White Friday

White Friday was a series of avalanches on the Italian front of World War I. The most significant avalanche struck the Austro-Hungarian barracks on Mount Marmolada, killing 270 soldiers. Other avalanches on the same day would strike Italian and other Austro-Hungarian positions, killing hundreds. According to some reports, both sides deliberately fired shells into the weakened snowpacks in an attempt to bury the other side.

An accurate estimation of the number of casualties from the White Friday avalanches is not available; historical documents suggest at least 2,000 soldier deaths and a few dozen civilians.

Though the occurrence of avalanches in the Dolomites Mountains took place on a Wednesday in 1916, the term "White Friday" was used to coin the disastrous day, and the event is commemorated every year on 13 December, which is also marked by Saint Lucy's Day, a commemorative religious holiday practiced by the majority of Italian Catholics.