Accession Number: 2022.02.13.7
Date: 13-12-42
Postmark: Top right, “Ansiero Vicenza, 2-143”
Historical Background: Mussolini declared war on the USSR on June 22, 1941. He promptly sent a unit of the Italian army on a campaign in Russia the following year, where they fought and suffered until 1943. Over 200,000 soldiers made the journey, and the treacherous cold proved deadly to almost half of the poorly prepared men.