The Opera Nazionale Combattenti was an Italian charitable organisation set up to provide assistance to veterans of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was established in December 1917, in the immediate aftermath of the disastrous Italian defeat at the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Kobarid (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Caporetto or the Battle of Karfreit) took place on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central P ...

(now

Kobarid Kobarid (; ; ; ) is a settlement in Slovenia, the administrative centre of the Municipality of Kobarid. Kobarid is known for the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Ernest Hemingway in his novel '' A Farewell t ...

, Slovenia), and was intended both to improve the morale of soldiers in the army and to provide for their eventual return to civilian life.

Francesco Saverio Nitti Francesco Saverio Vincenzo de Paola Nitti (; 19 July 1868 – 20 February 1953) was an Italian economist and statesman. A member of the Italian Radical Party, Nitti served as Prime Minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920. An opponent of the ...

and

Alberto Beneduce Alberto Beneduce (29 May 1877 – 26 April 1944) was an Italian politician, scholar and financier, who was among the founders of many significant state-run finance institutions in Italy. Early life and education Beneduce was born in Caserta ...

were influential in its establishment, and Beneduce was the first president. In 1919 the association was divided into three sections: agrarian, financial, and social. The agrarian section co-ordinated the

expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

of agricultural land for re-distribution to ex-soldiers. Under the Italian Fascist régime in the years following the First World War, the association was involved in the so-called

Battle for Grain The Battle for Grain (), also known as the Battle for Wheat, was a propaganda campaign launched in 1925 during the Fascist Italy (1922–1943), fascist regime of Italy by Benito Mussolini, with the aim of gaining self-sufficiency in wheat produc ...

in 1926, and from 1928 in the drainage of the wetlands of the Agro Pontino as part of the so-called

Battle for Land The Battle for Land, started in 1928 in Italy by Benito Mussolini, aimed to clear marshland and make it suitable for farming, as well as reclaiming land and reducing health risks. Aims The primary aims of the Battle for Land was to increase the ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it received land under the agricultural reforms of 1950. The association was disbanded in 1977.

References

Further reading