Around 600,000 Italian soldiers were taken prisoner during the First World War, about half in the aftermath of Caporetto. Roughly one Italian soldier in seven was captured, a significantly higher number than in other armies on the Western Front.[1][2] About 100,000 Italian prisoners of war never returned home, having succumbed to hardship, hunger, cold and disease (mainly tuberculosis).[3][4]: 126 Uniquely among the Allied powers, Italy refused to assist its prisoners, and even hindered efforts by soldiers’ families to send them food.[4]: 130–31 As a result, the death rate for Italian prisoners was nine times worse than that of Austro-Hungarian prisoners in Italy.[5]: 6
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