Champex artillery plant

Champex-Lac with the location of the artillery plant

The artillery plant Champex (army designation A 46) is a former artillery plant in the fortress area of Saint-Maurice , which is located in Champex-Lac in the Swiss canton of Valais .

history

The large Champex artillery plant formed the fulcrum of the fortresses in the Great St. Bernhard area and was intended to protect and block the Great St. Bernhard Pass and the road into Val Ferret as well as to provide fire support to the infantry on the axis of the Great St. Bernhard. The plant, built between 1940 and 1943, is located at the southern entrance to Champex-Lac and is a rock structure with four casemates and 600 meters of tunnels that could operate independently in an emergency. It was at the foot of the south ridge of Le Catogne ( 2598 m above sea level ) at 1450 m above sea level. M. completely built into the rock. It dominates the Orsières basin, which is 500 meters below .

The armament consisted of eight 10.5 cm and two 7.5 cm cannons and was protected by six flab cannons. The external defense had infantry works (fortress machine guns, 8.1 cm fortress mine throwers) placed downstream (Château Roc, Manoday, Biolley).

The plant's infrastructure included gun stands for two batteries, two ammunition magazines, two observation posts, two surveying posts, fire control center, telephone switchboard, crew accommodation for a crew of 300 with a kitchen, dining room, officers' mess, three bedrooms for soldiers, bedrooms for NCOs and officers, two machine rooms ( Filters, motors, power generators), as well as a water reservoir that was fed from an underground spring.

The plant had a fire control center and a command post for the group / department in order to be able to coordinate the fire of the artillery works in the Saint Bernard region (Champex, Commeire , Follatères, Dailly ).

The crew consisted of the fortress company I / 22, which belonged to the fortress division 22 and the fortress regiment 19 with the fortress company II / 22 (Artillery Works Commeire, later 12 cm twin fortress mine throwers "Napoleon").

During the Cold War, the plant was continuously modernized and made suitable for nuclear war.

The plant was released from secrecy in 1999. It is owned by the Pro Forteresse association and has been open for guided tours since June 1999.

literature

Jean-Christophe Moret: Le Fort d'artillerie A-46 de Champex; Association Pro Forteresse . Pro Forteresse, Martigny 1999.
Jean-Christophe Moret: Les Fortifications du Grand-Saint-Bernard / Le dispositif fortifié des Dranses . Pro Forteresse, Martigny 1999.
[1] Silvio Keller, Maurice Lovisa: Military monuments in the canton of Valais , Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport , Bern 2002

Web links

Individual evidence

46.026066666667 7.1223694444444Coordinates: 46 ° 1 '33.8 " N , 7 ° 7' 20.5" E ; CH1903: 575508 / 97219

[1] Pro Forteresse association: Champex artillery plant

[2] Military newspaper 1999: Opening of the A 46 artillery plant in Champex to the public

[3] Moret: The fortifications of the Great Saint Bernard