New Books in History Selena Daly, "Emigrant Soldiers: Mobilising Italians Abroad in the First World War" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Oct 24, 2025
Selena Daly, an Associate Professor of Italian Studies and historian, dives into the fascinating world of Italian emigrant soldiers during WWI. Over 300,000 returned to fight for Italy, and she explores their motivations, from patriotism to family ties. Using letters and diaries, she reconstructs their diverse experiences, including the challenges of reintegration and identity strains at the front. Daly also examines the chaotic aftermath of war, the difficulties of demobilization, and how policies from Mussolini affected these veterans. A captivating journey into a unique historical phenomenon!
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Italy's Unique Emigrant Mobilisation
- Italy uniquely mobilised roughly 300,000 emigrant reservists during WWI, a global-scale phenomenon not matched by other states.
- This mass return reshapes how we view the war's global impact on diasporas and national mobilisation.
Numbers Behind The Returns
- About 5 million Italians lived abroad prewar, with ~1.2 million draft-eligible men and 300,000 returning to serve.
- Return rates varied widely by country, revealing regional differences in mobility and evasion.
Mixed Motivations For Returning
- Motivations to return mixed patriotism, duty, fear, adventure, and family obligations rather than a single cause.
- Regional, class and generational ties shaped whether men left or stayed abroad.
