7. Avalanches killed thousands of Italian and Austrian soldiers during World War I
Italy entered the First World War in 1915, fighting mostly the troops of Austria-Hungary, with much of the fighting in the Alps. The conditions were brutal in the summer as well as the winter months, when the cold of the elevated areas froze unmittened hands to trigger guards, and bayonets were frozen solidly in their sheaths. In December 1916, heavy blizzards deepened the snows along the flanks of the Alps, as well as on the encampments and barracks of the troops beneath the steep slopes of the mountains. On December 13, 1916, the snow collapsed in an avalanche that roared down Mount Marmolada.
About 200,000 tons of snow, ice, uprooted trees, rocks, and other debris fell onto Austrian encampments, killing more than 300 men. Most of their bodies were never found. Throughout the month, several avalanches occurred. Whole brigades were buried by the descending snow. An estimated 10,000 Austrian and Italian troops were killed by the avalanches that month, and more followed after heavy snows in January. Some have postulated that the avalanches were deliberately caused by sappers and engineers on both sides, but little evidence to support the idea has surfaced.