Monograph by Andrea Di Michele (Free University of Bolzano) sheds light on an episode little known even in Italian literature - the fate of Italian-speaking soldiers from Austria-Hungary in the First World War. Natives of the so-called irredent, bordering Italy, lands of the empire were mainly sent to the Eastern Front, where many (at least 25 thousand) were captured. When the Russian government offered to release those who were ready to "change their uniforms" and leave for Italy for the sake of war with the Austrians, the Italian government, not without suspicion, sent a military mission to prisoner of war camps to find out their national feelings. As a result, in 1916, about 4 thousand former prisoners were "repatriated" to Italy through Arkhangelsk, along a long sea and land route. After the October Revolution, another 3 thousand soldiers went along the Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok in the hope of sailing home. However, many ended up in China, others were enrolled in the anti-Bolshevik Italian Expeditionary Force in the Far East, the third joined the ranks of the Red Army, the fourth moved around Russia without goals and guidelines. The return to their homeland dragged on for years, and some remained in the USSR forever.