"Not Even a Nibble" (01/20/1915) by JS Smith

Jerome S Smith was a contributor to both Judge and Leslie’s Weekly. Trentino is an independent area in northern Italy that has been the site of wars and disputes for 1500 years. After the Napoleonic era, the Austro-Hungarians were running the show in Trentino as a bulkwark against possible aggression by Italy. Motivated by the Germans, the Italians signed a defensive alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany (the Triple Alliance) in 1882. In 1914, Serbia was invaded by Austria-Hungary, kicking off WW1. Abiding by the terms of the Triple Alliance, Italy declared its neutrality. Italians were still hostile to continuing Austrian occupation of ethnically Italian areas. In early 1915, the aggressor Germans were dangling the benefits of the alliance and a unified front stretching down the Italian peninsula. Revealed later, the Italians were, in fact, switching sides. They declared war on Austria-Hungary on May 24, 1915.