World War 1, Italien Alps

[housil]

We just returned from a four weeks vacation. Three weeks of a camper tour into the Austrian and Italien Alp Mountains. In WW1, fierce fights took place there between Austria/Hungaria and Italy. There are still lot´s of remains and traces of these fightings.

Upcycling on 110 years old gravel roads, used for military transportation

Nice mountain bike roads into the Italian Mountains up to 2000Meters (6.000ft)

https://www.google.de/maps/place/Forte+ ... FQAw%3D%3D

First place was that Italian artillery fortification. That tunnel was housing 4 howitzers back in 1916

The remains of that fortification, housing the troops up there

the tunnels to the mortar casemattes

That area what was used in WW1

was also useful in cold war

Up there was also an Italian/American Anti Aircraft Nike/Hercules installation

https://www.google.de/maps/place/Base+T ... FQAw%3D%3D

The border back in 1916

Everywhere remains of WW1, places like this where housing soldiers back in 1916

Biking down the mountains on WW1 gravel roads

[housil]

An "Ossario" is a (former) military cemetery and nowadays a monument to remember the fallen soldiers like this one

on a important hill top (back then in 1916), where fierce fightings took place
https://www.google.de/maps/place/Ossari ... FQAw%3D%3D

Signs explain the situation back in 1916

remains, trenches, etc. everywhere

MG pit

A WW1 tactic was, to undermine the enemies fortifications and place tons of explosives underneath it to blow up their whole position

So also here. Austrian troops dug tunnels under these Italian position and blew up, Sep 23rd, 1916, the whole hill top with all troops on it.

[housil]

Our next stopp over, up at 900 meters (2.700ft) for three days

"Tomorrow" we`ll cycle up to this "houses" (Italian "Refugio") at 2.000 Meters (6.000ft)

Italian toilette - now bowl to sit on, you have to stand/squat dowm to take a dump there

Cycling up on WW1 gravel roads again

Road tunnels built in 1916

Breath taking gravel roads along the hills

Having lunch "up there"

That place "Refugio Achille Papa" was named after the Italian General, fighting here so we kept going further upwards

passing the military Cemetery

At the summit

Also remains of Italian fortifications, trenches and shell craters

Keep in mind, that summit was above 2.000 meters (6.000ft), freezing cold in winter time, soldiers with no proper winter clothing, medical supplies, food, housing, heating etc. where fighting here, living in these caves

e.g. their boots had wooden (!) soles with huge nails in it

Even on our way down again, the "Route of 52 tunnels" we were passing the former positions, dug straight thru the mountains to the opposite side

[housil]

Another highlight is the "Monte Grappa". Some may know the Italien "Grappa", it´s a shot from that area.

That Mountain was also an important position back in WW1, the Italian/Austrian fronst line went there. Up at 1.800 meters (5.400ft) is now a museum and a huge monument and Cemetery where 26.000 soldiers were buried.

That poor dude, three bullets went strait thru his head...

...and also shell fragments

The huge monument

That whole mountain was undermined and had tunnels. That was the entrance into the tunnel system - closed

1km of tunnels were dug across all that mountain to all their gun positions

That whole mountain was a military fortification

but all gun pits, entrances etc. where closed and blocked

But if you are an Urbexing guy, there is allways a way inside...

[housil]

But it was not WW1 places only, we also had decent times at pretty nice camping grounds

Another place with out door showers

Buon appetito

Bozen (IT)

Austria