Some photos and excerpts of text and amended text for the Italian weapons, equipment and uniforms came from La Grande Guerra, which covers "...Weapons, Equipment, Uniforms Unique to the Italian Front..." http://www.worldwar1.com/itafront/equip_w.htm. The web site is operated by Mr. Leo Benedetti and the Great War Society and is an excellent online reference.

Other material was collected from Public Domain records loaded on Wikimedia and Wikipedia and online gun auction sites.

"MANNLICHER-CARCANO MODEL 1891 OF 6.5 MM. CALIBER RIFLE : The standard Italian rifle of the Great War was adopted in 1891. It was fed with a 6-round clip. The clip was a Mannlicher design and the breech block assembly was designed by an Italian gunsmith named Carcano. While it is looked down upon by some devotees of the "finer" rifles, it was a rugged weapon that didn't foul up easily and withstood hard treatment. Its smaller cartridges [6.5mm vs. 7.6mm] meant a soldier could carry more rounds and its clip held 6 rounds vs. 5 per clip for almost all rifles of the other belligerents. It's length [140 cm, 160 cm with the bayonet] which can be noted in the..." photos below this article. It "...was designed for an obsolete method of warfare, allowing an infantryman to fend off the lance or saber of a mounted cavalryman. Since it proved to be clumsy in the tight confines of the trenches, a carbine version called the 'moschetto' adapted from the carbine version used by the cavalry was also given to special troops, carabinieri [MP's], officers, NCOs and Arditi [shock troops]. Both carbines fired the same cartridge the rifle did, indeed they were just shortened versions of the rifle. Both had a turned down bolt handle rather than a straight one. The cavalry version had a built in folding bayonet while the infantry adaptation had a detachable one and a longer wood stock. All three versions are displayed..." below.