User:Acroterion/Fortress Saint-Gotthard

The Swiss National Redoubt, outlined in heavy red

Fortress Saint Gotthard is one of the three fortification complexes comprising the Swiss National Redoubt. The central position in the National Redoubt, Fortress Saint Gotthard complements Fortress Saint-Maurice and Fortress Sargans to secure the central alpine region of Switzerland against an invading force. The National Redoubt was first conceived in the 1880s as an easily-defensible area to secure the survival of the Swiss Confederation. In the late 1930s and 1940s when neutral Switzerland was threatened with invasion from Germany, the National Redoubt and its components were modernized and expanded on a massive scale. The fortification system was maintained and upgraded during the Cold War. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the possibility of a Warsaw Pact invasion disappeared, and by 1995 many positions were abandoned by the military.

Concept

Fortification of the Swiss alpine region began in the 1880s, shortly after the opening of the Gotthard railway. Forts similar to those of Belgian military engineer Henri Alexis Brialmont were built at Airolo, the Oberalp Pass, Furka Pass and Grimsel Pass, all in the central Alps. Additional positions were constructed in the area of Saint-Maurice, using mining and tunneling techniques in the steep mountainsides of the glacial valley.

Following World War I, there was little Swiss interest in further fortifications. However, during the 1930s as France built the Maginot Line from the Mediterranean to Belgium and Czechoslovakia built the Czechoslovak border fortifications, Switzerland re-examined its need for fixed defenses. At the same time, job creation programs became desirable as a result of the worldwide Great Depression. By 1935 design work began, and in 1937 construction began on the expanded Alpine fortifications, the Border Line and the Army line fortifications.

Guisan plan

General Henri Guisan developed a strategy for the defense of Switzerland that recognized Switzerland's limited resources in equipment and manpower compared to its potential adversaries. Guisan proposed a delaying strategy in the broken terrain of the borders to keep an invading force out of the open country in the central plateau for as long as possible, allowing an orderly retreat to the secured Alpine perimeter. Once the retreat to the Alps was complete, the Swiss government could remain in being for an extended time. Accordingly, the border fortifications were improved with major programs along the Rhine and at Vallorbe in the Jura. The strategic Alpine nodes of Saint-Maurice, Saint Gotthard and Sargans were identified as the primary points of access to the Alpine redoubt for a potential aggressor. While Saint Gotthard and Saint-Maurice had been previously fortified, the area of Sargans was newly vulnerable, owing to a drainage program of former wetlands along the Rhine that would now provide easy access to the eastern Alpine gateway at Sargans.

Debate continued over the extent of the Redoubt under the Guisan plan. A proposal was developed by officers from German-speaking cantons, advocating a more compact redoubt. This was overcome by a proposal, authored by Guisan's chief of staff, Colonel Samuel Gonard, whose plan ratified the Saint-Maurice - Saint Gotthard - Sargans strategy, prefaced by a defense in depth. Additional impetus was provided by the fall of France in June, 1940. Two days after the French surrender, on 23 June, the border zones were reduced in priority in favor of the "advanced position" or Army Line. The army was shifted to the center of the country, leaving industries and population centers relatively unprotected. The final Guisan plan, adopted on 12 July, 1940, defined an organized retreat to the Alps, where supplies would be stocked for an indefinite resistance with no thought of further retreat. On 25 July, 1940, the Swiss defensive plan was disseminated, dictating a fallback to the Alps in the event of an Axis attack, focusing in particular on the Gotthard massif and destroying all access points as necessary once inside.

The National Redoubt strategy was emphasized on 24 May, 1941. Until this time only about two thirds of the Swiss Army had been mobilized. Following the swift overrunning of the Balkan countries by German forces in April 1941, in which relatively low mountains had proven to be little barrier to the aggressive German forces, the entire Swiss army was mobilized. The Swiss, lacking a significant armored force, drew the conclusion that withdrawal to the Redoubt was the only sound course. Any actions in the Central Plateau would be delaying actions only.

World War II

The National Redoubt assumed great importance to the Swiss in 1940, when they were entirely surrounded by Axis powers, effectively at the mercy of Hitler and Mussolini. The National Redoubt was a way to preserve at least part of Swiss territory in the event of an invasion. The Redoubt was to be manned by eight infantry divisions and three mountain brigades.

Cold War

Swiss policy during the Cold War adopted a more aggressive defense of the borders, relying less on a retreat to the mountains. While Switzerland was again surrounded by an alliance, NATO was not considered a threat to Swiss national existence. The Swiss strategy sought to exact a high price from any direct ground attack on Swiss territory. Control of the Alpine crossings remained a cornerstone of the Swiss strategy of neutrality. The dense network of passive and active barriers and large and small fortifications allowed considerable flexibility in the disposition of Swiss forces, and represented an almost optimal scenario of defense in depth.

The strategic importance of the Alpine crossings had only increased since the Second World War, and any incursion by Warsaw Pact forces would require that they either be taken, or that terms for their use would need to be agreed upon to the satisfaction of Switzerland.

In 1953 Swiss policy was formalized to place greater emphasis on the defense of the borders and population centers, and to extend the concept of defense in depth, pioneered in the Redoubt, to the entire Swiss territory. This corresponded to an unspoken reliance on cooperation with NATO to secure the flanks of Swiss territory and to resupply Swiss forces, which already purchased equipment from members of NATO. The Redoubt, with its determinedly neutralist connotations, lost priority.

Comparison with similar projects

The National Redoubt fortifications, when compared to contemporary French, Belgian, German or Czech fortifications, were much more extensive and heavily armed than the Maginot Line, the Belgian border fortifications, the Siegfried Line or the Czechoslovak border fortifications. While the Maginot fortifications were typically armed with short-barreled 75mm fortress howitzers or 120mm mortar/howitzers, the Swiss fortifications were armed with 75mm and 120mm guns, upgraded in the 1950s to 105mm and 150mm guns. The Swiss guns were typically casemate-mounted or turret-mounted long guns, not howitzers, and were more akin to naval guns than fortress guns. Because they were typically mounted on inaccessible cliffs or plateaus with an advantage of enfilade over any possible opposing force, they were not exposed to infantry attack or direct artillery fire and could afford to have exposed gun barrels. The French positions, which could be targeted by anti-tank weapons or infantry, avoided any exposed gun tubes.

Fortress St. Gotthard

Airolo positions

Fort Airolo

Fort Airolo 46°31′42.19″N 8°35′21.25″E, also known as Forte di Airolo, was built between 1887 and 1890 at the southern end of the Gotthard Pass overlooking Airolo. The fort was a compact massif similar toa Brialmont fort, with an encircling ditch defended by caponiers and provided with a twin 120mm gun turret and four 53mm gun turrets for close defense, with five 84mm guns in casemates. A 1-km tunnel links Fort Airolo to the Gotthard Rail Tunnel. Abandoned by the military in 1947, the fort is maintained as a museum by a preservation group and may be visited.

Battery Motto Bartola 46°32′01.15″N 8°35′17.15″E is located just up the hill from Fort Airolo and mounted an additional four 120mm guns. The fort, built between 1888 and 1890, also mounted for 84mm guns, with extensive underground galleries linking the firing positions.

Battery Foppa Grande mounted three 105mm guns in camouflaged turrets above Motto Bartola, with three 20mm anti-aircraft guns. The position featured mortar batteries, installed in 1953. The position was deactivated in 1997 and classified as potentially historical. The position may be visited by prior arrangement.

Fort San Carlo is an artillery fort

Fort Stuei

Saint Gotthard Tunnel South Portal monitored the original south entrance to the Gotthard Rail Tunnel. Portions of the original installation remain, but the tunnel entrance has been extended to the south and the historic portal no longer exists. These positions were built in 1886-87 and represent the first modern fortifications in Switzerland. A gallery links the tunnel positions back to Fort Airolo.

St. Gotthard Pass positions

Redoubt Hospiz 46°33′24.20″N 8°34′06.37″E, also known as Forte Ospizio, was built in 1894 and operated until 1947 near the summit of the Gotthard Pass. The fort mounted two single 120mm gun turrets. The fort is presently operated as a museum and may be visited by the public.

Fort Sasso da Pigna 46°33′31.68″N 8°33′59.50″E was built during the early part of World War II, becoming operational in 1943, effectively replacing Redoubt Hospiz. The fort consists of an eastern battery overlooking the Leventina valley and a western battery overlooking the Bedretto valley and the main pass. The main entrance is located just to the north of Fort Ospizio, with 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) of galleries and four 150mm gun positions. A proposed addition of two more guns in the late 1950s never proceeded. The position was used until 1999. It is presently being redeveloped as a museum.

Infantry positions: A number of small infantry bunkers exist near the top of the pass, most notably Bunker No. 3. Construction took place in three stages: 1886-87, 1892-1920, and 1946-1973. These works exhibit a high quality of workmanship and integration into the landscape.

Urserne Valley North

Fort Bühl

Fortin Altkirch

Fort Bäzberg

Oberalp Pass

Fort Stöckli 46°39′28.99″N 8°37′17.21″E

Oberalp infantry positions

Fort Gütsch

Furka Pass

Fort Galenhütten 46°34′38.24″N 8°23′27.61″E

Fort Fuchsegg

Source

• This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of January 6, 2011.

References

• Kauffmann, J.E., Jurga, R., Fortress Europe: European Fortifications of World War II, Da Capo Press, USA, 2002, ISBN 0-306-81174-X.

German-language references

• Hans-Rudolf Maurer (Hrsg.): Geheime Kommandoposten der Armeeführung im Zweiten Weltkrieg: Projekte, Bauten und der Mobile Kommandoposten. Verlag Merker im Effingerhof, Lenzburg 2001, ISBN 3-85648-120-6
• Willi Gautschi: General Henri Guisan: Die schweizerische Armeeführung im Zweiten Weltkrieg. 4. Auflage. Verlag NZZ, Zürich 2001, ISBN 3-85823-516-4
• Roberto Bernhard: Das Reduit. Mythen und Fakten ; militärischer Notbehelf, Rettungsanker der Nation, Mythos, Gegenmythos. Institut Libertas, Biel/Bienne 2007, ISBN 3-9521464-4-7
• Inventar der Kampf- und Führungsbauten. Bern: Eidg. Dep. für Verteidigung, Bevölkerungsschutz und Sport, Bereich Bauten. 11-teiliges Werk, erschienen zwischen 1999 und 2006.

Individual portions are on line at armasuisse.ch, for example the cantons of Glarus, AI/AR and St. Gallen n

• Hand Rudolf Fuhrer, Walter Lüem, Jean-Jacques Rapin, Hans Rapold, Hans Senn: Die Geschichte der schweizerischen Landesbefestigung. Zürich: Orell Füssli, 1992. ISBN 978-3-280-01844-6

External links

• www.fort.ch
• Festung-Oberland.ch (in German)
• links
• Fortress Saint-Maurice
• Association Saint-Maurice d'Études Militaires (in French)
• Schweizer-Fustungen
• Fort Champillon