Mines on the Italian Front (World War I)

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A mine gallery in the ice at Pasubio Monte pasubio strada delle 52 gallerie imbocco di una galleria.JPG
A mine gallery in the ice at Pasubio
The Italian Front in 1915-1917, initial Italian conquests shown in blue Italian Front 1915-1917.jpg
The Italian Front in 1915–1917, initial Italian conquests shown in blue

The mines on the Italian Front during the First World War comprised a series of underground explosive charges of varying sizes, secretly planted between 1916 and 1918 by Austro-Hungarian and Italian tunneling units beneath their enemy's lines along the Italian Front in the Dolomite section of the Alps.

Austro-Hungarian Army ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918

The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army, the Imperial Austrian Landwehr, and the Royal Hungarian Honvéd.

Italian Army land warfare branch of Italys military forces

The Italian Army is the land-based component of the Italian Armed Forces of the Italian Republic. The army's history dates back to the unification of Italy in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China, Libya, Northern Italy against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, Abyssinia before World War II and in World War II in Albania, Greece, North Africa, Russia and Italy itself. During the Cold War, the army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east. Since the end of the Cold War, the army has seen extensive peacekeeping service and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank and among its aircraft the Mangusta attack helicopter, recently deployed in UN missions. The headquarters of the Army General Staff are located in Rome, at the back of the Presidential Palace. The army is an all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel.

Tunnel warfare warfare inside tunnels

Tunnel warfare is a general name for war being conducted in tunnels and other underground cavities. It often includes the construction of underground facilities in order to attack or defend, and the use of existing natural caves and artificial underground facilities for military purposes. Tunnels can be used to undermine fortifications and slip into enemy territory for a surprise attack, while it can strengthen a defence by creating the possibility of ambush, counterattack and the ability to transfer troops from one portion of the battleground to another unseen and protected. Also, tunnels can serve as shelter for combatants and non-combatants from enemy attack.

Contents

Background

From 1915, the high peaks of the Dolomites range were an area of fierce mountain warfare. In order to protect their soldiers from enemy fire and the hostile alpine environment, both Austro-Hungarian and Italian military engineers constructed fighting tunnels which offered a degree of cover and allowed better logistics support. In addition to building underground shelters and covered supply routes for their soldiers (like the Italian Strada delle 52 Gallerie ), both sides also attempted to break the stalemate of trench warfare by tunneling under no man's land and laying large quantities of explosives beneath the enemy's positions.

Mountain warfare refers to warfare in the mountains or similarly rough terrain. This type of warfare is also called Alpine warfare, after the Alps mountains. Mountain warfare is one of the most dangerous types of combat as it involves surviving not only combat with the enemy but also the extreme weather and dangerous terrain.

Military logistics Military operations to move and maintain military forces

Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with:

Dugout (shelter) shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug into the ground

A dugout or dug-out, also known as a pit-house or earth lodge, is a shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug into the ground. Dugouts can be fully recessed into the earth, with a flat roof covered by ground, or dug into a hillside. They can also be semi-recessed, with a constructed wood or sod roof standing out. These structures are one of the most ancient types of human housing known to archaeologists, and the same methods have evolved into modern "earth shelter" technology.

Between 1 January 1916 and 13 March 1918, a total of 34 mines were detonated in this theatre of war. Of these, 20 were Italian mines aimed at Austro-Hungarian targets and 14 were Austro-Hungarian mines aimed at Italian targets. The size of the explosive charges ranged from 110 kilograms (240 lb) to 50,000 kilograms (110,000 lb) of blasting gelatin. The largest Italian mine held 35,000 kilograms (77,000 lb) of explosive.

Nitroglycerin chemical compound

Nitroglycerin (NG), also known as nitroglycerine, trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating glycerol with white fuming nitric acid under conditions appropriate to the formation of the nitric acid ester. Chemically, the substance is an organic nitrate compound rather than a nitro compound, yet the traditional name is often retained. Invented in 1847, nitroglycerin has been used as an active ingredient in the manufacture of explosives, mostly dynamite, and as such it is employed in the construction, demolition, and mining industries. Since the 1880s, it has been used by the military as an active ingredient, and a gelatinizer for nitrocellulose, in some solid propellants, such as cordite and ballistite.

Col di Lana and Monte Sief, 1915 Col di Lana na tirolski fronti.jpg
Col di Lana and Monte Sief, 1915

Focal points of the underground fighting during the War in the Dolomites were Pasubio with 10 mines, Lagazuoi with 5, Col di Lana/Monte Sief also with 5, and Marmolada with 4 mines. The most intense episode was the seven-week period from 16 September to 3 November 1917 which saw 12 mine explosions. After November 1917 and the Italian retreat to Monte Grappa and the Piave river in the aftermath of the Battle of Caporetto, Pasubio with its elevation of 2,239 metres (2,449 yd) [1] remained the only underground war area on the Austro-Italian front. [2]

Lagazuoi mountain in the Dolomites

Lagazuoi is a mountain in the Dolomites of northern Italy, lying at an altitude of 2,835 metres (9,301 ft), about 18 kilometres (11 mi) southwest by road from Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Veneto Region. It is accessible by cable car and contains the Rifugio Lagazuoi, a mountain refuge situated beyond the northwest corner of Cima del Lago. The mountain range is well known for its wartime tunnels and First World War mine warfare. The extensive tunnels were built by the Italian troops trying to wrest control from Austro-Hungarian troops who also built tunnels. The tunnels are now open as a de facto museum.

Col di Lana mountain

The Col di Lana is a mountain of the Fanes Group in the Italian Dolomites. The actual peak is called Cima Lana and situated in the municipality of Livinallongo del Col di Lana in the Province of Belluno, Veneto region.

Marmolada mountain in Northern Italy

Marmolada is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites. It lies between the borders of Trentino and Veneto.

Unlike the mining efforts on the Western Front, where e.g. the mines on the first day of the Somme (1916) were constructed in a chalk and flint area and where e.g. the mines in the Battle of Messines (1917) were constructed in geology dominated by wet sand and clay, the mine galleries on the Austro-Italian front had to be executed at high altitudes in the hard carbonate rock of the Dolomites using hand-operating drilling machines and chisels. Fighting under these conditions, often in exposed areas near mountain peaks and even in glacial ice, required extreme skill of both Austro-Hungarian and Italian miners.

Western Front (World War I) main theatre of war during the First World War

The Western Front was the main theatre of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France, which changed little except during early 1917 and in 1918.

Mines on the first day of the Somme

The 19 mines on the first day of the Somme comprised a series of underground explosive charges, secretly planted by British tunnelling units beneath the German front lines on the Western Front during the First World War, ready to be detonated in the morning of Saturday 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The joint explosion of these mines ranks among the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions.

Chalk A soft, white, porous sedimentary rock made of calcium carbonate

Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is an ionic salt called calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite shells (coccoliths) shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores. Flint (a type of chert) is very common as bands parallel to the bedding or as nodules embedded in chalk. It is probably derived from sponge spicules or other siliceous organisms as water is expelled upwards during compaction. Flint is often deposited around larger fossils such as Echinoidea which may be silicified (i.e. replaced molecule by molecule by flint).

List of the mines

1916

No. Date fired Location Origin Explosive charge Notes
11 January 1916 Lagazuoi:
Piccolo Lagazuoi (Ital)
Kleiner Lagazuoi (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine300 kilograms (660 lb) 1st Austro-Hungarian mine on Lagazuoi. Fired shortly after midnight, the mine causes a large rock above the Italian Cengia Martini stronghold to fall. Slight damage and some demoralizing effect on the Italian soldiers, but no casualties. [2]
26 April 1916 Col di Lana Austro-Hungarian mine110 kilograms (240 lb)In early 1916, the Austro-Hungarian army learns through an artillery observer on Pordoi Pass that the fiercely contested Col di Lana summit (the Cima Lana) has been mined by Italian military engineering units. A Tyrolean Kaiserjäger unit on the summit attempts to halt the Italian efforts by firing a hastily prepared small counter mine. The Italian tunnels are damaged only slightly. [2]
317 April 1916 Col di Lana Italian mine5,020 kilograms (11,070 lb) This mine consisted of the Galleria S. Andrea tunnel and two chambers beneath the Cima Lana summit on Col di Lana. The mine, which had only been damaged slightly by the Austro-Hungarian attack of 6 April, is fired at 23:35 Italian time. The detonation creates an oblong double crater 35 metres (38 yd) long, 25 metres (27 yd) wide and 12 metres (13 yd) deep. More than 100 men of the 2nd Tyrolean Kaiserjäger regiment are killed and some 170 taken prisoner as the Italian infantry takes the summit. [2] [3]
411 July 1916 Castelletto:
Punta di Bois (Ital)
Schreckenstein (Ger)		 Italian mine35,000 kilograms (77,000 lb)Placed at the end of a nearly 400 metres (440 yd) -long gallery beneath an Austro-Hungarian stronghold on a plateau off Tofana di Roces. The detonation of the largest mine fired on the Italian Front to that date deforms the plateau and the southern part of Castelletto. 13 enemy soldiers die in the explosion, many more in the ensuing battle until Alpini take the site on 14 July. [2]
517 September 1916 Monte Cimone di Tonezza Italian mine ? Italian troops fire a mine in an unsuccessful attempt to halt an Austro-Hungarian mining attack. [2]
623 September 1916 Monte Cimone di Tonezza Austro-Hungarian mine14,200 kilograms (31,300 lb)The mine attacked by the Italians on 17 September is fired and creates a crater 50 metres (55 yd) wide and 22 metres (24 yd) deep on the Monte Cimone summit. The Italians lose 1137 men in the detonation and ensuing battle, of which 500 are taken prisoner. [2]
717 November 1916 Zoughi Ridge Italian mine ?Austro-Hungarian troops report an explosion, perhaps an accident, in an enemy gallery beneath the Zoughi Ridge. A shallow crater, some 20 metres (22 yd) in diameter, is observed in the steep southern slope but no longer visible today. [2]

1917

No. Date Location Origin Explosive charge Notes
814 January 1917 Lagazuoi:
Piccolo Lagazuoi (Ital)
Kleiner Lagazuoi (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine16,000 kilograms (35,000 lb)2nd Austro-Hungarian mine on Lagazuoi. Fired in no man's land above the Italian Cengia Martini stronghold to cause falling of rocks (see blast of 1 January 1916). The mine creates a crater 37 metres (40 yd) wide and 45 metres (49 yd) deep. Rubble from this detonation can still be seen above the Falzarego Pass. [2]
96 March 1917 Monte Sief:
Dente del Sief (Ital)
Knotz (Ger)		 Italian mine ? 1st mine on Monte Sief, a summit adjacent to Col di Lana and linked to it by a ridge. Fired by the Italians as a counter mine, the blast creates a crater 40 metres (44 yd) long and 17 metres (19 yd) deep. The detonation leads to slight damage but no casualties among the defenders, and the mining efforts of the Austro-Hungarian units on the mountain are not disturbed. [2] [4]
1012 April 1917 Colbricon Italian mine800 kilograms (1,800 lb) 1st mine on Colbricon, placed by the Italians in the narrow eastern ridge in an effort to conquer the Western Summit. The detonation collapses a crag and kills 12 Austro-Hungarian soldiers patrolling the area. [2]
1122 May 1917 Lagazuoi:
Piccolo Lagazuoi (Ital)
Kleiner Lagazuoi (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine30,400 kilograms (67,000 lb) 3rd Austro-Hungarian mine on Lagazuoi, aimed at the dangerous Italian stronghold on the Trincea Avanzata (Ital) or Strebestein (Ger) crag above Cengia Martini. The blast destroys the stronghold and collapses a rock formation 200 metres (220 yd) tall and up to 140 metres (150 yd) wide, resulting in some 200,000 square metres (240,000 sq yd) of rubble falling into the valley. 4 Italians patrolling the area are killed. [2]
128 June 1917 Monte Zebio Italian mine ?1st of two mines planned for the start of the Battle of Mount Ortigara, but set off accidentally (likely by lightning during thunderstorm). The detonation creates a crater 35 metres (38 yd) wide and 10 metres (11 yd) deep, killing some 100 Italian and 35 Austro-Hungarian soldiers. [2]
1310 June 1917 Monte Rotondo Italian mine ?2nd of two mines planned for the start of the Battle of Mount Ortigara, this mine is detonated on time and creates a shallow crater 25 metres (27 yd) in diameter. Italian troops fail to break through the front line, however, and the crater is taken by the defenders who incorporate it into the Austro-Hungarian fortification system. [2]
1420 June 1917 Lagazuoi:
Anticima (Ital)
Vorkuppe (Ger)		 Italian mine33,000 kilograms (73,000 lb)After tunneling through the mountain and overcoming a difference in altitude of 190 metres (210 yd), Alpini detonate this mine beneath the vacated enemy stronghold on the crag above Cengia Martini, resulting in a large crater and more rubble falling into the valley. The Austro-Hungarians have no casualties but the Italians lose a few men during the ensuing fighting. [2]
1516 July 1917 Colbricon Italian mine4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb) 2nd mine on Colbricon. The detonation of the charge, placed by the Italians near the site of the first mine, results in the collapse of the eastern ridge near the summit and kills some 25 Austro-Hungarian soldiers. [2]
1616 September 1917 Lagazuoi:
Piccolo Lagazuoi (Ital)
Kleiner Lagazuoi (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb)4th and final Austro-Hungarian mine on Lagazuoi. The detonation moves further masses of rock from above the Cengia Martini into the valley, but does not lead to enemy casualties. [2]
1719 September 1917 Colbricon Italian mine3rd and final mine on Colbricon. The detonation destroys the ridge near the summit further but has no significant impact on the Austro-Hungarian fortifications there. [2]
1826 September 1917 Marmolada:
Forcella V (Ital)
Vesurascharte (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine1,250 kilograms (2,760 lb)1st Austro-Hungarian mine on Marmolada (Ital) or Marmolata (Ger). After losing the height to the Italians, Austro-Hungarian troops detonate a charge beneath the western face of Forcella V (Ital) or Vesurascharte (Ger). Collapsing rock kills some 15 Italian soldiers. Exact site of gallery and chamber not located by 1993. [2]
1927 September 1917 Monte Sief:
Dente del Sief (Ital)
Knotz (Ger)		 Italian mine ? 2nd mine on Monte Sief, fired by the Italians in yet another attempt to destroy an Austro-Hungarian tunnel system. The detonation only leads to slight damage, but the afterdamp kills 4 Austro-Hungarian tunnellers. [2]
2029 September 1917 Pasubio:
Selletta (Ital)
Eselsrücken (Ger) and
Dente italiano (Ital)
Italienische Platte (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine500 kilograms (1,100 lb)1st Austro-Hungarian mine on Pasubio. Fired in an attempt to crush an enemy gallery, the mine kills over 30 Italian soldiers. [2]
211 October 1917 Pasubio:
Selletta (Ital)
Eselsrücken (Ger)		 Italian mine16,000 kilograms (35,000 lb)1st Italian mine on Pasubio. The blast creates a crater 40 metres (44 yd) in diameter and 20 metres (22 yd) deep (still visible today). Afterdamp enters the Austro-Hungarian tunnel system, killing 12 men. [2]
2210 October 1917 Buso del Oro Italian mine ? Fired on Buso del Oro north of Colbricon. Placed at an altitude of 2,187 metres (2,392 yd) in no-man's land near the mountain knoll. When fired in an attempt to crush the enemy gallery, the detonation fails but falling rock kills a miner in the Austro-Hungarian tunnel system. [2]
2321 October 1917 Monte Sief:
Dente del Sief (Ital)
Knotz (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine45,000 kilograms (99,000 lb)3rd mine on Monte Sief, placed beneath the ridge which links Monte Sief with adjacent Col di Lana. The detonation of the largest mine on the Italian Front to that date creates a cut, some 80 metres (87 yd) long and 35 metres (38 yd) deep, in the ridge between the Monte Sief summit and the Dente del Sief (Ital) or Knotz (Ger), destroying the two earlier craters created by Italian mines. No significant subterranean damage to the Italian tunnel system but the defending infantry, fighting from trenches and caves, lose 51 men. [2] The cut in the ridge renders the summit of Monte Sief almost impregnable, [5] thereby obstructing the Italian advance in the area.
2422 October 1917 Pasubio Italian mine1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb)2nd Italian mine on Pasubio. Fired in an attempt to crush an enemy gallery, the mine is not tamped sufficiently and has no significant impact on the Austro-Hungarian fortifications. [2]
2524 October 1917 Marmolada Italian mine450 kilograms (990 lb)1st Italian mine on Marmolada (Ital) or Marmolata (Ger), placed beneath the glacial ice. The charge causes an Austro-Hungarian fighting tunnel to collapse but no casualties. [2]
2629 October 1917 Marmolada Italian mine1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb)2nd Italian mine on Marmolada (Ital) or Marmolata (Ger), again placed beneath the glacial ice. No significant impact on the Austro-Hungarian fortifications. [2]
273 November 1917 Marmolada Austro-Hungarian mine ?2nd Austro-Hungarian and final mine on Marmolada (Ital) or Marmolata (Ger). With the Italians vacating their positions in the Dolomites after the Battle of Caporetto, Austro-Hungarian troops detonate a small charge beneath the glacial ice. Effect on defenders unknown. [2]
2824 December 1917 Pasubio:
Dente italiano (Ital)
Italienische Platte (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine6.400 kilograms (14.11 lb)2nd Austro-Hungarian mine on Pasubio. The detonation on Christmas Eve, beneath the north ledge of the Dente italiano (Ital) or Italienische Platte (Ger), causes part of the rock face to collapse, killing more than 50 Italians. [2]

1918

No. Date Location Origin Explosive charge Notes
2921 January 1918 Pasubio Italian mine600 kilograms (1,300 lb)3rd Italian mine on Pasubio. Built with 2 chambers and fired in an attempt to crush an Austro-Hungarian gallery, the mine has no significant impact on enemy fortifications. [2]
302 February 1918 Pasubio:
Dente italiano (Ital)
Italienische Platte (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine3,800 kilograms (8,400 lb)3rd Austro-Hungarian mine on Pasubio. Fired in an attempt to crush an enemy gallery, the mine causes severe damage to the Italian tunnel system and kills several soldiers. [2]
3113 February 1918 Pasubio Italian mine ?4th Italian mine on Pasubio. The detonation fails to produce a crater but accidentally sets of a second charge. A further explosion is observed an hour later, its cause remains unknown. Six Austro-Hungarian and two Italian soldiers are killed in the blasts. [2]
3224 February 1918 Pasubio Austro-Hungarian mine ?4th Austro-Hungarian mine on Pasubio. Fired in an attempt to crush an enemy gallery, the mine has no significant impact on the Italian fortifications. [2]
335 March 1918 Pasubio Italian mine ?5th and final Italian mine on Pasubio. Fired in the effort to halt an Austro-Hungarian mining attack. While the detonation produces some afterdamp in the enemy tunnel system, the blast fails to cause significant damage. [2]
3413 March 1918 Pasubio:
Dente italiano (Ital)
Italienische Platte (Ger)		 Austro-Hungarian mine50,000 kilograms (110,000 lb) Built with two chambers and fired at dawn, shortly before the planned detonation of an Italian mine, the 5th Austro-Hungarian charge on Pasubio produces the largest mine explosion on the Italian Front. The blast destroys the north face of the Dente italiano (Ital) or Italienische Platte (Ger), burying 40 Italian soldiers in the falling rubble. Fire from the detonation also enters the Austro-Hungarian tunnel system, claiming further casualties. [2]
Tofane mountain range in the Dolomites

Tofane is a mountain group in the Dolomites of northern Italy, west of Cortina d'Ampezzo in the province of Belluno, Veneto. Most of the Tofane lies within Parco naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo, a nature park.

Monte Cimone di Tonezza mountain in Italy

Monte Cimone di Tonezza is a mountain of the Veneto, Italy. It has an elevation of 1,226 metres (4,022 ft).

Ossuary place like a building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains

An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary. The greatly reduced space taken up by an ossuary means that it is possible to store the remains of many more people in a single tomb than if the original coffins were left as is.

The Austro-Hungarian and Italian mining efforts in the high mountain peaks of the Italian Front were portrayed in fiction in Luis Trenker's film Mountains on Fire of 1931.

See also

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Alpini and Mountain Artillery formations in World War I

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References

  1. ↑ "Pasubio". tr3ntino.it. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Robert Striffler, Die 34 Minensprengungen an der Tiroler Gebirgsfront 1916-1918 (1993), online, access date 2016-08-03
  3. ↑ Among the Austro-Hungarian soldiers killed in the explosion was Father Anselm Blumenschein (born 1884), a Benedictine monk from Kremsmünster Abbey and Knight of the Order of Franz Joseph, who served as a military chaplain. See http://www.specula.at/adv/biograph.htm, access date 2016-09-04.
  4. ↑ Robert Striffler, Die 34 Minensprengungen an der Tiroler Gebirgsfront 1916-1918 (1993, online) gives 3 March 1917 as the date of the explosion of this mine, while 6 March 1917 is found in a plan of the Austro-Hungarian tunnel system on Monte Sief (see here).
  5. ↑ See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6snZaBmaR4A9, access date 2016-09-04.

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