Between May 1915 and October 1917 the Dolomites were the stage of one of the most horrific moments in history. In an exhausting war of attrition, the Italian and Austrian Armies fought out First World War battles in these mountains.

The front split the Dolomites in two from Cima d'Asta past Cauriol, Passo Rolle, Passo San Pellegrino, Marmolada, Col di Lana, Passo Falzarego, Lagazuoi, Tofane, Cristallo, Tre Cime di Lavaredo all the way to Passo di Monte Croce Carnico.

For twenty months the soldiers of the two opposing troops endured terrible battles of indescribable suffering and hardship, loss of life and deprivation. One need only think of the two long winters spent on those peaks, one man against the other, more often than not separated by just a few metres. Suffering together, yet controlling one another and shooting at each other, each enduring the same cold and hardships. This terrible war, which saw many acts of true heroism, was fought out on and in these mountains.

Both armies dug a network of tunnels and trenches to bypass and surprise the enemy. It was the war of attacks with bayonets, used to conquer some anonymous summit, perhaps only to be regained by the enemy immediately afterwards. These assaults cost innumerable lives: 6400 Italian soldiers and 1800 Austrian soldiers lost their lives in a single battle on Col di Lana. And it was also a war of mines that exploded beneath enemy positions after months of exhausting work excavating the rock. After October 1917 the Italian army withdrew to the River Piave, where the famous battle of Caporetto took place, a prelude to the Italian army's insurrection.

The Dolomites eventually returned to their original state of being fantastic mountains to look at. Even today though signs of these battles remain, wounds cut deep into the rocks by bombs and mines. Their heart will always remain pierced by the labyrinth of tunnels which can still be visited at the Lagazuoi, Castelletto della Tofana, and 'Citta di ghiaccio', the "Ice city" constructed by the Italian Alpini who fought on the Marmolada. These excursions and hikes retrace this recent history which should never be forgotten.