La Braye artillery plant
The artillery plant La Braye (Army designation "Muguet 1.2.3" A 1680) of the Swiss Army is located on the territory of the commune of Château-d'Oex in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud . It is located south above Château-d'Oex and at the southern end of the rock face of La Sarouche at around 1500 m .
It was ready to fire in June 1944 and was handed over to the troops in January 1945. In 2009 the plant was cleared.
history
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).
Construction took a very long time, although it had belonged to the 1st Division's operational area since the summer of 1940 and most of the credit was available as early as 1941. The command of the 1st Army Corps had apparently given the fortress construction less priority and did not urge the subordinate army units to hurry. The costs of the artillery work amounted to around 1,400,000 francs.
As the only plant in fortress department 8, the fortress cannons could be fired here in the 1980s because other plants no longer had any target areas due to safety regulations. La Braye was used for fortress shooting exercises by the fortress companies I / 8 and III / 8.
At the beginning, the system was in the operational area of the Valais Fortress Brigade 10 of the 1st Division. From 1947 it was subordinate to the fortress regiment 21 of the Reduit Brigade 21 and operated by the fortress company II / 8. Most recently she was back with the Fortress Brigade 10.
Armament
La Braye was initially equipped with eight 10.5 cm field cannons 35 L 42 (built in 1941, Eidgenössische Konstruktionswerkstätte in Thun ) on field mountings, which had to be provided by the heavy motor cannon department of the division because there were not enough 10.5 cm cannons for permanent equipment were available. Later they wanted to retrofit with permanent weapons so that the heavy motor cannon department would become independent again.
The field artillery department was faced with a delicate situation because the mobile cannons in the fortress were blocked. If the division had to leave the redoubt, it would either have been able to take the weapons it needed with it, would not have been available in the reduit, or it would have had to go into the field with incomplete weapons stocks.
Until the 1980s, the plant had a mixed armament of four permanently installed guns on lever mounts and four mobile cannons on field mounts. The four mobile guns were later removed and reinstalled at the beginning of the 1990s (Schmid and Pellaton batteries) in order to be able to shoot with them - under special protection regulations for the crew.
Infrastructure
The plant was a casemate and was built by the construction office of the 1st Division for two artillery batteries (4 cannons each) on three floors. Access was at point 576 200/144 650 at 1503 m north of point 1511 Sur le Grin . The work name is derived from the field name Sur le Grin, La Braye .
On the top floor were the gun stands and ammunition caverns in the two lower crew quarters and toilet facilities:
- two entrances
- eight gun positions
- four ammunition caverns
- Engine room
- accommodation
- Drinking water reservoir
- Ventilation and filters
- Telephone installation without connection to the outdoor observation posts, no switchboard
today
In June 2011, the municipality of Château-d'Oex had intended to purchase the artillery plant, which had been cleared in September 2009, for CHF 200,000 so that it could be used as a warehouse for a fireworks company and for tourist use. In June 2016, Armasuisse offered the work including the “chalet” for 200,000 francs.
According to the Association of the Swiss Army Museum (VSAM), the four mobile guns that were reinstalled in the early 1990s are the last remaining guns in the original configuration of the procurement. The four cannons were dismantled in the factory around 2001 so that they could be removed from the narrow cannon and reassembled outside. Today they are owned by the Swiss Army Museum Association (VSAM) in Thun, where they are part of the planned collection of historical army material in all versions of the original state.
Web links
- Oberland Fortress: A 1680 La Braye artillery plant
- Fortress Switzerland: Reduitbrigade 21, Château-d'Oex - Artillery A1680 La Braye
- Oberland Fortress: Video Artillery Works La Braye A 1680
Individual evidence
- ^ Fortress Oberland: A 1680 artillery plant La Braye
- ↑ L'Association pour la Promotion et le Soutien de la Forteresse Helvétique (APSF): Work plan artillery plant A 1680 La Braye, upper floor
- ^ L'Association pour la Promotion et le Soutien de la Forteresse Helvétique (APSF): Work plan artillery plant A 1680 La Braye, basement floors
- ↑ Minutes of the municipal council of Château-d'Oex dated June 23, 2011 ( Memento of the original dated May 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Fortress Oberland: Artillery for Fr. 200,000 for sale ( Memento of the original from June 23, 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.
- ^ Association of the Swiss Army Museum, Bulletin No. 2 2006, page 12: 10.5 cm cannon 1935 (10.5 cm Kan 35 L 42) La Braye ( Memento of the original from 23 September 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 46 ° 27 '9.9 " N , 7 ° 7' 43.9" E ; CH1903: 576200 / 144650