Chillon Artillery Plant
Map with all coordinates: 
The artillery plant Chillon (army designation A 390) of the Swiss Army is located near Chillon Castle on the east bank of Lake Geneva in the area of the municipality of Veytaux in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud . The plant, built in 1941, was taken out of service in 1994 and released from secrecy in 2001.
history
In 1862 Colonel Aubert carried out a study on the closure of the Simplon axis near Chillon Castle. The impetus for the construction of the plant was given by the new army position in the Reduit ordered by General Guisan (Operation Orders No. 11, 12, 13). The Chillon artillery plant served to strengthen the defense line between Lake Geneva and Great St. Bernard ( Saint-Maurice fortress ). The Chillon barrier was built by Mountain Brigade 10 in the narrow area near the castle. At the beginning of active service in 1939, field fortifications were made in the palace gardens.
In 1942, the fire of the fortress Dailly only reached the south of Aigle and could not cover the obligatory road passages at Chillon Castle and Saint-Gingolph (Fenalet). The Chillon artillery plant could fire as far as Saint-Gingolph and the Porte-du-Scex ( Vouvry ). The fire from the Champillon artillery plant reached Chillon and Saint-Gingolph and formed a complement to the Chillon artillery plant. From 1962, Dailly's new two 15 cm turret cannons were able to reach the Chillon passage, but not that of Saint-Gingolph.
Chillon Artillery Plant
In January 1941, the construction of the artillery and infantry work in the rock opposite the castle began and in mid-1941 the main part was finished. A tunnel went under the cantonal road and railway line to the two casemates built next to the railway line (towards north and south). The plant was handed over to Fortress Artillery Company 9 in 1942.
The troops were tasked with securing the north-south passage at the Chillon artillery plant for the mobilization of Mountain Brigade 10, most of whose militia lived in the Saint-Maurice region. The explosive objects were prepared by the mine company 50 with explosive charges.
The armament consisted of six 7.5 cm cannons:
- two guns with Giovanola special mount for direct shot (G5 north, G7 south). They were replaced in 1962 by 9 cm anti-tank guns on pivot mounts.
- two guns with Giovanola special mount for artillery fire on the opposite side of the valley / lake (G8 round bunker, direction left Vouvry (west), right Saint-Gingolph (south)). These were withdrawn in 1978 because the task of the plant was changed from an artillery to an infantry plant.
- two anti-tank guns on pivot carriage (G3 north, G4 south, on the lock side along the railway track)
In addition there were 5 machine guns (Mg) 11 with water cooling, which were replaced by fortress machine guns 51 in 1972.
The external defense consisted of an infantry work (halfway between Kantonsstrasse and Champ-Babaud (Montagnette)) and an infantry bunker with machine guns (Rocher de Veytaux 2 Mg, Montagnette 2 Mg, Champ-Babaud 3 Mg and two 8.1 cm mortars model 1933, on 360 ° special mount).
The plant was able to block the north-south passage at Chillon Castle with the passage from Chablais and the Riviera, as well as control the road from Saint-Gingolph on the other side of the lake.
The infrastructure consisted of eight casemates with cannons (range up to 11 km) and machine guns, ammunition magazine (1960), accommodation for a crew of 181 soldiers, command room, switchboard, kitchen, canteens, dormitories, sickrooms, electricity generators and water (70,000 Liters) and fuel reserves (24,000 liters).
In 1943 the plant was occupied by the fortress artillery company II / 4, which was subordinate to the fortress department 4 and the fortress regiment 19 of the fortress brigade 10. The external defense was taken over by parts of the 88th Infantry Regiment, which operated an infantry factory. The remaining seven infantry bunkers and the Fenalet and Porte du Scex works opposite were occupied by the fortress company II / 4.
With Army 61 , the newly created Plant Company 55 of Infantry Regiment 5 took over the artillery plant and the nine infantry bunkers from 1978 to 1994. With Army 95 it was shut down.
- Chillon Artillery Works A 390, entrance ⊙
Lock point Chillon
The Chillon locking point consisted of an anti-tank obstacle (GPH T 82) with two road barriers north (towards Montreux) and south (towards Villeneuve) of Chillon Castle as well as eight infantry works / bunkers (army designation A 382-389), barriers and obstacles and had roads and Secure railway line.
The southern barrier was covered by the fighting block at the castle. The northern barrier could be defended by two artillery holes in the rock above the barrier. A cannon with an anti-tank gun was aimed at the railway line. Further barriers served to interrupt the railway line and as tank barriers in the vineyards to prevent breaking through on the slope. The blocking point was in the operational area ( Lower Valais ) of the Valais Mountain Brigade 10 (from 1952 Fortress Brigade 10) in Chablais .
On September 25, 1941, the mine of an explosive object exploded on the cantonal road at the level of the artillery while a train passed by. The explosion claimed seven lives and destroyed the road and railway line. The Ae 4/7 number 10984, which carried freight train 5415, derailed and was badly damaged.
Lock point Le Fenalet
The barrier was the first barrier on the left bank of Lake Geneva after the border with France at Saint-Gingolph . It consisted of an infantry plant with 9 cm anti-tank cannon and machine guns as well as an explosive object.
- «DuTonkin» Le Fenalet infantry plant: 9 cm Pak, Mg ⊙
Lock point Porte du Scex
The blocking point created by Mountain Brigade 10 was the second block on the road from Saint-Gingolph at the Rhone bridge and the Porte-du-Scex castle northeast of Vouvry . It consisted of the anti-tank obstacle Porte du Scex (GPH), an infantry unit and four individual objects. They closed the railways and roads against an advance from France towards Wallis and Montreux and also had to control the first Rhone bridge after Lake Geneva.
An anti-tank barrier planned by the Chief of Staff in 1937 through the plain with the main plant in the Yvorne region was never implemented. The Porte du Scex lock is a military and historical monument of national importance.
- Porte du Scex infantry factory ⊙
Lock point Collombey-St. Triphone
The blocking point consists of three Centi bunkers with a caliber of 10.5 cm.
- Centi-Bunker St.-Triphon Nord A 379 ⊙
- Centi-Bunker St.-Triphon Sud A 398 ⊙
- Centi bunker Collombey A 399 ⊙
today
The artillery plant was bought by private investors in 2010 and is now used as a wine cellar and museum. It can be visited for group tours on request. The factory is open every first Sunday of the month for combined visits with the castle.
Web links
- Website of the Chillon Artillery Plant
- Silvio Keller, Maurice Lovisa: Military monuments in the cantons of Vaud and Geneva , Bern 2006
- Silvio Keller, Maurice Lovisa: Military monuments in the canton of Valais , Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport, Bern 2002: Porte du Scex
- Oberland Fortress: Chillon VD blocked point
- JC Moret: Northern fortified defense sector in the area of Lake Geneva and the Great Saint Bernard: The Chablais
- JC Moret: The Chablais Dispositiv
- Photos of the Chillon plant
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fort Litroz: A390 Fort de Chillon
- ↑ Fortress World : Chillon Lock Point
- ↑ Une mine explose au passage d'un train ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Journal de Genève , September 27, 1941, accessed August 29, 2012.
- ↑ Fortress Oberland: Le Fenalet lock
- ↑ Fortress Oberland: Lock point Porte du Scex VS
- ↑ Lock point Porte du Scex In: Silvio Keller, Maurice Lovisa: Military monuments in the canton of Valais , Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport, Bern 2002, pages 16-17
- ↑ Fortress Oberland: lock Collombey-St. Triphone
- ↑ 24heures of May 6, 2013: Dans l'intérieur de la roche, au fort militaire de Chillon
Coordinates: 46 ° 24 '51.6 " N , 6 ° 55' 43.5" E ; CH1903: 560797 / one hundred forty thousand four hundred and sixty