What part does Italy play in Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms?

In Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to
Arms, Italy is central to the story of protagonist, American Lieutenant
Frederic Henry, who is fighting with the Italians against the Austrians (and the
Germans). Catherine Barkley, who Frederic falls in love with, is surprised to find an
American fighting for and with the Italians.

Over the
course of time, Frederic is injured and sent to the hospital. He receives an operation
to repair his injuries, and while he recuperates, Catherine is reassigned to his
hospital to be with him. This begins a time of great happiness for the pair. They spend
the days and nights together. Eventually, Frederic returns to the front, but he finds
that the war has changed a great deal. The morale of the Italians as plummeted as the
Austrians have been reinforced with German troops.

During
this time in the war, Frederic's experiences are much different. As he and other men try
to deliver medical supplies, they are stopped by crowds and traffic. They try to make it
on back roads. This attempt is also unsuccessful; of the original six men, soon only two
of them are left. They witness soldier running away from the front amid mayhem; they see
that...

...the
retreat column has degenerated into a frantic
mob.

Soldiers are leaving
weapons behind, men of higher rank are removing any insignia from their uniforms that
might identify them as officers. At the end of the bridge, however, the Italian military
police are waiting to stop and shoot those trying to desert. Frederic is taken and tied
to a tree, but gets loose and jumps into the river. It is here that Frederic becomes a
deserter. The war really does not mean anything to him: he is not fighting because he
believes in a greater good. However, as a deserter, if Frederic remains in Italy, he can
be arrested. Ultimately, he and Catherine will travel to Switzerland which is neutral
territory.

This war was the most advanced in terms of
military weaponry that the world had ever seen, which is why it was called the "Great
War." Wilfred Owen's poetry concerning this war brings images of chemical warfare (the
use of poisonous gas), gas masks, living and dying in trenches, the rats, the gore—the
general inhumanity of war, and a public's lack of awareness of how horrible it really
was. (Owen lost his life in that war.) This "conflict" destroyed the lives of many of
the men who survived. The war lasted four years and cost millions
of dollars.

In terms of Italy's place
in the Great War:

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The role of Italy in World War I was as
decoy.

The Italians would
normally have supported the Austria-Germany side, but Italy had been promised land, and
the Allied forces promised to fulfill this agreement.

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...Italy's ill-equipped army was to attempt to
divert the...Austrians from helping the Germans in
France.

In 1916, the Italians
lost 500,000 men—in that one year alone, and it is easy to understand Hemingway's
description of the mass desertion when so many men were dying. (This was the year
Frederic deserted.) Ironically, all was not lost for the Italian army which rallied
against the Austrians, and ultimately was rewarded for helping the
Allies.

As Italy was only in the war in a secondary
capacity (though the body count seems to contradict this), it seems also that Frederic
was also in the war in much the same way. He was not dedicated to the Italian cause. At
one point he finally realizes that he has had enough, has come close to death too many
times, and has risked too much.