Could I get some help with researching this WWI photograph of an Italian soldier please?

Image: https://imgur.com/a/2QWNCfD

My third cousin and I are attempting to identify the soldier in the photo. We assume he is a member of our family, which narrows it down considerably to a list of possible identities, but we want to be sure. We also don't know enough about WWI and its military uniforms & style to really even know where to begin. That said, I have tried to do some basic research based on a few assumptions, and here's what I've come up with:

  • Because this part of our family is Italian, I assumed that the man in the photograph is Italian, and looked up Italian WWI uniforms to corroborate that assumption. That assumption would appear to be correct. For the sake of certainty, what do you all think? Is the man in the photograph an Italian soldier, or were there other countries whose military outfits looked like that during WWI? If so, what countries?

  • I assumed that the "74" on his cap refers to his regiment. I researched regiment 74, and came up with the Lombardia Brigade. However, at first glance, this seems wrong, because our family is from a little town in Torino, and Torino doesn't appear to be part of the 74th Regiment's Recruitment District. Furthermore, none of our relatives' names appear on that website. That said, those names all appear to pertain to folks who died in the war, and not all of our relatives who fought in WWI died during WWI. Plus, I think the list could be incomplete. Does the "74" on the man's cap definitively refer to his regiment? Could it be incorrect somehow? Could it be possible for someone from the province of Torino to have ended up in a regiment with no recruitment jurisdiction in Torino, and how? Is there someplace I can find a roster of all Italian WWI soldiers, so that once I confirm his regiment I might possibly confirm his identity?

  • According to this, depending on the color of the star, a single star rank either pertains to a 2nd Lieutenant, or a Brigadier General. The 2nd Lieutenant star is gold, and the Brigadier General star is silver. I assume that the man depicted was a 2nd Lieutenant at the time the photograph was taken. Considering the ranks' corresponding star colors, the fact that at the time only black and white photography existed, and that his stars appear to be darkened in the photograph by a photo-"editing" technique of the time, I'm basing my assumption of the man's rank off the conclusion that gold stars would probably have been darkened in photography, while silver stars lightened. Is that logic sound, or is there other logic that supports the idea that the man in the photo is a 2nd Lieutenant, and can I therefore consider it beyond a reasonable doubt that the man depicted in the photograph was a 2nd Lieutenant at the time the photograph was taken?

Thank you very much for any and all help you guys can give me! I apologize in advance if these questions don't belong here. If that is the case, please [if possible] direct me to a better subreddit for my research! Thank you!

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[deleted]

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Short Answers to Simple Questions | May 02, 2018

Previous weeks!

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[deleted]

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The relevant excerpt from De Re Militari

The manner of arming the troops comes next under consideration. But the method of the ancients no longer is followed. For though after the example of the Goths, the Alans and the Huns, we have made some improvements in the arms of the cavalry, yet it is plain the infantry are entirely defenseless. From the foundation of the city till the reign of the Emperor Gratian, the foot wore cuirasses and helmets. But negligence and sloth having by degrees introduced a total relaxation of discipline, the soldiers began to think their armor too heavy, as they seldom put it on. They first requested leave from the Emperor to lay aside the cuirass and afterwards the helmet. In consequence of this, our troops in their engagements with the Goths were often overwhelmed with their showers of arrows. Nor was the necessity of obliging the infantry to resume their cuirasses and helmets discovered, notwithstanding such repeated defeats, which brought on the destruction of so many great cities.

Troops, defenseless and exposed to all the weapons of the enemy, are more disposed to fly than fight. What can be expected from a foot-archer without cuirass or helmet, who cannot hold at once his bow and shield; or from the ensigns whose bodies are naked, and who cannot at the same time carry a shield and the colors? The foot soldier finds the weight of a cuirass and even of a helmet intolerable. This is because he is so seldom exercised and rarely puts them on.

edit: The full text for anyone interested

3 Answers 2018-05-02

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