Winter and avalanches - Written in the landscape

The war at high altitude required considerable logistical and material effort for the care of the wounded and sick. In the high mountains there were only first aid structures, while intermediate structures, more spacious and organized, were located in the valley floor. For the most serious cases, transfer to military hospitals in territories even farther away from the front was organized. In addition to historical photographs, there remain recollections of the health infrastructure and biographies of doctors who worked at the front or who visited it.
For many, religiosity played an important role in making the harshness of war bearable. The private one, of the individual soldiers, can be reconstructed with extreme difficulty through some objects or personal diaries. The rites of official religiosity, on the other hand, are well documented by photographs, drawings and written sources. These sources show that religiosity itself was often exploited for propaganda purposes and to support the war effort. Parish priests and chaplains, such as Feldkurat Josef Hosp on the Austrian side and Don Pietro Zangrando on the Italian side, supported with conviction the causes of their respective staffs, to the extent that they intervened at times: on the front, faith and patriotism were closely intertwined.
The general staff prepared numerous cemeteries for the fallen. At high altitude, there were emergency cemeteries, in some cases located near the front lines. Time has left barely visible traces of these places. On the Austro-Hungarian front, the cemetery of Toblingerdörfl and that of Zirbenboden are known, both well documented by photographs of the time. Between the two wars, the remains of the soldiers were exhumed and moved to the large cemeteries dedicated to the fallen, in ossuaries or in village tombs, partly for ideological and political reasons. (GF, SK)

The landscape that characterizes the area on which the research of the Written on the Landscape project focused is the Dolomite medium and high mountains, upon which military structures and infrastructures were grafted. From a naturalistic point of view, a monographic report of the Italian I Army Corps of 1917 proves to be particularly revealing, in which we read: “The region in question is part of the Dolomite Alps, of which it forms the extreme eastern edge, and, in this region, the characters of the Triassic formation are very marked, with local tectonic disturbances […]. The phenomena of erosion have acted intensely on dolomite, a constituent element of these rocks, so as to form irregular and steep slopes, furrowed by deep gullies. The typical example of the intensity of this erosion is given by the Tre Cime di Lavaredo; and where erosion has manifested itself most, shales and sandstones have been laid bare.”
The report is very detailed and also focuses on the intricate situation of water: “From the orographic complexity of the region results, by natural consequence, a corresponding hydrographic complexity, and it is noteworthy that in a relatively small area there are watercourses unfolding in different and opposite directions. Thus, while the Rio Marzon, the Rio Cengia and the Rio Giralba all have the general north-south direction, the Bacher Bach goes from south to north; and while the Boden Bach runs from west to east, the Schwarze Rienz [Rienza Nera] descends from east to west.” This is followed by climatic considerations, in which the minimum winter temperatures that have been recorded can drop to -30° C, and insights on the vegetation, ranging from coniferous forest, to mountain forest, to rhododendron.1Archivio dell’Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma, Monografie del I Corpo d’Armata – Genio – Sistemazione difensiva, AUSSME_B1_110D_23A.
A complex natural landscape, therefore, that did not make life at high altitude easy for the hundreds of men who faced each other for twenty-nine months, summer and winter, in the Dolomites. (GF)

For the soldiers who found themselves fighting on the Three Peaks Plateau, winters were long and snowy. The snow fell from October to April and could last until late June in the shaded areas of the highest peaks. The minimum temperature often dropped to -30°C at night, hovering around 0°C during the day.
Frostbite and avalanches soon became familiar dangers. To help the soldiers survive in such conditions, both staffs provided detailed equipment and instructions. Each Italian soldier, for example, received two sets of woolen garments and three heavy blankets. The troops in the trenches also received coats and shoes lined with fur, clogs, balaclavas, leg wraps, socks, waterproof clothing and sleeping bags. To avoid frostbite, antioxidant fat was distributed to spread on the feet. To limit the damage caused by avalanches, officers from both armies had maps at their disposal showing the points most likely to cause snow loss. Despite this, the winter at high altitude resulted in hundreds of victims.
As time went on, the general staffs began to take advantage of winter conditions. The attack on Sasso di Sesto/Sextenstein on 21 April 1917 is a clear example of this. The approach of members of the Austro-Hungarian army to the Italian lines took place through a tunnel dug hundreds of meters in the snow. This tunnel made it possible to catch the sentinels by surprise and temporarily conquer the position. It also required the training of departments specialized in the use of winter equipment, including skis used for stealth and surprise attacks as well as sleds for the transport of materials. (GF)

The soldiers of both armies were greatly threatened by natural disasters during the war in the high mountains during the winter season. Cold, snow and ice created a hostile environment in which the soldiers had to resist for months. Added to this were the dangers of avalanches, to which the troops were exposed during mountain warfare. A diary note dated November 5, 1915 of the 59 infantry regiment “Erzherzog Rainer” reports one of these fatal incidents: “[…] Yesterday the first avalanches descended. One in the gorge, under the terminus of the cable car, and three in the Innerfeld [Val Campo di Dentro], without causing damage. The fourth avalanche, descending from the Altstein [Sassovecchio] towards the left wing of our position of Innichriedl [Forcella di San Candido], buried the kitchen and killed the cook of the 4th Company”.1Kriegsarchiv Wien, Kriegstagebuch des Infanterieregiments 59, Eintrag vom 5.11.1915, p. 93. On another occasion, Josef Krimbacher, an artilleryman of the regiment, was saved in time after being buried by an avalanche on March 9, 1916. The soldiers received a personal copy of a “booklet for mountain warfare in winter”, which warned them of the dangers of avalanches. The correct behavior was to avoid and bypass all slopes, valleys and gullies at risk of avalanches and to always exercise the utmost caution. In case the men were swept away by an avalanche, the following advice was given: “In the event of an avalanche, move like you are swimming, try to stay on the surface of the snow, unfasten your skis, cut the bindings if necessary, do not leave the snowshoes! Buried victims can only be found by scouring the avalanche neatly and precisely, using poles, pickaxes, etc. Before getting help, establish posts for observation and rescue. Keep an eye on the slope of avalanches, because it often slides!”.2Tiroler Landesarchiv, Standschützen Baon Innsbruck I 1914-1918, Faszikel III, Merkblatt für den Gebirgs-Krieg im Winter, p. 2 f.
In the volumes of the Italian I Army Corps, always with regard to avalanches, it is recommended: “To remedy the possible damage of avalanches, it is necessary to minimize movements during the hot hours of the day, never allow the movement of isolated men, prepare rescue teams, equipped with the necessary tools, ready to rush in the minimum time to the site of any accident”.3Archivio dell’Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma, Monografie del I Corpo d’Armata – Genio – Sistemazione difensiva, AUSSME_B1_110D_23A.
In the diary of the I Army Corps, dated February 24, 1916, we read that six avalanches fell on the Italian lines in the area of the plateau. It continues: “They surprised a platoon headed to the Sextenstein [Sasso di Sesto] and subsequent rescue team, a patrol and a rescue team on the Longerin side and a snow clearing team on the Longere-Cengia road, also destroying a kitchen shack and a telephone station. There were a total of 53 deaths including Captain Ramacci and Lieutenant Lucchesi of the 92nd Infantry and 7 not seriously wounded”.4Archivio dell’Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma, Diario I Corpo d’Armata, AUSSME_B1_110D_4A, 24 febbraio 1917.
The areas where avalanches fell most frequently were well known to the General Staffs, as can be seen in the maps showing the areas of probable avalanche detachments.5Archivio dell’Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma, Monografie del I Corpo d’Armata, AUSSME_B1_110D_23A.
With reference to high-altitude equipment, the aforementioned volume explains: “Before the onset of the first cold weather it is necessary to distribute to all troops a special equipment (individual double set of woolen clothing, three heavy blankets each, and, for troops in the trenches, also coats with fur, shoes with fur, trench clogs, balaclavas, waterproof clothing, sleeping bags , etc. etc.)”. It also recommends the use of antioxidant fat, to be spread abundantly on the extremities.6Archivio dell’Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma, Monografie del I Corpo d’Armata – Genio – Sistemazione difensiva, AUSSME_B1_110D_23A.
In the instructions for cases of freezing sent by the Italian Supreme Command in October 1915 we read advice on the use of footwear and clothing (loose shoes, so “as to be able to contain two pairs of socks”, then woolen socks, flannel shirt, woolen sweater, balaclava, woolen cap, gloves, legwraps). Instructions to avoid frostbite follow, for example: if you are in the snow, fight against sleep; never take liquor to warm up, because the effect is only momentary; continuously move your toes, even if they hurt; Never put frozen limbs in hot water, to avoid gangrene.7Archivio dell’Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma, Istruzioni in caso di congelamento, AUSSME_E14_busta17_fasc18.

(GF, SK)

Kriegsarchiv Wien, Kriegstagebuch des Infanterieregiments 59, Eintrag vom 5.11.1915, S. 93.

Tiroler Landesarchiv, Standschützen Baon Innsbruck I 1914-1918, Faszikel II, Bataillonskommandobefehl Nr. 63, 9. März 1916.

Tiroler Landesarchiv, Standschützen Baon Innsbruck I 1914-1918, Faszikel III, Merkblatt für den Gebirgs-Krieg im Winter, S. 2 f.

Monografie del I Corpo d’Armata – Genio – Sistemazione difensiva, AUSSME_B1_110D_23A, Archivio dell’Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma.

Diario I Corpo d’Armata, AUSSME_B1_110D_4A, 24 febbraio 1917, Archivio dell’Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma.

Istruzioni in caso di congelamento, AUSSME_E14_busta17_fasc18, Archivio dell’Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma.

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