Batognica
| Batognica | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| height | 2164 m | |
| location | Slovenia | |
| Mountains | Julian Alps | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 15 ′ 51 ″ N , 13 ° 40 ′ 6 ″ E | |
|
||
| particularities | Theater of war in the First World War | |
The Batognica is a mountain in the Julian Alps ( Slovenia ). The Batognica is 2164 meters high and lies on the Krn mountain range. During the First World War , battles were fought here between Italian and Austrian troops ( mine warfare ).
Fighting in the First World War
Since the Krn was unexpectedly conquered by Italian Alpini units on June 16, 1915 , the further battle for the Krn massif shifted to the Batognica. After the Italian troops were satisfied with the occupation of the Krn, the Austrian troops were able to hold and occupy the Batognica after bringing in the last reserves. As a result, the Batognica developed into a focal point of the fighting in the Krn massif. Therefore, the mountain with caverns and positions was greatly expanded by the Austrian troops. The Italian troops tried several times in heavy fighting to storm the Austrian positions, but this always failed with heavy losses on both sides.
After the white death in the winter of 1915/16 cost a lot of deaths and the supply of the troops on the mountain was often not assured, a war cable car to Batognica was built in the course of 1916. When it became clear that the mountain could not be taken by storm, the Italian troops began the mine warfare in the depths of the mountain, which had long been carried out in South Tyrol.
In July 1917 it was clear without a doubt that the Italians were driving an explosive tunnel towards the Austrian summit garrison. In contrast to the battle for the Col di Lana, the Austrian commanders acted quickly this time and had the summit defenders dig a counter-tunnel to the Italian mine tunnel. On July 31, 1917, the Italians finished drilling the two explosive tunnels. Now the mine began loading. An Italian telephone conversation tapped by Austrians on August 9, 1917, made it clear that the Italian mine would soon be ready to be blown up.
On August 11, 1917, the Austrian miners discovered boards in the ceiling of their tunnel. It quickly became clear that the Italian blasting tunnel had been struck by accident. They immediately began to clear out the explosives in the Italian mine. This went unnoticed by the Italians. Despite the clearance operation, the Austrian mine tunnel was further expanded.
Four days later, the Austrian side noticed Italian voices at the damming of the Italian mine tunnel. The Italians tried to find out why the mine was misfiring and sent scouts. Two Austrian guards started a firefight shortly afterwards. Both sides soon used machine guns. The gun smoke and poor oxygen supply led to some Austrian soldiers passing out and having to be carried out of the tunnel. Meanwhile, another Italian blasting tunnel had already been discovered and rendered harmless.
On August 16, 1917, a third Italian mine exploded, but it did no damage. The Austrian miners detonated part of the captured Italian explosives, causing the two mine tunnels to collapse.
At the end of August there were signs that the Italians dared a new mine attack from the third explosive tunnel. The Austrian miners dug up against them, and before the mines met, the Austrian miners detonated the rest of the captured Italian explosives, at least about 4.5 tons. The tunnels and many Italian caverns collapsed instantly and buried the Italians. With the beginning of the 12th Isonzo battle on October 24, 1917 and the abandonment of the Krn by the Italians three days later, the fighting in this area ended.
