Federico Rinaldi

Male

Birth date: 5.10.1893 y.

Cabin: Healthcare workers-88

Biography:

SNIPPET FROM IL GIORNALE D’ITALIA, REPORTING ON LOCAL AFFAIRS AND NOTABLE ENLISTMENTS, TITLED “YOUNG CARPENTER ANSWERS CALL AS ITALY JOINS THE GREAT WAR”, DATED JUNE 12TH, 1915.

"Federico Rinaldi, a 23-year-old carpenter from the provinces, traded his workshop for the uniform of the Royal Italian Army following Italy’s entry into the Great War this past May. Once removed from the distant thunder of conflict, he now stands among the young men answering the call of duty. His ailing father remarked that his years of craftsmanship might serve him well on the front, where practical skill and ingenuity are as essential as courage and determination."

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After basic training in Verona, Federico was assigned to the infantry, initially stationed along the treacherous Isonzo River front, where Italian forces clashed repeatedly with Austro-Hungarian troops in a series of grueling battles. He participated in the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo in August 1916, enduring the horrors of artillery barrages, muddy trenches, and hand-to-hand combat. However, in a twist of fate, Federico was reassigned to the newly formed 35th Infantry Division, part of Italy's contribution to the Allied Army of the Orient. Italy, seeking to bolster its alliances and expand its influence, dispatched troops to the Macedonian front in the Balkans, where multinational forces, including British, French, Serbian, Greek, and Russian units, were holding a static line against Bulgarian and German armies.

Federico’s division arrived in Salonika on August 11, 1916, in the midst of a searing heatwave. The Macedonian front offered little relief, its stagnant, mosquito-thick swamps bred malaria, while unpredictable skirmishes and the looming menace of enemy raids made every day a battle for survival. Federico served in the Struma Valley sector, patrolling no-man's-land and engaging in reconnaissance missions. His carpentry skills came in handy for building fortifications and repairing equipment, earning him respect among his comrades. Life on the front was a mix of boredom and terror, endless guard duties interrupted by sudden artillery fire or infantry assaults.

On October 14, 1916, during a Bulgarian counterattack near the village of Orfano, Federico’s unit came under heavy shelling. As he rushed to reinforce a forward position, a shrapnel fragment from an exploding artillery round struck his left leg, shattering his femur and causing severe blood loss. Amid the chaos, his fellow soldiers dragged him to safety, applying a makeshift tourniquet. He was quickly evacuated to a field hospital behind the lines, where surgeons stabilized him with emergency surgery, amputating part of his leg below the knee to prevent gangrene. The wound was grave, but Federico’s strong constitution and the timely intervention saved his life. However, the injury ended his combat days, marking him as one of the thousands of casualties from the Salonika campaign.

With hospitals in Salonika overwhelmed, Federico was transferred to the Allied base at Mudros on the island of Lemnos, a key staging point for medical evacuations in the Aegean Sea. There, in late October 1916, he was among the wounded chosen for repatriation on the HMHS Britannic, a former luxury liner now serving as a hospital ship, attended by nurses of the Royal Army Medical Corps. In the end, it was the promise of calm and comfort, fresh linens, hearty meals, and idle hours spent at cards while lingering in Mudros Harbor, that finally convinced him to set out.

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