ohnonotme Posted 10 April Share Posted 10 April (edited) Greetings! I'm a writer looking to get published in the future and I have a few questions regarding this specific topic. I'm writing a historical fiction set during the Great War but I'm currently only doing research for now. 1. In the Italian front of the war, did military chaplains stay with the army or were they assigned to other positions outside of giving last rites and final absolution? 2. Were there mercy dogs in the Dolomites? 3. What did Catholic military chaplains look like? Are there photos of them in uniform while in the front lines in the Dolomites? These are the only questions I can think of for now, I might add more later. Also, sorry for posting these here. I don't know where else to ask them as I've scoured the internet for the answers to them, but they have been insufficient. Edited 10 April by ohnonotme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin kenf48 Posted 10 April Admin Share Posted 10 April @ohnonotme Welcome to the GWF There is a lot of information online concerning British Army Chaplains in the Great War. This is a British site and therefore, for better or worse, aAnglocentric. e.g. https://www.beaumont-union.co.uk/pdfs/CATHOLIC CHAPLAINS in THE GREAT WAR WW1.pdf It is not clear whether your query relates to chaplains in the British or Italian Armies. In general terms British Army Catholic Chaplains were close to their 'flock' but like all chaplains tended to work closely with medical services, e.g at Advanced Dressing Stations, Casualty Clearing Stations and so on. They would travel around the front to offer religious observance, e.g. Communion etc. As the above link identifies there was an affinity with Irish Regiments, though by no means exclusive. I do not believe there were any Irish Regiments in Italy but Scots etc would have had Catholic soldiers and no doubt Catholic Chaplains were posted to that theatre.. See https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/battles/the-campaign-in-italy-2/ for a general introduction to the campaign Can't answer the question of mercy dogs save to say they were not used in the British Army in the Great War. There are pictures of British Army Chaplains in uniform in the above link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohnonotme Posted 11 April Author Share Posted 11 April @kenf48 My apologies! I meant the Italian chaplains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscherinfanteriest Posted 12 April Share Posted 12 April Hi 1) They were behind lines but sometimes with stretchbearers on frontline, Army and Regiments had them 2) Probably there were, but mainly I do not remind photos of them. Austrians had some. On Dolomites wounded were difficult to bring them away. 3) Dolomites had simply an overcoat, not the white Alpini camo. The uniform was like the officers, simply with a red cross on the heart and 6 point stars as ranks instead of 5 point stars for Army officers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohnonotme Posted 12 April Author Share Posted 12 April @deutscherinfanteriest Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomisitt Posted 17 April Share Posted 17 April 1. Chaplains were usually to be found at Advanced Dressing Stations, but were also further forward with attacking troops on occasions. 2. I've never read anything about mercy dogs. Both sides used dogs for pulling sleds at high altitudes (particularly in the Ortler and Adamello sectors), they coped better in the cold than mules. 3. The most famous Italian Catholic chaplain was Don Pietro Zangrando, of the 7th Alpini Regiment, the most famous Austrian one was Feldkurat (Father) Josef Hosp, who was an expert mountaineer and quite happy to shoot and kill enemy soldiers. There was a moment in July 1915 when Hosp and Zangrando occupied opposing mountain peaks. Hosp was putting up a via ferrata on the Toblingerknoten (2671m) while Zangrando was performing a mass at the summit of Cima Grande (3000m). If you're on Twitter I recommend following @andyblanck1 (Italian, ex-Alpini, very knowledgable about WW1 in Italy), I'm sure he would be happy to help with your research. And I'm @masaccio60 on Twitter. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomisitt Posted 17 April Share Posted 17 April There is also a diary in existence written by Don Emilio Campi, parts of which are reproduced in this. istence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomisitt Posted 23 April Share Posted 23 April I seem to be wasting my time here, but....there's this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 23 April Admin Share Posted 23 April Tagging @ohnonotme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomisitt Posted 23 April Share Posted 23 April Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohnonotme Posted 23 April Author Share Posted 23 April Waahhhh thank you guys for posting these! Sorry I haven't been able to check out the forum for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomisitt Posted 23 April Share Posted 23 April Happy to help, the Italian front is a bit of an obsession of mine ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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