When the snow on the southern slopes of our Dolomites finally melts and the avalanches shake up the ground, it is time for recoveries. 

In a scree occupied by the Austrian second lines, a reel of Austro-Hungarian telephone wire emerged, with some copper wires still intact. 

A simple piece but extremely important for the innovation brought in the military field. Unique and emblematic, it reminds us how the Great War marked the transition from ancient and medieval wars to modern ones.

Telephone were also used for the first time to connect the commands with the front lines, almost everywere on the battleground. Very often communications were cut off leaving no choice but classic relays or carrier pigeons.

Special teams were trained to unwind wires inserted in special carriers with handles to speed up these operations. 

The telephone helped in anticipating enemy moves and started the parallel war of "telephone tappings".

In fact many testimonies explain how false communications were made to confuse the enemies.