War hero and alpine guide
The new front in the Dolomites and the war in the high mountains, unusual and new for the army, required the use of guides with deep knowledge of the sites and mountains for reconnaissance at high altitude. In this theatre of war, the war propaganda of the “War of the Alpine Guides” found a fresh hero in Sepp Innerkofler (1865-1915), a well-known mountain guide from Sesto/Sexten and innkeeper of the Tre Cime/Drei Zinnen Hut. Famous for his excursions in the Sesto/Sexten Dolomites and a pioneer of mass tourism, in 1898 he took over, together with his wife Maria Stadler, the Tre Cime di Lavaredo/Drei Zinnen Hut, which was expanded and enlarged several times following the continuous increase in visitors. Recognizing the rise of Sesto/Sexten as a tourist destination, in 1906 he was responsible for the construction of the Hotel Dolomitenhof in Val Fiscalina/Fischleintal.
In 1915, Innerkofler, already fifty years old, was recalled to the Standschützen and assigned to the so-called “Bergführerpatrouille” (mountain guide patrol), small mobile and flexible troop unit that had to climb a different peak every day to simulate a permanent occupation of the various positions at high altitude and remove any enemy troops present there. A similar feat was also planned for Monte Paterno/Paternkofel. The conquest and occupation of the summit of Monte Paterno/Paternkofel was of great strategic interest to the Imperial and Royal Habsburg Army, as the summit dominated the Italian positions. However, since a permanent occupation was not possible due to the small number of soldiers available on the front, the Tre Cime/Drei Zinnen front did not see any military engagement with the Italian troops until the end of May 1915. In July, the summit and the Forcella Lavaredo/Paternsattel would be conquered by the so-called “Paternkofelaktion” (Action of the Paterno/Paternkofel). In this difficult situation, Sepp Innerkofler was called up and although he considered the prospects of success very poor, decided to take the lead anyway. On the night between July 3rd and 4th, Innerkofler and his comrades climbed to the summit, where they were repulsed by Italian soldiers with stones and rifle shots. For some time after the war, reports of exactly what happened in the early hours of July 4th caused controversy as to whether the Italians or the Austrians’ gunfire were responsible for Innerkofler’s death. The only certain fact, however, is that, before dying, Innerkofler threw some grenades, of which only one exploded, against the Italian positions.
The diary of July 4 of the Val Piave Battalion reads:
“This morning at 4 o’clock a strong shelling coming from Rauch Kofl [Monte Fumo], from Sextenstein [Sasso di Sesto] and from other places could not be specified hit our positions of Passport first, Paterno and Lavaredo after. At the same time a very daring enemy soldier climbed the Paterno with a rope and three hand grenades and met our lookouts on the said mountain, threw the grenades of which two exploded, but had to retreat under the fire of the lookouts themselves. The troop rushed to the fixed ambushes, supported the positions that were attacked towards the Forcella Camoscio/Gamscharte by infantry troops and machine gun sections, and towards Monte Paterno by a team of a dozen brave men who followed the path of the grenade thrower …”1Archivio dell’Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma, Diario del Battaglione Val Piave, AUSSME_B1_141S_2027B, 4 luglio 1915.
Innerkofler died of a head wound. The Italian Alpini recovered the body and buried it at the summit with a simple funerary cross. Following the withdrawal of Italian troops, Innerkofler’s body was exhumed in the summer of 1918 and buried in Sesto/Sexten. The awareness of the propagandistic and symbolic significance of the figure of Innerkofler meant that each of these acts was well documented.
Sepp Innerkofler’s death contributed to the creation of the myth of an exemplary hero by propaganda, and the romanticization and mystification of his life and actions began almost immediately after his passing. Newspaper articles, portraits and postcard subjects made him known far beyond the Tyrolean borders and also brought some attention to the destroyed village of Sesto/Sexten, the refugees and the family of Innerkofler itself. This project was supported in particular by the “close relatives of the heroic shooter and famous mountain guide Sepp Innerkofler, originally from Sesto [Sexten],”2Das zerstörte Sexten. Neues Wiener Tagblatt, 8 February 1918. such as the clergyman and writer Adolf Innerkofler. The name Innerkofler was therefore intentionally used to collect donations for the destroyed Sesto/Sexten and to raise awareness of the “heroic deeds” of Sepp Innerkofler and the fate of the refugees of Sesto/Sexten.
Holzer, Rudolf (2002). Sexten: Vom Bergbauerndorf Zur Tourismusgemeinde. Sesto-Sexten: Tappeiner Verlag.
Heiss, Hans, und Rudolf Holzer (2015). Sepp Innerkofler: Bergsteiger, Tourismuspionier, Held. Bolzano-Bozen: Folio Verlag GmbH.
Das zerstörte Sexten, Neues Wiener Tagblatt, 8. Februar 1918.
Diario del Battaglione Val Piave, Archivio dell’Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Roma.
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