Border Line (Switzerland)

Last updated
Fort Reuenthal at Swiss-German border Stollen Festung Reuenthal IMG 1612.jpg
Fort Reuenthal at Swiss-German border

The Border Line defenses of Switzerland were constructed in the late 1930s in response to increasing tensions between Switzerland and its neighbours, chiefly the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. The Border Line was planned to slow or hold an invading force at the border. It consisted of a series of bunkers spaced at short intervals along the French, German and Austrian borders. The bunkers were reinforced by larger multi-blockhouse forts at key points. Most of the positions were within two or three kilometres (1.2 or 1.9 mi) of the frontier.

Contents

Description

The Border Line bunkers were spaced between 500 metres (1,600 ft) and 750 metres (2,460 ft) along the northern border of Switzerland. [1] A number were integrated into bridge crossings of the Rhine and other rivers. [2]

The large forts were armed with 75mm artillery and anti-tank weapons and were usually built into the forward slope of a hill. The blockhouses were connected and supported by an underground gallery system giving access and shelter to underground barracks, ammunition magazines, command posts and utility services. [3]

Compared with the Maginot Line, whose function was similar, the positions were less well-protected and lacked the ability to fire laterally along the line of attack from a sheltered location. [4] [5] The Border Line forts did not deploy a defense in depth. [6]

History

Work on the Border Line began in 1937 and was generally complete by 1940. However, with the German invasion of France in 1940, it became clear to the Swiss Armed Forces that the Border Line could not deter or withstand a direct German attack. Swiss priorities shifted to a policy of quick withdrawal to the National Redoubt in the Alps, there to maintain a government-in-being and to control the strategic crossings of the Alps for an extended time. While the German Operation Tannenbaum set forth a plan to invade Switzerland, the operation was never carried out. [1] [3] [7] The Swiss war plan, devised by General Henri Guisan, envisioned the use of the Border Line as a delaying position, backed by a further hold line, the so-called Army Line, to give the bulk of Swiss forces time to retreat to the Redoubt destroying access points once Swiss forces were safely inside. [8]

Following World War II, the main border positions remained manned. However, by the 1980s it became apparent that the positions were obsolete, and were gradually decommissioned, even before the Army 95 stand-down of many Swiss fortifications. A number of the positions have become museums and may be toured. [9] [10] [11] [12]

Major positions

Major forts on the Border Line included, from west to east:

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Kauffmann, pp. 155-156
  2. ↑ "Die Festung Ebersberg" (in German). Bunkeranlagen der Schweiz. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Geschichte der Festung Heldsberg" (in German). Festungsmuseum Heldsberg. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  4. 1 2 Kauffmann, pp. 157-158
  5. ↑ Holford, Paul. "Fort du Pré-Giroud". Casemate. Fortress Study Group (82). Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  6. ↑ "Die Sperre am Stoss" (in German). Festungsmuseum Heldsberg. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  7. ↑ Kauffmann, p. 152-153
  8. ↑ Kauffmann, p.159
  9. ↑ "Bienvenue". Pré-Giroud Fort 39-45 (in French). Fondation du Fort de Vallorbe (Pré-Giroud). Archived from the original on 9 December 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  10. ↑ "Lageplan" (in German). Schweizerisches Militämuseum Full. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "Artillery Fortress Ebersberg (A5438)". STIWOT. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  12. ↑ "Festungen nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg" (in German). Festungsmuseum Heldsberg. Retrieved 13 January 2011.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siegfried Line</span> German defensive line built during the late 1930s

The Siegfried Line, known in German as the Westwall, was a German defensive line built during the 1930s opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than 630 km (390 mi) from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the western border of Nazi Germany, to the town of Weil am Rhein on the border with Switzerland. The line featured more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toblerone line</span> Defensive fortifications of Vaud, Switzerland from WWII

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vallorbe</span> Municipality in Vaud, Switzerland

Vallorbe is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine Wall</span>

The Alpine Wall was an Italian system of fortifications along the 1,851 km (1,150 mi) of Italy's northern frontier. Built in the years leading up to World War II at the direction of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the defensive line faced France, Switzerland, Austria, and Yugoslavia. It was defended by the "Guardia alla Frontiera" (GaF), Italian special troops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Hommet 10.5 cm coastal defence gun casemate bunker</span> WWII Nazi Germany bunker on Guernsey

The Fort Hommet 10.5 cm coastal defence gun casemate bunker is a fully restored gun casemate that was part of Fortress Guernsey constructed by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M19 Maschinengranatwerfer</span> Mortar

The M-19 Maschinengranatwerfer is a German 50 mm mortar which was used during World War II. The mortar was developed in 1934 for the purpose of defending permanent military bases. It had a maximum rate of fire of 120 rounds per minute and a range of 750 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortress Saint-Maurice</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort du Scex</span> Military museum in Switzerland

The Fort du Scex is a component of Fortress Saint-Maurice, which is in turn one of the three principal fortified regions of the National Redoubt of Switzerland. The Fort du Scex was built in the Scex cliff face immediately to the west of Saint-Maurice beginning in 1911. With the later Fort de Cindey, it comprises a fortress complex encased in rock high above the strategic Saint-Maurice valley. The fort lost its combat function in 1984 and was entirely deactivated in 1995. It is now open for public tours during the summer months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort de Pré-Giroud</span> Historical museum in Vallorbe (Switzerland)

The Fort de Pré-Giroud, also known as the Fort de Vallorbe, is a 20th-century Swiss fortification located in the Jura Mountains near the Swiss border with France. The fort defended the Col de Jougne at Vallorbe, one of the few points in the Jura that could be easily traversable by an invading force. It was a component of the Swiss Border Line of defenses. Built between 1937 and 1939, the fort covers the Swiss end on the Mont d'Or railroad tunnel and the Joux valley. It is armed with three artillery blocks for 75mm guns and two machine gun blocks. All are camouflaged, the artillery blocks as rock formations, and the machine gun blocks as houses. Deactivated as a military post in the 1980s, it is operated as a museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Reuenthal</span> Historical museum in Full-Reuenthal (AG), Switzerland

Fort Reuenthal is a 20th-century Swiss fortification located in the Aargau canton near the Swiss border with Germany. Built between 1937 and 1939, the fort overlooks the Rhine where it bends around the town of Full-Reuenthal, and was intended to prevent a crossing of the Rhine at the hydroelectric plant at Dogern. It was a component of the Swiss Border Line of defenses. It is armed with two artillery blocks for 75 mm guns and two machine gun blocks. The fort uses camouflage, with house-like superstructures over some positions. Deactivated as a military post in 1988, it is operated as a museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Ebersberg</span> Museum in Berg am Irchel (Switzerland)

Fort Ebersberg, also known as Fort Rüdlingen, was built between 1938 and 1940 in the Swiss Canton of Zurich to guard the Rhine against a German invasion at the opening of World War II. It is the only such position in the Zurich canton, located near the town of Berg am Irchel. The fort was part of the Swiss Border Line defenses, Swiss military designation A5438.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Heldsberg</span> Historical museum in St. Margrethen (Switzerland)

Fort Heldsberg was built 1938–1940 near St. Margrethen in Switzerland, overlooking the Rhine, which forms the Swiss-Austrian border at that location, just south of Lake Constance. The fort was part of the Swiss Border Line defenses, built between 1938 and 1941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortified Sector of Altkirch</span> Former French military organization

The Fortified Sector of Altkirch was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the French frontier with Germany and Switzerland in the vicinity of Basel. The sector's principal defense against an advance from Germany was the Rhine itself, which could be crossed only by boat or by seizing a bridge crossing. The frontier with Switzerland was not regarded as a high-risk location, save for a possible advance by German forces through Switzerland. Originally planned as a full extension of the Maginot Line with artillery ouvrages, the sector's fortifications were scaled back and chiefly took the form of casemates and blockhouses. The SF Altkirch adjoined the Fortified Sector of Mulhouse to the north and the Fortified Sector of Montbéliard to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defensive Sector of the Rhône</span> French military organization

The Defensive Sector of the Rhône was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the French border with Switzerland and Italy in the area of Geneva. The area was not regarded as a likely point of invasion, owing to the neutrality of Switzerland and the extremely difficult terrain along the Italian portion of the border. It was therefore lightly fortified. Its chief fortified position was the 19th-century Fort l'Écluse, manned by a small force, which held its strategic position against a Panzerkorps for a week in June 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Redoubt (Switzerland)</span> Defensive plan developed by the Swiss government

The Swiss National Redoubt is a defensive plan developed by the Swiss government beginning in the 1880s to respond to foreign invasion. In the opening years of the Second World War the plan was expanded and refined to deal with a potential German invasion. The term "National Redoubt" primarily refers to the fortifications begun in the 1880s that secured the mountainous central part of Switzerland, providing a defended refuge for a retreating Swiss Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Saumarez</span>

Fort Saumarez is a Martello tower in Saint Peter, Guernsey, on a headland that forms the northern tip of L'Erée and extends to the Lihou causeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort de Boncelles</span> 19th-20th century defence for Liège, Belgium

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France–Switzerland border</span> International border

The France–Switzerland border is 572 km (355 mi) long. Its current path is mostly the product of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, with the accession of Geneva, Neuchâtel and Valais to the Swiss Confederation, but it has since been modified in detail, the last time being in 2002. Although most of the border, marked with border stones, is unguarded, several checkpoints remain staffed, most notably on busy roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swiss Military Museum</span> Museum in Full-Reuenthal (Switzerland)

The Swiss Military Museum is located at Full-Reuenthal in the Canton of Aargau.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.