10.1 MALGA CIAPéLA - OMBRETTA DI MARMOLADA MALGA CIAPÈLA-OMBRETTA DI MARMOLADA-OMBRETTOLA apart from a few short steeper stretches. Army vehicles, including artillery, went MEN AND EVENTS: MEMORIES OF THE GREAT WAR up this track during the Great War to bring provisions and ammunition to the Ezio Garibaldi saved by an anonymous DESCRIPTION OF THE ROUTE The Costabella-Marmolada sector HQ, under Brigade-Colonel Peppino Garibaldi, soldiers on the firing line on the Ombretta side of Marmolada. The short cut, a steep infantryman Uphill, sometimes on slight inclines and sometimes steep under the overhanging south wall the son of Ricciotti and the grandson of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Hero of Two Worlds, path, is a turning up on the right, whereas the mule track, wider and with hair- During one of the innumerable attacks on of Marmolada to the 2,080-metre-high former Ombretta Refuge, now named Falier. Ren- was at Sottoguda, in a house that still exists next to the Ai Serrai Hotel, which has pin bends, goes towards Le Pale del Fop (2,550 m). Taking the path to the left, Col di Lana, while leading his troops to the dezvous: Sottoguda. Provincial road SP 641 to the Fedaia pass goes through the picturesque now been transformed into a general store. you will get to a fork leading to the Franzedas valley. Keeping right, you get to the attack Lieutenant Ezio Garibaldi was wound- Serrai gorge (also negotiable on foot, 2 km) to Malga Ciapèla (Rocca Pietore) at 1,449 me- In May 1915 a 9th Army Corps garrison was stationed at Malga Ciapèla, in a num- beginning of the Ombretta valley, which opens up to show the gigantic south ed in the throat by a splinter, probably from tres. You can also get to Malga Ciapèla along the SP 641 by car instead of entering Sot- ber of barrack buildings with dormitories, facilities, stores and motor vehicle parks. wall of Marmolada and the Pale di Fop to the left. At the end Mount Ombrettola shrapnel bursting in the air above the in- toguda. There is a car park outside the bottom Marmolada cable car station. The first sec- There was also a hospital at Malga Ciapèla, in the hotel of the same name, which (2,931 m) closes the valley with Sasso Vernale (3,058 m) and the eastern Om- fantry. He fell to the ground bleeding and tion of the cableway goes to Serauta-Punta Rocca at 2,950 metres, where you will find the has been reconstructed and enlarged. Near here there was a Revenue Guard detach- bretta peaks (2,653 m). unconscious while his men went on with the Marmolada Great War Museum with a restaurant and various facilities. The Punta Serauta ment in a small masonry barrack building that still stands, modernised and with some Unique in shape, the Fungo di Ombretta (the Ombretta Mushroom, 2,653 m) stands action. There was no time to stop to come and Vu saddle War Monument area goes from about 3,000 to 3,065 metres. The second ca- minor alterations. out against the sky in rather an irreverent attitude, overlooking the Venice Alpine to the assistance of those who fell. When ble car section takes you to an altitude of 3,250 metres, where there is the Grotto of Our Near the Fedaia pass at the beginning of the Arei valley there is a small cemetery Club Falier Refuge (managers: the Dal Bon family of Canale d’Agordo). During the they retreated, however, unable to sustain the Lady of the Snows dug out of the living rock by the Alpine troops and a bronze statue by in a clearing on the right not far from the road which was the temporary resting war this was the Ombretta Refuge, built in 1911 and occupied by the 206th Com- unequal fight against the Austrian and Ger- sculptor Franco Fiabene, a gift from Pope John Paul II when he visited Marmolada in 1979. place of the first dead in this sector (the bodies were transferred to the Pian di Sale- pany of the Val Cordevole Battalion commanded by Captain Arturo Andreoletti, man machine-guns, an infantryman saw the From Malga Ciapèla you can go up a first tarmac section of road by motorised vehicles. The sei War Cemetery in the 1930s). who was one of the founders of the Italian Alpine Regiment Association after the officer on the ground. He examined the body road is narrow and the direction signs by the Hotel Malga Ciapèla indicate a camp at 800 The Italian troops communicated with advanced positions on the Marmolada front war. It was destroyed by Austrian shells, re-built and dedicated to Onorio Falier, with to see whether it was dead or alive and saw m, a farm restaurant at 1800 m, and that the road is Italian Alpine Club route 610. Other line at the Fedaia pass, the Padon pass, Mount Mesola, the Antermoia valley, the funds given by his family. a red shirt under the grey-green uniform, re- Ezio Garibaldi wounded on Col di Lana, 1916. route signs point the way to a number of other high-altitude mountaineering excursions. Ombretta pass, Forca Rossa and other surrounding spots such as Col Toront, Col Da The mule track then leads into a path that passes in front of the grassy Malga Om- alised that it was a Garibaldino and lifted it DURATION Daut and Mount Migogn. On the other side of the imposing ridge of Marmolada, the bretta, 1,904 metres, an hour’s walk from the refuge. Route 610 from the Falier Refuge onto his shoulders, carried the dead weight to the first advanced first-aid post Austrians held positions on Padon, Col di Lana, Settsass, Sasso di Stria, Lagazuoi, To- leads to the Ombretta pass; the expert or the historian’s eye will see traces of the From 3 to 4 hours on a normal path, depending on walking speed: short cut 2,5 to 3,5 hours. and entrusted it to the Red Cross stretcher-bearers (he was presumably taken to fane and onwards in the direction of Cadore and Mount Piana. 1915-1917 war in every direction. Route 612 goes up the Ombretta valley; you can the Digonera hospital, ed. n.). DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY About a kilometre after the campsite, the gravel mule track can only be negoti- also head for the Banca di Valfredda saddle (2,777 m, route 678); or take route That nameless infantryman saved him from death. Ezio Garibaldi suffered all None. High mountain equipment needed. ated on foot, first climbing steeply and then continuing on a constant gradient 612 to the Bachet saddle (2,836 m) or the Ombrettola pass (2,864 m). the rest of his life, enduring serious pain because the surgeons kept him from being asphyxiated by inserting a tube of some kind into his windpipe, which had MARMOLADA been reduced to pulp. Live oral testimony from Anita Garibaldi, Enzo’s daughter, The view is taken up by the majesty of the best-known mountain group in the at the Red Cross Nurses during the Great War meeting at Arabba in July 2005 , which stands among , Trentino and Alto Adige (South Tyrol) and the Cordevole, San Pellegrino, Biois and Fassa valleys. It culminates at a height of 3,342 metres (some say 3,44). The Austrians and Germans call it Die Marmolata. Curzio Malaparte wrote, “I have been clambering about in the rain in these mountains for a week: Col di Lana, the Contrin pass, the Fedaia pass on Marmolada ... where I fought as a private from June 1915 to the end of October 1917 ... I climb up the grassy slopes of Col di Lana, which we conquered one inch at a time under the bullets of the Austrian machine-guns and the shells from the fort at La Corte; from Caprile to Digonera, from Digonera to Pieve di Livinallongo, up the two terrible ribs of Salesei and Andraz up to the summit, up the valley that we called the Valley of Death, so full of dead was it, to Napoleon’s Hat, to the top of the mountain, and then on to the narrow rib of Mount Sief, towering over Arabba. And we were badly kitted out, badly fed, our boots without nails, almost without weapons, neither machine-guns nor hand-grenades, supported by poor artillery and only armed with the poor, dear 91 rifle.” Position at the Ombretta pass.

Italian barbed wire at Serauta, 1916 (Marmolada Museum Archive). The circle shows the cave where the 15 infantrymen were buried by the mine’s explosion. Small 1915-1917 mountain gun (Bartoli Archive, Marmolada Museum). Ruins of Italian position at Ombretta/ Ombrettola. THE 15 ITALIAN INFANTRYMEN BURIED BY A MINE The Vu saddle on Marmolada still holds a last secret. On 26 September 1917 Ital- Plan of the ians and Austrians were both frantically at work digging out mine tunnels on the Austrian City of Ice saddle with the intention of blowing up the enemy ensconced a few metres away, (Marmolada so near that during the day the sentries could look each other in the eye. The Aus- Museum Archive). trians won this dramatic race against time, and in the middle of the night their counter-mine surprised 15 Italian infantrymen and their Lieutenant Rosso, who Cabled path on the had already won a Silver Medal for Valour. The explosion caused their cavern to Forcella a Vu ridge to the Vu THE CITY OF ICE saddle fitted up by collapse, burying them all. The Marmolada City of Ice was conceived and designed by Leo Handl of Innsbruck, Alpine troops A project is in hand to recover the bodies of these infantrymen, whose names were an engineer that was the Commanding Officer of the Bergführer Company, to de- (Bartoli Archive, not even known until 1997, when they were discovered by Dott. Bartoli, and to give Marmolada fend the Austrians from Italian cannons and replenish the most advanced positions Museum). them proper burial in the Pian di Salesei War Cemetery at Livinallongo. The proj- on the ice while remaining under protection from machine-gun fire. It was a prop- ect partners are OnorCaduti (the Italian General Commission for Honouring the er fort under the surface of the ice at an altitude of 3,000 metres: there were about War Dead) in Rome, the Alpine troops of Bolzano and the Veneto Regional Coun- 30 wooden barrack huts for a garrison of 300 men in caverns excavated out of the cil. The attempt at recovery was strongly argued by the person that conceived and ice that exploited the geometry of the crevasses, connected with each other by ten built the Museum, Director Dott. Mario Bartoli, and by Dott. Bruno Vascellari, to twelve kilometres of tunnel as low as 50 metres under the surface. It was divid- the financial supporter, and was launched on 9 June 1990. The project was taken ed into 35 different areas, including storerooms, an infirmary, a bar, an air gener- over by the Marmolada Museum studies centre operations committee in 2004. ator, latrines, barrack huts, canteens, kitchens and even a chapel for Sunday Mass, The President of , Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, expressed a lively interest in the trag- as well as the obvious depots for munitions and arms of various kinds. ic fate of the fifteen infrantrymen, in response to a moving address by the ninety- What now remains of the City of Ice are four barrack huts that emerge from the year-old Dott. Bartoli, and has urged the competent organisation, OnorCaduti, Com- eternal snows of Marmolada each summer, and a fifth anchored to the rock of the missioner General Bruno Scandone, to do what they can to further the project’s goals. Vu saddle, where one of the tunnel entrances was. Work is in progress on the The Veneto Regional Council (President Giancarlo Galan and Councillor Floriana difficult work of restoring these constructions, strongly promoted by the Marmo- Pra) has provided a first sum of 25,000 euro to finance the work and complete the lada Museum studies centre. act of piety towards these infantrymen by finding their buried bodies. Istituto Geografico Militare - Aut. n. 6109 del 12.10.2005 10.2 ZONA MONUMENTALE DELLA MARMOLADA To go to the Vu saddle, whether you go through the tunnel or along the ridge, you which the city nestled. The time for the return journey is from 2 to 3 hours in- will need a helmet, a torch and crampons with you if there is ice in the tunnel and cluding a visit to the observation cavern, first Austrian and then Italian, at 3,065 There are two itineraries through the Marmolada War Monument area in the sum- gloves, snap-hooks and a rope for safety on the exposed stretches of cabled path. metres. mer: one to the left from the cable car station at Serauta, through the Rosso Tun- The sheer drop into the Antermoia valley 500 metres below is to the left of the The second cableway section takes you to Rocca della Grotta, excavated by the Alpine Malga Ombretta. path leading to the entrance to the Rosso Tunnel. troops as a home for Our Lady of the Snows and to protect her from the elements. The Ombretta Refuge, nel, coming out through a window in the rock onto the Vu saddle, and one to the an hour’s walk away, right along the cabled path along the ridge to the Vu saddle. If you turn right from the cable car station and do not take the tunnel route to This is a Queen of the Christian faith given to the Queen of the Dolomites, Mar- was destroyed by The Alpine troops have restored the entire area where there was fighting at 3,065 the Vu saddle, you will find that the path along the ridge is very narrow and ex- molada, by Pope John Paul II when he visited Marmolada, recited the Angelus in a shelling, reconstructed metres and the Rosso Tunnel, freeing it from the ice that blocked the entire 230 posed, although, as mentioned, it is cabled. To the left, along the ridge path to snowstorm and imparted his blessing to the whole world on 26 August 1979. and named after Onorio Falier. metres of its length in the heart of the mountain; they have also installed steel the Vu saddle, you will look down over the Ombretta valley, 650 sheer metres be- The refuges at the intermediate cableway station, where the Museum is, and at ropes on the path along the ridge to the Vu saddle and its branch towards the low, and on the right there is a 300-metre drop to the Marmolada glacier, where the top station at Punta Rocca have a bar, a restaurant and the usual facilities for position at 3,065 metres. the Austrian City of Ice used to be. You can still see the menacing crevasses in tourists and visitors. LIST OF ITINERARIES 1 11 GENERAL INFORMATION

BRIEF CHRONICLE OF THE MILITARY OPERATIONS 2 12 ON MARMOLADA DURING THE GREAT WAR 3 2 6 1 7 4 8 5 Until 24 May 1915, the date on which fighting began between the Kingdom of

AURONZO DI CADORE 3 13 Italy, governed by Victor Emmanuel III of Savoy, and the Austro-Hungarian Em- CORTINA D’AMPEZZO peror, ruled over by Franz Josef of Hapsburg, Marmolada was considered an area 21 26 22 25 of small military importance. In the Dolomites sector, the main offensive effort, 4 14 commanded by General Luigi Cadorna, was aimed at breaking through the Aus- 9 10 11 24 trian front in Val Pusteria (Pusterthal) with the intention of reaching Fortezza 12 13 23 14 15 16 and the Brenner Pass. This would have isolated the Austrian concentrations in Trenti- 17 29 5 15 18 19 32 30 no. Marmolada, therefore, at first remained no-man’s land, there only being the 20 27 28 31 MARMOLADA 34 occasional reconnaissance patrol on its slopes. When the two opposing high com- 33 PIEVE DI CADORE 35 mands came to see Marmolada as an area with a certain strategic importance, it 37 6 16 ZOLDO too became a theatre of war. The military operations can be divided into three 38 36 chronological phases. 7 17 40 Phase I, from 24 May 1915 to spring 1916: this period was characterised by slack

AGORDO fighting, mainly concentrated on the parallel chains of Mounts Padon (2,512 m)

39 and Mesola (2,462 m) to the north and Costabella (2,762 m) and Cima Uomo (3,010 8 18 m) to the south, while on the actual Marmolada massif there were only sporadic 1 Forcella Lavaredo 21 Col Ciampon skirmishes between patrols. Unfortunately there was very heavy snow in the win- 2 Quota “2385” ai Piani di Lavaredo 22 Monte Tudaio ter of 1915-1916 and the whole area suffered colossal avalanches. In March 1916 3 Croda dell’Arghena 23 P.so Mauria - M. Miaron 9 19 above all there were large numbers of military and civilian victims at Tabià Palaz- 4 Giro del Col di Mezzo 24 P.so Mauria - Col Audoi zo, Malga Ciapèla and the Serrai di Sottoguda gorge, near Rocca Pietore. 5 Misurina - Monte Piana 25 Col Vidal Phase II, from March 1916 to February 1917: particularly violent fighting de- 6 Rif. A. Bosi e Monte Piana 26 Anello dei Colli 10 20 veloped and intensified after Marmolada was discovered to be a mountain of 7 Cristallino di Misurina 27 Forte Monte Ricco strategic military significance. The Austrian headquarters first realised the ad- 8 Valle delle Baracche 28 Batteria Castello GREAT WAR SITES IN THE visability and importance of making sure of the permanent control of the dom- 9 Posizione “Edelweiss” - Sella del Sief 29 Forte Col Vaccher Preservation and promotion of the areas in the Memorial Park inant positions and ordered the occupation - with observation posts and small 10 Sella Sief - Cima Sief 30 Monte Tranego garrisons - of the Marmolada saddle at 2,896 m, Punta Penia (3,344 m), Pun- 11 Cima Sief - Col di Lana 31 Forte Pian dell’Antro PRIMA LINEA CORTINA-MARMOLADA ta Rocca (3,309 m), Sass delle Undici (or Sass de Mesdi, 2,480 m), Sass delle 12 Da Cima Lana ai Ciadiniéi 32 Col S. Anna - La Glories Dodici (or Sass de Mèz, 2,742 m) and the Vu saddle (3,000 m). From these po- 13 Ciadinéi - Sella Sief 33 Vodo - Becco di Cuzze (Accesso A) sitions they commanded and harassed the Italian troops in the Pettorina val- Pack animals going through the Sottoguda gorge (Bartoli Archive, Marmolada Museum). 14 Variante Col de la Roda 34 Vodo - Becco di Cuzze (Accesso B) 10.1 MALGA CIAPéLA - OMBRETTA DI MARMOLADA ley (Rocca Pietore and Alleghe) and those attacking Col di Lana (2,454 m), which 15 Cima Lana - Costone Castello - Sella Sief 35 Monte Rite was firmly held by the Austrians with the assistance of German Alpenkorps units.

Where not already mentioned, text and photos are supplied by Jacopo Da Val, Mario Fornaro, SFR Belluno. Where not already mentioned, text and photos are supplied by Jacopo Da Val, 10.2 ZONA MONUMENTALE DELLA MARMOLADA The fundamental intention of this project is to acquaint the new generations with the splendid and enchanting places that were 16 Cima Lana - Agai e Palla 36 Col Pradamio Worried by this initiative, Italian headquarters hastened to follow the example the backdrop to the terrible and tragic events involved in the Great War on the Dolomite front. The traces of 29 seemingly end- less months of struggle that have survived the passing of time enhance the fascination and the beauty of the landscape, teach- 17 Col Da Daut - Col Toront 37 Spiz Zuel set by the Austrians: on 8 April 1916 a detachment of the Val Cordevole Bat- ing us to observe, know and learn. 18 Museo storico a Serauta - Marmolada 38 Col de Saléra - Monte Punta History and description of the Great War sites talion of the 7th Alpine Regiment ascended the Antermoia valley at night and Itineraries of various lengths and degrees of difficulty have been proposed for visiting these sites, some of them fully realis- able fully considering the needs of people with reduced mobility. The itineraries that are suggested have been selected bear- 19 Malga Ciapèla - Ombretta di Marmolada 39 Tagliata di San Martino occupied the Serauta saddle at 3,065 metres, leaving a small garrison from ing some basic features in mind, such as historical significance, ease of access and nearness to other sites of historical interest. 20 Zona monumentale della Marmolada 40 Batteria Listolade the Alpi Battalion of the 51st Infantry Regiment. The Austrian reaction followed We hope that this new historical and cultural opportunity will find a large number of visitors and enthusiasts who not only immediately and on 13 April 1916, on a day of polar cold and prohibitive weath- love the mountains for their natural beauty but are able to perceive the relationship between man and nature, which has left Cover: Marmolada today, a skiers’ paradise, the former 1915-1917 City of Ice (Bartoli Archive, Marmolada Museum). A. Fornari very special traces in these spots as a result of the Great War. er conditions, a unit attacked and overcame the very small number of Italian Organising authorities and financing bodies Coordination: COMUNITË MONTANA AGORDINA - Via IV Novembre, 2 - 32021 Agordo (BL) - Italia defenders, taking the position back. On 30 April 1916, however, in a raid that

Tel. 0039 0437 62390 - Fax 0039 0437 62043 - Email [email protected] FREE OF CHARGE DISTRIBUTED “…the Alps see prodigies, not only on the part of individuals, but also of big patrols, platoons and whole companies. And not do we had been carefully planned by the Commanding Officer of the Antermoia sec- see feats performed by the most expert, but even the youngest recruits soon turn into accomplished climbers. Some new mountain I LUOGHI DELLA GRANDE GUERRA IN PROVINCIA DI BELLUNO Interventi di recupero e valorizzazione nei territori del Parco della Memoria tor, Captain Menotti Garibaldi, a detachment from the 7th Alpine Regiment and routes are even opened up under enemy fire to meet the needs of war..." (A. Berti). Progetto cofinanziato dall’Unione Europea mediante Fondo Europeo di Sviluppo Regionale A historical record to re-discover the Mountains, not to forget, to know the men that lived this tragic but extraordinary ad- Iniziativa Comunitaria Interreg IIIA Italia-Austria 2000-2006 - Progetto (Cod. VEN 222001) the 51st Infantry Regiment climbed the minor peaks on the ridge, Piz Serauta DIE ORTE DES ERSTEN WELTKRIEGES IN DER PROVINZ BELLUNO venture. Memories of war for paths of peace. Eingriffe der Wiederinstandsetzung und Valorisierung in den Gebieten des Erinnerungsparks (2,942 m) and Punta Serauta (2,963 m), and attacked the Austrian position on This has been, as it still is, the purpose of the work done by the Technical and Scientific Committee of the Italy-Austria Inter- Von der E.U. Unterstützes Projekt Mittels Europäischer Wärungsfonds zur Regionalen Entwicklung Gemeinschaftsinitiative Interreg IIIA Italien-Österreich 2000-2006 - Projekt (Cod. VEN 222001) the Serauta saddle from above, taking it for good after a further frontal at- reg III A project called "Great War sites in the Province of Belluno. Preservation and promotion of the areas in the Memorial GREAT WAR SITES IN THE PROVINCE OF BELLUNO Park". The results of the Committee's labours are the guides and leaflets that give everyone the chance to tackle easy itiner- Preservation and promotion of the areas in the Memorial Park tack by a 51st Infantry unit coming up from the Antermoia valley. Two days lat- Project co-financed by the European Union through European Found for Regional Developmen aries and experience life on the front line at first hand, realising the difficulties of the existence at an altitude of more than 2,000 Community Initiative Interreg IIIA Italia-Austria 2000-2006 - Project (Cod. VEN 222001) er, on 2 May 1916, the Italians also got to an altitude of 3,065 metres, while metres of the soldiers of the opposing armies. This is to remember that the war is not something that has been forgotten and that, in the words of Surgeon Second-Lieutenant the Austrian units fell back on the Vu saddle, which had proved to be of fun- Gino Frontali, "...it is not a parenthesis that we can hasten to close to go back to what we were saying before...". damental strategic importance. On 18 and 30 June and 2 July 1916 the Aus-

Coordination and Scientific and Technical Committee CONTINUE

trian barrack quarter called Gran Poz under Punta Penia, killing about 300 soldiers. 300 about killing Penia, Punta under Poz Gran called quarter barrack trian mountain. same unit attacked and succeeded in taking another tunnel at the foot of the west the of foot the at tunnel another taking in succeeded and attacked unit same on the Piave, Montello and Grappa. Marmolada became no-man’s land again. land no-man’s became Marmolada Grappa. and Montello Piave, the on

avalanches on both sides. The most disastrous was the one that crushed the Aus- the crushed that one the was disastrous most The sides. both on avalanches the last man, as they considered it a key position for the defence of the entire the of defence the for position key a it considered they as man, last the the Austrians out and took their place. Five days later, on 26 September 1917, the 1917, September 26 on later, days Five place. their took and out Austrians the rout at Caporetto that had started on 25 October, falling back to the new front line front new the to back falling October, 25 on started had that Caporetto at rout

The winter of 1916-1917 was also exceptionally snowy, and there were numerous were there and snowy, exceptionally also was 1916-1917 of winter The part, the Austrian troops intended to retain the Vu saddle at all costs and to and costs all at saddle Vu the retain to intended troops Austrian the part, grotto and a 51st Infantry unit under Lieutenant Flavio Rosso, of Novi Ligure, drove Ligure, Novi of Rosso, Flavio Lieutenant under unit Infantry 51st a and grotto On 4 November 1917, the Italian troops abandoned Marmolada as a result of the of result a as Marmolada abandoned troops Italian the 1917, November 4 On

City of Ice (Die Eisstadt). (Die Ice of City some barrack huts, also setting up a precarious hand-operated cableway. For their For cableway. hand-operated precarious a up setting also huts, barrack some tion of wall gave way, furious hand-to-hand fighting broke out in the darkness of the of darkness the in out broke fighting hand-to-hand furious way, gave wall of tion ascent up a previously fitted-up cabled route from the saddle. the from route cabled fitted-up previously a up ascent

giving the complex the structure of a proper residential area that they called the called they that area residential proper a of structure the complex the giving they were in close contact with the enemy, they built an enormous cavern and cavern enormous an built they enemy, the with contact close in were they dle came out into an Austrian grotto just under 3,065 metres. When the last sec- last the When metres. 3,065 under just grotto Austrian an into out came dle bel, the Alpine soldiers took the strategic Austrian position after an daredevil night daredevil an after position Austrian strategic the took soldiers Alpine the bel,

tricity generator cabin and even a chapel for Mass not to speak of other facilities, other of speak to not Mass for chapel a even and cabin generator tricity and machine-guns and installing a system of cableways. At 3,065 metres, where metres, 3,065 At cableways. of system a installing and machine-guns and On 20 and 21 September 1917, a 230-metre-long Italian attack tunnel on the Vu sad- Vu the on tunnel attack Italian 230-metre-long a 1917, September 21 and 20 On l’Osbel of La Valle Agordina (known as Ross Faghèr) and Corporal Pietro Dell’Os- Pietro Corporal and Faghèr) Ross as (known Agordina Valle La of l’Osbel

as dormitories, storerooms, gunpowder depots, an infirmary, meeting huts, an elec- an huts, meeting infirmary, an depots, gunpowder storerooms, dormitories, as posts, putting up powerful searchlights, preparing emplacements for artillery for emplacements preparing searchlights, powerful up putting posts, ed Italian attempts to take the key position at the Vu saddle proved unsuccessful. proved saddle Vu the at position key the take to attempts Italian ed metres, where the jeering was coming from. Under Sergeant-Major Giacomo Del- Giacomo Sergeant-Major Under from. coming was jeering the where metres,

these tunnels, where there were even direction signs, they fashioned areas to serve to areas fashioned they signs, direction even were there where tunnels, these by excavating caverns in the rock, building barrack huts, setting up observation up setting huts, barrack building rock, the in caverns excavating by ca, Sass delle Undici, Sass delle Dodici, Col de Bous and the City of Ice. The repeat- The Ice. of City the and Bous de Col Dodici, delle Sass Undici, delle Sass ca, Giulia and eastern Veneto, decided to get even by attacking the position at 3,153 at position the attacking by even get to decided Veneto, eastern and Giulia

under the surface of the glacier going down to a depth of about 50 metres. Inside metres. 50 about of depth a to down going glacier the of surface the under fortified their positions at Punta and the Serauta saddle, and, at altitude 3,065, altitude at and, saddle, Serauta the and Punta at positions their fortified and at 3,065 metres, the Austrians on the Marmolada saddle, Punta Penia, Punta Roc- Punta Penia, Punta saddle, Marmolada the on Austrians the metres, 3,065 at and acclaiming the Austrian breakthrough at Caporetto and the invasion of Venezia of invasion the and Caporetto at breakthrough Austrian the acclaiming

es to dig out a complex system of tunnels from ten to twelve kilometres in length in kilometres twelve to ten from tunnels of system complex a out dig to es easier to reach logistically and more defendable tactically. The Italian troops Italian The tactically. defendable more and logistically reach to easier tain and reinforce their positions, the Italians on Punta Serauta, the Serauta saddle Serauta the Serauta, Punta on Italians the positions, their reinforce and tain the Val Cordevole Battalion of the 70th Regiment, provoked by some Austrian signs Austrian some by provoked Regiment, 70th the of Battalion Cordevole Val the

Lieutenant Leo Handl, had the idea of exploiting the geometry of the deep crevass- deep the of geometry the exploiting of idea the had Handl, Leo Lieutenant belligerents to devote their efforts to strengthening their positions to make them make to positions their strengthening to efforts their devote to belligerents hand, was the immobility of the two armies’ lines. Both formations tried to main- to tried formations Both lines. armies’ two the of immobility the was hand, On 28 October 1917, a party of Agordo Alpine troops from the 206th Company of Company 206th the from troops Alpine Agordo of party a 1917, October 28 On

by the explosion. The Vu saddle, however, remained firmly in Italian hands. Italian in firmly remained however, saddle, Vu The explosion. the by sition was completely exposed to Italian fire. Their Commanding Officer, Engineer Officer, Commanding Their fire. Italian to exposed completely was sition The approach of General Winter, the common enemy, made it advisable for the for advisable it made enemy, common the Winter, General of approach The Phase III, March 1917 to 4 November 1918: the feature of this period, on the other the on period, this of feature the 1918: November 4 to 1917 March III, Phase

in the summer when the snow thawed. snow the when summer the in Lieutenant Rosso and 15 infantrymen in it, burying them in the rubble produced rubble the in them burying it, in infantrymen 15 and Rosso Lieutenant bloody Italian attacks. attacks. Italian bloody dangerous operation both owing to the nature of the glacier and because the po- the because and glacier the of nature the to owing both operation dangerous

300,000 tons of snow swept down on the barracks; many bodies were only found only were bodies many barracks; the on down swept snow of tons 300,000 shoulder of the Vu saddle. The Austrians set up a mine and blew the tunnel up, with up, tunnel the blew and mine a up set Austrians The saddle. Vu the of shoulder trian defenders of this position successfully threw back three persistent and persistent three back threw successfully position this of defenders trian Above all, holding the position made it easier to bring supplies, a very difficult and difficult very a supplies, bring to easier it made position the holding all, Above

Archive).

Museum Museum).

Historical War Historical Museum). Marmolada

(Rovereto Archive, Marmolada Archive, Archive, (Bartoli

cabled path. cabled “Malga Ciapéla” “Malga m, 1995 (Bartoli 1995 m, 1916 Ice, of

shelter on the Eterna the on shelter former hotel former blocked by ice at 3,000 at ice by blocked City Marmolada

Grotto and tunnel and Grotto hospital in a in hospital Rosso tunnel, half tunnel, Rosso the in bridge a

Punta Serauta. Punta Italian military Italian Italian rest hut in the in hut rest Italian on unit Austrian