties with France, which Rome viewed with great reservation. Italy's claims to the Adriatic coast were another source of tension, significantly complicating Rome's relations with Belgrade. Czechoslovakia's sympathies towards Yugoslavia 10 were based not only on "Slavic unity", but also on the alliance of the Little Entente (Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia), which was meant to be a bulwark against the revisionist ambitions of Hungary

The official historical memory of the Legion in Italy in the interwar period
The official historical memory of Czechoslovak legionnaires and the Legion from Italy began to form immediately following their deployment on the front. Monuments to the fallen and the executed were erected at battle sites, military orders were issued on important anniversaries related to the Legion in Italy, and Czechoslovak army and political representatives exchanged salutations with their Italian counterparts through telegraphs. Because the legionnaires had played an important role in the creation of Czechoslovakia, the newly founded state was hugely invested in cultivating their memory. Czechoslovak Legion regiments from Italy, which in 1920 were merged with local Czechoslovak regiments as part of a unification of the armed forces, retained their Italian heritage. They were given nicknames referencing locations, names, and battles in Italy that were important to their history. On 24 October 1923, Infantry Regiment 31 was honourably nicknamed "Arco", 32 became "Garda", 33 "Doss Alto", 34 "Rifleman Jan Čapek", and 35 "Foligno". "Reconnaissance" Regiment 39 was also later given an honourable nickname associated with Italy. 20 the Czechoslovak Legion in Italy was trained historian and former legionnaire František Bednařík, who published several books on this matter. 23 Naturally, there were other authors in both Czechoslovakia and Italy who wrote about the subject. 24

Celebrations in the anniversary year of 1928
Czechoslovakia placed the highest importance on the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Legion in Italy. During a private breakfast with the Italian ambassador, Beneš mentioned that he would like to come to Rome on the occasion not only to commemorate the creation of the Legion in Italy, but also to discuss the economic and security challenges faced by Central Europe with Mussolini. 25 The Italian leader thought it imprudent to ascribe too great an importance to the anniversary and had no interest in meeting with Beneš, which he justified by claiming that the Italian government desired the celebrations to have a strictly military character and would limit the attendance of civilians. 26 During the interwar period, it was common for veterans, mostly of the victorious powers, to go on remembrance visits of cemeteries and former battle sites. In this spirit, Czechoslovak legionnaires who had fought in Italy set out on a trip to Rome following a trail of important battlefields and memorial sites, which included many detours along the way. For political reasons, they were granted free visas to enter Italy and a 50-per cent discount on train fares. On 8 April, around 150 27 legionnaires arrived in Brennero where they were welcomed by an Italian military delegation who then accompanied them the remainder of the way to the capital. The same day, the group reached Rovereto 28 where they were joined by General Graziani and took a tour of the cemetery, the museum, and the city. They visited in succession: Riva del Garda, Loppio, Doss Alto (where a handful of soil was taken to be laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Prague), Arco, Peschiera, Verona, Venice, San Donà di Piave, and the former Piave front. On 13 April, the group took a trip to Conegliano at which point General Graziani left to return to Rome. The following day, part of the legionnaires returned to Prague, which suggests that they may have found it more important to visit the remembrance sites than to attend the official ceremony in the capital. The remaining 80 legionnaires continued via Bologna to Florence, which they toured on 15 April. They then continued via Foligno to Rome, arriving on 17 April and enjoying an official welcome by representatives of the Italian government. On 16 April, another delegation also arrived in Rome directly from Prague comprising of "five colonels or lieutenant-colo-  28 We discuss the importance of the monuments and locations visited by the legionnaires in a later part of this paper. nels, one for each regiment formed in Italy" 29 ; one colonel from the Ministry of National Defence and three or four MPs who travelled as private individuals. In Rome, where the legionnaires were received by General Graziani among others, part of the group who were dressed in legionnaire uniforms lodged in the Barracks of King Umberto I. On 17 April, they laid wreaths at the Pantheon, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs. The next day they were scheduled to go on an official tour of the Barracks of King Umberto I, which housed the Museum of the Grenadiers of Sardinia, and then attend a lunch at the Ministry of Defence. Later, the legionnaires were received by Mussolini in the Victory Room at the Chigi Palace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, and in the evening, they visited the Rome Opera House. The following day they took a tour of the city and its surroundings. From the Italian capital, part of the group of legionnaires returned home and around 30 remaining proceeded via Naples, Palermo, and Messina to Reggio Calabria. 30 The tourism aspect of this journey deserves some attention insofar as, apart from reflecting the undeniable popularity of Italy as a destination, it attests to the fact that such "luxury" was accessible to an ever-widening segment of the population, in contrast to the 19 th century.
The celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Legion understandably had a wide scope and took place in various locations. In Czechoslovakia, the events culminated in a visit by General Graziani, whose trip was sanctioned by the Italian Ministry of War. The general arrived in the Czechoslovak capital on 28 April accompanied by a mission of several officers. Although Italy insisted that the ceremony in Prague have a strictly military character, according to Italian Ambassador Count Luigi Vannutelli Rey, local authorities attempted to usurp it for their own purposes. Immediately after Graziani's arrival and official welcome, Vannutelli Rey warned the general to keep clear of non-uniformed representatives of the Czechoslovak government or state. On the morning of 29 April, Graziani laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then moved to a function at the Smetana Hall of the Municipal House. 31 Aside from the many official guests, seats of honour in the hall were reserved for relatives of fallen and executed legionnaires. The function began with a speech by the chairman of the "Association of Italian Legionnaires", František Šišma, who was followed by Minister of Defence František Udržal and by the Italian ambassador. Vannutelli Rey limited his comments to reminiscing about the war, having served under Graziani's command as well as alongside Czechoslovak legionnaires, whom he showered with praise. He did this at the behest of Mussolini, who had also asked the ambassador to emphasise that the victory on the Italian Front had been achieved by the Italian army. 32 Afterwards, the vice-chairman of the Czechoslovak Legionnaire Association, Lev Sychrava, took to the lectern followed by General Graziani himself. 33 29 Six regiments (31th-35th, 39th) were founded in Italy. On 1 October 1920, they were merged with the Czechoslovak army by a decree issued by the Ministry of National Defence, no. 5700-org.1919. 30 We reconstructed the itinerary of the trip from a planned agenda provided by the Italian authorities. It is possible that the legionnaires diverged from this scheduled route. The ambassador was troubled by the words of the minister of national defence, who concluded his speech by saying that the countries of the Little Entente along with their allies from the First World War would treat anyone who might attempt to "destroy by force a part of what had been achieved through such immense sacrifice" as an enemy. Vannutelli Rey read this as a veiled, though highly contrived, reference to the most sensitive foreign affairs issues of the day and he sought a way of conveying his disapproval for this attempt by the Czechoslovaks to exploit the presence of the Italian mission for the intents of their own foreign policy. He did not, however, wish to resort to a formal protest insofar as it might interrupt the ongoing ceremony, which was above all, a demonstration of the Czechoslovak army and the people's affection for the Italian general. After an official lunch at Hradčany with President Masaryk, the ambassador decided to abstain from the rest of the day's events as a form of protest. He also declined Defence Minister Udržal's invitation for lunch the next day, doing so at the very last moment and subsequently made sure that the Czechoslovak authorities interpreted his actions as he had intended them. Czechoslovak diplomats assured the ambassador that Udržal had merely hoped to impress upon Hungary that Czechoslovakia was capable of diminishing the effects of the Italian-Hungarian friendship. By the ambassador's reckoning, the minister's speech was also inspired by Beneš's foreignpolicy outlook seeking to ensure Czechoslovakia's security by moving the country towards Italy, which would have been on friendly terms with France. Furthermore, Vannutelli Rey was convinced that if Beneš himself had been present in Prague during the event, the minister for national defence would not have committed such a "grave misstep". 34 After lunch with the president, General Graziani visited the Resistance Memorial Institute and in the evening hours, he attended a traditional stage play. 35 On the morning of 30 April, he visited the Italian military cemetery in Milovice. Later, the members of the Italian mission were awarded the Order of the White Lion and treated to lunch with the minister of defence. In the afternoon, Graziani laid a wreath at the Olšany Cemetery, which housed the remains of 44 legionnaires executed on the Italian front and the following day he went, on his own request, to meet with the mother of celebrated war hero Alois Štorch 36 , who had only recently returned from a visit to the locations around Italy where her son had fought. 37 In his report from the trip, Graziani stated that the Czechoslovak government had gone to great lengths to highlight the importance of his visit. He also shared some positive reflections regarding the progress that the country had made since his previous visit in 1925 and stressed that the general populace, the socialists, as well as the army were now more favourably inclined towards the fascist regime. Ceremonies were held not only in Prague, but also in cities and towns garrisoning regiments whose foundations had been laid in Italy. The fact that they were formed in towns across the region of Umbria was also reflected in the plans for the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia and of "Foligno" Infantry Regiment 35. This regiment was named for the town of Foligno in the Perugia province of Umbria where it was formed. Its commander, Colonel Hynek Koptík, invited the mayor of Perugia to the celebrations reasoning that the legionnaires would always consider Umbria "as their homeland, their cradle, and the first step in their quest for freedom". 41 Although the Italian Ministry of Defence approved this journey, sources do not mention that the mayor ultimately attended the ceremonies. They took place on 5-8 July offering a varied programme and culminating in the handover of and swearing of an oath to the new regimental banner (the old one was laid at the Resistance Memorial Institute). 42 On 21 April, on the initiative of "Reconnaissance" Regiment 39, the Reduta palace in Bratislava hosted a military tattoo 43 which saw the attendance of the Italian consul, several official guests, and Minister of Education Milan Hodža. The minister took patronage over the event, which "celebrated the Czechoslovak-Italian friendship" 44 and in his speech he highlighted the contributions of the regiments created in Italy to the "liberation" of Slovakia in December 1918 and January 1919.
Celebrations were also held on the anniversary of the founding of the "Garda" Infantry Regiment 32 from Košice. The official part of the ceremony was moved back from April to July 1928, starting with a shooting contest on 5 General Graziani was not the only person commemorated at the festivities honouring the Czechoslovak Legion. Others included the chief of the Italian General Staff, General Armando Diaz 47 , one of the founders of the Czechoslovak Volunteer Association in Italy, Jan Čapek, who fell during the Battle of the Piave, and most importantly, General Štefánik. Štefánik's Italian ties are highlighted by the fact that two of the three 48 Italian crewmembers who were on board his aircraft when it went down on 4 May 1919 were interred with him at the Bradlo Mound.
The members of the Committee to Build a Mound to General Štefánik 49 , namely Fedor Houdek and František Hromada, a former legionnaire from Italy, approached the Italian consul in Moravian Ostrava, Dadone, saying that they would like to invite General Graziani and Prince Pietro Lanza di Scalea, the former chairman of the Comitato Italiano per l'indipendenza cecoslovacca (Italian Committee for Czechoslovak Independence), to the inauguration of the memorial. In their view, a significant Italian presence would be in line with Štefánik's sympathies towards their country. The committee also pointed out that, particularly in Slovakia, people were sensitive about the fact that although General Graziani repeatedly visited Czechoslovakia, he never came to Slovakia, which was home to many of the legionnaires who had served under his command and who would have been honoured to meet with him again. Dadone, however, feared that an official Italian presence could be exploited in the interests of anti-Hungarian propaganda and so Italian representatives told organisers that Graziani and the prince would not attend the ceremony. As Italy could not afford to ignore the proceedings altogether, the ambassador decided that the country would be represented by the Bratislava consul, Francesco Palmieri. At the same time, Dadone was supposed to inform the organising committee that the Italian side did not wish for the ceremony to take on an anti-Hungarian character, as under such circumstances the Italian consul's attendance would be considered inappropriate. 50 In his report from the ceremony, Palmieri summarised the guests' speeches, noting that only that of Minister Hodža could have been interpreted as "anti-Hungarian". He expressed surprise at the fact that none of the speakers had mentioned the Italian soldiers buried alongside Štefánik or even brought up the general's death, limiting themselves to merely highlighting his contribution to the "liberation of the homeland". 51 slovakia. All the papers, even the socialist outlet, published reverential articles about the man, and masses of people along with official authorities came out to voice their grief. 52

Graziani's death
The Lidové noviny daily wrote about the circumstances of the general's death and informed that his funeral had been postponed to allow for Czechoslovak representatives to attend. 53 On 15 March, on the initiative of the "Association of Italian Legionnaires" and with the support of the Czechoslovak government, a remembrance event was held in honour of the deceased general. In his speech, the Italian ambassador who had served under his command for a year during the war, emphasised Graziani's contributions and expressed regret over the way in which this great man who had weathered so many perils of the battlefield ultimately met his end. He declared that Graziani had been a righteous heir to Garibaldi's legacy and that Italians had always stood on the side of those fighting for national freedom.
He also spoke about the death of another accomplished general, Štefánik. 54 Pedrazzi's reflections on the event itself are also important. In a cable to Rome, he noted that from a political vantage point, it was of some significance to have drawn, among others, all the representatives of the French embassy and military mission. In his speech, the ambassador avoided any political statements, restricting himself to celebrating the "brotherhood in arms during the war". He considered Beneš's speech to have been most noteworthy to the extent that it conveyed the politician's first-ever formal expression of gratitude towards Italy for its "boundless cordiality". Beneš even said a few kind words about Mussolini (who had supported the Czechoslovak cause during the war) and "insisted on speaking Italian" in front of the French and Yugoslav delegations. The ambassador further attributed the event's "agreeable" atmosphere to the signing of the London Naval Treaty 55 , which Czechoslovak politicians reportedly viewed as a safeguard against revisionism and a step towards the isolation of Hungary, the weakening of Germany, and the opening of the road for Beneš to the chairmanship of the World Disarmament Conference. 56

Celebrations in the anniversary year of 1938
The celebrations of the 20 th anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Legion were held under very different international circumstances, which understandably had a noticeable effect. In March 1938, Beneš approached the Italian ambassador saying that Czechoslovakia would like to hold a celebration of the 20 th anniversary of the founding of the Legion in Italy as a "gesture of thanks, friendship, and affection towards Italy on the part of the Czechoslovak legionnaires". In Czechoslovakia, the event would be held under Beneš's patronage and as part of the anniversary, some Czechoslovak legionnaires would travel to Italy. 59 The Italian foreign service replied that the prevailing conditions were inconducive to such a proposal. 60 According to Italian Ambassador Domenico de Facendis, Rome could not forget that highranking former Czechoslovak legionnaires from Italy had failed to express their support for Italy in times when the country was struggling with international sanctions. 61 De Facendis asked Rome for instructions as to how he should act during the celebrations suggesting that he probably should attend at least one of them, though without giving a speech. 62 On 17 April, Czechoslovakia took a conciliatory step towards Italy when it recognised its occupation of Ethiopia. 63 Slovenský denník linked the decision to the 20 th anniversary of the formation of the Legion in Italy. "Czechoslovakia's actions may be seen as a gesture of thanks for the help which Italy provided us 20 years ago when we were fighting for our national and political independence. " 64 The ceremony, held under the patronage of President Beneš, took place on 21 April 1938 at the Smetana Hall of the Municipal House in Prague. According to a cable from the Italian ambassador, who at the last moment had been granted permission to attend the event but without delivering a speech, it had been a "cordial demonstration of gratitude to our homeland". Speeches were continuously interrupted by spontaneous applause whenever the Italian king and emperor, Prime Minister Mussolini, or General Graziani were mentioned. 65 The Italian Consul in Bratislava also initially did not plan on attending the celebrations of the 20 th anniversary of the founding of "General Graziani's Reconnaissance" Infantry Regiment 39, but in the end, he was granted permission by the ambassador. 66 Celebrations in Bratislava were held between 17 and 24 April and included an exhibition on the regiment, public concerts, a ceremonial march through the city, a military parade, and a speech by Minister of National Defence František Machník, etc. Slovenský denník described how the Legion in Italy was formed and also mentioned that Italy had provided "the compara-tively best-armed and best-organised divisions, which played a large part in the liberation of Slovakia". 67 Additional celebrations were held at Štefánik's Mound in Ivanka pri Dunaji. The fallen soldiers of the "Battle for Slovakia" were commemorated at a monument at the cemetery in Nové Zámky and also in the town of Komárno.
As part of the celebrations in Košice, "Garda" Infantry Regiment 32 were gifted a silver fanfare trumpet. This was followed by a military parade and the laying of wreaths at the statue of M. R. Štefánik. The regiment were also sent telegraphs by three of their former Italian officers. 68 In the difficult situation of 1938, Czechoslovakia tried its best to improve relations with Italy. At the beginning of May that year, due to a proposal by the Czechoslovak Agrarian Party, two streets in the capital were renamed for General Graziani and the Czechoslovak civil defence units from Italy. According to an Italian Embassy cable, the recent recognition of the Italian Empire by Czechoslovakia and the gesture of honour on the part of the capital were efforts to remedy the mistakes of Czechoslovak foreign policy, "which often tends to forget that we are a great power". 69 As mentioned previously, Štefánik was an important personality in Italian-Czechoslovak military cooperation and so the Italian Consul in Bratislava took part in a remembrance event held on the anniversary of the general's death on 4 May 1938 in Ivanka pri Dunaji. In his speech, General Miloš Žák mentioned Štefánik's actions, the formation of the Czechoslovak Legion in Italy, and the "pan-Germanic plots against the republic". The Italian consul filed a written complaint against this particular remark, though Žák assured him that he had been referring to historical pan-Germanism not to the contemporary political situation. At the consul's request, any mention of pan-Germanism, historical or otherwise, was omitted from the press reports. 70

Czechoslovak legionnaire monuments and cemeteries in Italy
Aside from the abovementioned ceremonies, the historical memory of the Legion in Italy was preserved by other means. Monuments, memorial plaques, and graves naturally arose in places where Czechoslovak legionnaires and so-called "recons" were active in 1917 and 1918. These were mostly located in two regions: the area surrounding Lake Garda and Veneto. Typologically, monuments to fallen Czechoslovak legionnaires in Italy can be divided into two groups. The first, and more widely seen, is comprised of monuments to the fallen and the executed located at or near the execution sites. From an iconographic standpoint, they are rather more subdued. The second group encompasses monuments erected at military cemeteries.
Monuments to executed legionnaires are particularly widespread and typologically significant. In the area of Lake Garda, the largest such monument can be found in the village of Arco. It was built in honour of four executed legionnaires-Antonín Ježek, Karel Nováček, Jiří Schlegl, and Václav Svoboda-who were hanged as deserters by Austro-Hungarian

Monuments to legionnaires and civil defencemen from Italy in Czechoslovakia
Monuments to legionnaires from Italy can be divided into two categories. The first comprises artefacts commemorating soldiers who fell abroad, the second, legionnaires and civil defencemen who laid down their lives in battles on Czechoslovak territory. Aside from the main remembrance sites, the Legion in Italy were also commemorated with traditional monuments to fallen legionnaires. Memorial plaques dedicated to executed combatants and other persons of note comprise a special category.
Legionnaires from Italy are, of course, also commemorated on the central monument Prague to Its Victorious Sons, even though out of the seven figures, only one depicts a legionnaire from Italy. The monument also includes references to the battles of Doss Alto and the Piave. These references and the depiction of a legionnaire wearing an Italian hat (worn by Alpini troops), were the most frequent and thus most widely recognisable symbols of the Legion from Italy.
Naturally, there was also an emphasis on preserving the memory of legionnaires executed on Czechoslovak territory. Josef Sobotka has a memorial plaque in his home village of Čachotín. Alois Štorch is immortalised by several artefacts across the Czech lands, such as a plaque in Nová Ves u Bakova. One memorial plaque to Jan Čapek can be found in the town of Hranice, and another from 1926 is mounted at the legionnaire's birthplace in Prague's borough of Michle. In 1928, the Sokol movement also unveiled a plaque on the house in Orlová where Jan Čapek was drafted. 82 Apart from monuments and memorial plaques dedicated to specific executed legionnaires, the Czech lands are graced by many other remembrance sites associated with the overall history of the Legion in Italy. One of the biggest is a monument to the fallen legionnaires from the Písek region in Peace Square in the town of Písek. One of the statues in the sculptural group depicts a legionnaire from Italy and the pedestal is inscribed with the names of famous battles including Doss Alto and the Piave. These monuments are undeniably pro-republic and their aim was to symbolically mark the territory. References to the Czechoslovak Legion in Italy made up one layer of their iconography. In the case of monuments to soldiers who fell in battles with Poland and the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the dominant motif was that of (the original) defenders of the homeland who laid down their lives fighting for the common cause. Monuments and memorial plaques in Italy were seen as commemorating foreign citizens and simultaneously, victims. Their inauguration and continued preservation are evidence of the deepseated tradition of honouring the fallen in Italy. On the other hand in Czechoslovakia, the Italian aspect of legionnaire monuments was secondary, principally alluding to the tradition behind the formation of the Czechoslovak Legion in Italy. This was most visible in the iconography and symbolism of the statues.

Conclusion
This initial analysis of the official historical remembrance of Italian-Czechoslovak military cooperation (1918)(1919)  could be adapted through more extensive research. It is clear that official memorialisation events took place against the backdrop of a complicated international political situation, which necessarily influenced their form and content. In 1928, Italian representatives feared that the celebrations would take on an anti-Hungarian character. Ten years later, they were initially reluctant to attend and ultimately resented the Czechoslovak representatives' anti-Germanic statements. For Italy, the Legion and the civil defence units were an instrument for improving its nation's image in Czechoslovakia. As far as individuals are concerned, Generals Štefánik and Graziani were accorded particular reverence. The Italians referenced Štefánik's affection for their country in their struggle regarding the command in Slovakia as early as 1919, though we should not forget that Štefánik was a French citizen and Czechoslovakia's minister of war, which naturally prevented the Italians from claiming him wholesale. Where General Graziani is concerned, the question naturally presents itself as to why he was preferred over General Piccione. His support for the fascist regime at home undoubtedly played a role but beyond that, he also personified the effectual deployment of the Czechoslovak Legion in Italy -something that cannot be said of General Piccione, whose skirmishes with the Hungarian Soviet Republic in Slovakia were arguably less glorious. Graziani could thus at least partially compete with the popularity of General Pellé, who was then-and to this day continues to be-pedestalised as the "Saviour of Slovakia". A similar competition of historical memory of the break of the Salonika front between France and Italy was much more pronounced in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. 86 Commemorations are normally "constructed on the premise that they embody change and continuity, past and present at the same time". 87 The Italian insistence on a strictly military character of the commemorations, the protest of the Italian ambassador against the Udržal's speech, and the article in Československá republika show the will of Rome, in line with its foreign policy, to break the symbolic past -present -future link that is often proper for public commemorations.
As far as their content is concerned, remembrance events in Czechoslovakia honoured the memory of the fallen and especially the executed, who were characterized as heroes and martyrs. On one hand, this was motivated by the need to foster a military tradition in the newly founded Czechoslovak Republic. Legionnaires such as Jan Čapek and Alois Štorch became important members in the pantheon of military personalities. On the other hand, the overall losses of Czechoslovak legionnaires on the Italian front were relatively low (especially in contrast to Russia), with only about 190 men perishing in battle. 88 To a certain extent, this could have been offset by the cult of the executed, which was mostly built around the legionnaires from Italy.