Sargans fortress area

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Notch with 15 cm fortress cannon of the Furggels artillery plant
Sargans Castle with Gonzen

The fortress area of ​​Sargans , together with the fortresses Saint-Maurice and St. Gotthard, was one of the three large fortress areas of the Swiss Army in the Reduit defense system of the Second World War and during the Cold War . It belonged to Fortress Brigade 13 .

prehistory

Sargans Fortress, which at that time comprised the castle and town , was first mentioned in a document in 1282. In the middle of the 13th century the castle became the ancestral seat of the Counts of Werdenberg-Sargans . The lords of the castle took advantage of the strategically good location with the Gonzen at their back and a view of the traffic axes and all possible attack routes. Whoever ruled the Sarganser Kessel with the fortress had the supremacy in the east of the Confederation . From 1459 to 1798 Sargans was administered by the Confederates as common rule .

The role and tasks of the Sargans Fortress

In the report of the General Staff Department to the Federal Fortification Commission of March 13, 1939, it was pointed out that the maintenance of the connection with the Canton of Graubünden through the Sargans basin is of great importance for the entire national defense. This task can only be solved effectively and promisingly with a well-developed and well-armored fortress of Sargans.

The Sargans fortress had three tasks to fulfill: to prevent an opposing advance from the Vorarlberg area in the direction of Central Switzerland to bypass an army position facing northeast ( Limmat line ), to oppose a union or operations against each other between the armed forces of Germany and Italy and to give the armed forces of Germany Keep the Walensee axis open. In order to be able to fulfill these tasks, the Sargans had to be built as a ring position towards the north, east and south - with emphasis on the north-eastern front as a German deployment area.

Fortress room

Strategic location

The Sargans basin lies on the Rhine, which forms the eastern border of the state from the Fläscher Berg ( 1135  m above sea level ) upstream Ellhorn ( 758  m above sea level ). In the direction of Chur, the Rhine divides the area into an east and west section. Important north-south and east-west traffic axes lead through the Sargans area. The Walensee axis was the only winter-safe connection between the canton of Graubünden and the rest of Switzerland. The Austrian Arlberg axis with its winter- proof rail connection met the Rhine in the run-up to Sargans.

For the defense concept, it had to be taken into account that the axes lead through topographically shaped constrictions, which, however, offer many possibilities for bypassing. The centrally located Ellhorn was the real Achilles heel of the Sargans Fortress, because before the exchange of territory in 1949 it was on the territory of the Principality of Liechtenstein .

State and section boundaries (clockwise)

Sargans fortress in 1939

National border section

Border Brigade Section 12

Section 4th Army Corps

Fortress construction

First plans

In 1934, Colonel Genius Hans Luzi Gugelberg von Moos von Maienfeld asked the Federal Council to fortify the Sargans area on the grounds that the two fortress areas of Saint-Maurice and Gotthard could only block three of nine Alpine passes and the six unpaved Graubünden passes represented the last military gap in the Alpine wall .

In his memorial on the border fortification issue, Colonel Corps Commander Heinrich Roost suggested that, in view of the armament of the German armed forces, the roads in the border area should be equipped with tank barricades and explosive objects protected from infantry bunkers and artillery in order to ward off a military attack. Part of the federal government's first job creation program could be used for border fortification work. The chief of arms of the engineering troops suggested a barricade near Sargans consisting of four 10.5 cm casemate cannons. For the new chief of staff, Jakob Labhardt , the northern front had priority, where from 1936 the fortress construction began on the Rhine between Stein am Rhein and Leibstadt . In the summer of 1936, an engineering officer course examined the Sargans area and highlighted the importance of the Sargans key area in the project study .

In the winter of 1936/37 the General Staff Department worked out a comprehensive 52 million Swiss franc program for the Eastern Front with the two artillery works Ansstein and Schollberg as well as tank barricades for the St. Gallen Rhine Valley as a border fortification for Sargan.

Principality of Liechtenstein and Ellhorn

Ellhorn (left) and Maziferchopf (right), view from Magletsch Fortress

From a military planning point of view, the situation with the Principality of Liechtenstein was a tough one, especially because it was feared that it would join Austria. As early as 1934, Colonel Genius Hans Luzi Gugelberg von Moos had suggested that an exchange of territory for the Ellhorn be undertaken with Liechtenstein. When the Federal Council wanted to implement this proposal in 1938, it was too late because Nazi Germany made sure that there was no land exchange. In 1938 the General Staff Department recognized the great importance of the Principality of Liechtenstein for national defense, which led to the development of three plan variants: firstly, the construction of fortifications on Liechtenstein territory, secondly, a right of occupation and thirdly, leaving the current situation. The discussion about the inclusion of the Principality of Liechtenstein was one of the reasons for the late attack on the third state fortress.

In 1949 Switzerland was able to acquire the Ellhorn through an exchange of land with the Principality of Liechtenstein and from 1953 a small anti-tank plant was built there and the ridge of the Ellhorn and the entire fortress area secured with numerous shelter caverns. In 1985 the Ellhorn plant was disarmed and only used as a shelter.

start of building

Tower cannon of the Castels artillery plant

In April 1939 the basic structure of the Sargans fortress with the definitive locations for the Furkels , Kastels and Magletsch works was approved by the fortification commission. Construction should begin in October 1939 and the fortifications should be ready by the end of 1943.

The following priorities were set for the new project, which was reduced to CHF 36 million: Completion of the barriers already started at Schollberg and Ansstein, construction of the Furggels and Castels works with the counterwork for Passati Fortress , the cable car to the Jeninseralp and the caverns above the Voralpsee and last priority was the construction of the Magletsch plant and the machine gun stands between Schollberg and Rheinknie below the Ellhorn and on the Rhine. On August 31, 1939, one day before the start of the Second World War , the Sargans Fortress project was approved by the Federal Council.

Second World War

On August 29, 1939, the Federal Council ordered mobilization for the newly created border guard. Four days later the whole army was mobilized and the 57th Border Regiment advanced into Sargans. The commandant of the Sargans Fortress, Colonel Brigadier Fritz Gubler , received an order from General Henri Guisan to block the access to the Sargans basin with the 57th Infantry Regiment. Of the Sargans Fortress, only the Schollberg (Trübbach, Wartau) and Ansstein (Fläscherloch, Maienfeld ) fortresses, originally intended to secure the border, were ready to fire with four 7.5 cm cannons.

Operation order no. 1 established an all-round defense for the Sargans fortress, which required a completely new defense system. Sargans received mobile artillery and infantry for reinforcement. The shortage of workers due to mobilization delayed the construction of the fortress, so that the large towers could not begin until October 1939. On January 1, 1940, the Sargans fortress was appointed an army unit (division) and now had 12 infantry battalions. In 1940 artillery works and numerous bunkers, shelters and tank obstacles were built in the area of ​​the northern front, as well as observation and command posts in protected facilities in exposed locations across the entire fortress area. Permanently wired connections for the fire control of the artillery were created for them. In mid-May 1940, when the Wehrmacht faked an attack on Switzerland, the temporary command post in Berschi was occupied for the first time and the first fortress artillery companies were founded. In July 1940, the first tank turret in Furggels was ready to fire.

With the Reduit order of July 17, 1940, which stopped the further expansion of the border fortifications, Sargans became the eastern anchorage of the Reduit. Four more armored turrets and the command post Northern Front and Sargans Fortress were approved for reinforcement. At the end of the Western Front there were insufficient funds. The use of the scarce financial resources for the Sargans outpost repeatedly led to discussions because they had to be saved in the actual central area. Chief of Staff Jakob Huber campaigned for the expansion of Sargans and especially its southern front (as far as Trimmis), because without this the still open eastern flank of the Gotthard fortress could be crushed by the enemy.

After the capitulation of Italy, the southern front was mobilized on September 12, 1943 because of the danger of German troops marching through. 21,000 men moved into Sargans and also moved into the large new artillery works for the first time. At the end of the war, a third country fortification had been built in the rock from the previously unfortified basin of Sargans in just six years. The construction of the entire Sargans fortress cost around CHF 41 million at the time.

Cold War

Centi Bunker A 6182 Schollberg Nord, Sargans

After the end of the war, the expansion of the Furggels and Tschingel plants was completed by the end of 1946 and the new Schollberg 3 artillery plant was built. Up until 1997, and especially with Troop Order 61 , numerous projects for maintenance, increased combat strength and AC protection followed. In fortress construction, there was a paradigm shift from large rock works to small monoblock systems with little crew and compact construction.

In 1962, the Schollberg-Sarganserauen dispositive was supplemented with systems for flooding the northern Sarganser plain.

In 1993, two Centi bunkers with 10.5 cm cannon and a modern tank barrier (GPH 66) were added to the Sarganserau's defense system. In the same year, tower cannons were fired for the last time. Another 12 cm fortress mine launcher was put into operation in the northern front in 1994.

With the 1993 armaments program, eight BISON gun bunkers were distributed to the fortress areas of St. Maurice, Gotthard and Sargans. Each battery had two monoblock bunkers each with two 15.5 cm fortress cannons 89 L52 BISON . The bison batteries, thanks to their firepower and self-targeting grenades, more than made up for the loss of the defeated fortresses.

Army 95

The Army Reform 95 , which came into force on January 1, 1995 , brought about the most profound changes for the fortress troops throughout Switzerland. All border and redoubt brigades were disbanded and the fortress brigades were restructured with a reduced number of troops. The defense mission for the Sargans fortress had to be limited to blocking the room and the southern front had to be abandoned. All works except Furggels and Tschingel were abandoned as fighting facilities. Individuals became fortress museums. With the closure of Furggels and Tschingel in 1999, Sargans lost the fortress artillery and the large-caliber artillery.

Army XXI

The Army Reform XXI meant the final end of the Sargans Fortress and Fortress Brigade 13 at the end of 2002.

In 2010, the secrecy for the command post of the Reduit key front Schollberg-Sarganserau-Tschingel, the KP Vild , was lifted as the last object in this section. It was acquired by the local community of Sargans and repaired and serviced by the Artillery Fort Association Magletsch.

In June 2011, fortress artillery department 13, which was responsible for all bison and fortress mine throwers, was dissolved by a Federal Council resolution.

Fortifications and restricted areas of the fortress area Sargans (geographical, restricted areas of national importance with *)

North

Artillery Fort Association Magletsch

east

Tschingel Fortress Association

west

south

Furggels fortress

Armament with 10.5 and 15 cm cannons

  • Furggels: four 10.5 cm tower cannons 39, L52 (1940), four 15 cm cannons 46, L42 HL (1947)
  • Castels: three 10.5 cm tower cannons 39, L52 (1941, 1943), 2 × 2 8.1 cm fortress mine throwers
  • Magletsch: three 10.5 cm tower cannons 39 L52 (1940), two 8.1 cm fortress mine throwers
  • Tschingel: four 10.5 cm cannons 39/46 L52 (1943, 1947)
  • 15.5 cm fortress cannons 89 L52 Bison

Fortress museums and associations

  • Fortress associations: Artillery Fort Association Magletsch AFOM, Tschingel Fortress Association
  • Fortress museums and / or guided tours: Furggels, Magletsch, Schollberg, KP Vild, Tschingel
  • Military Museum St. Luzisteig : The prehistory of the fortress, training center for the train troops, goes back to the 15th century.

literature

  • Walter Gabathuler: Sargans Fortress - its history, its objects, its tasks. In: Werdenberger Jahrbuch 27, 2014, pp. 50–260.
  • Walter Gabathuler: Sargans Fortress 1944. Artillerie-Fort-Verein-Magletsch AFOM, Wartau 2006.
  • Walter Gieringer (Ed.): Remembrance of the Fortress Brigade 13th Bündner Buchvertrieb, Chur 2004.
  • Walter Gabathuler: History of the origins of the Sargans Fortress: Conditions in the Switzerland / Liechtenstein border region before and during the Second World War. The influencing factor Liechtenstein on the disposition of the Sargans Fortress, the Sargans Fortress army unit, organizational and fortress construction stages, preparedness in acute threats. After the Second World War Switzerland / Liechtenstein, land exchange for military purposes (Ellhorn trade), disruption of the relationship for military reasons . Artillerie-Fort-Verein-Magletsch AFOM, Wartau
  • Walter Gabathuler: Sargans Fortress 1944: Combat group northern front, troops and defensive works in the Reduit front sections Sarganserau, Schollberg, Palfries, Magletsch and pre-position base in Buchs.
  • Walter Gabathuler: Sargans fortress 1944: Troops and defenses of the Luzisteig combat group (entire area) and the sub-area of ​​the southern front, Trimmis barrier. Artillerie-Fort-Verein-Magletsch AFOM, Wartau
  • Walter Gabathuler: Sargans Fortress 1944: Sargans-West, troops and defenses of the northern front, Seezalsperre and the western front, as well as command posts and infrastructure of the Sargans fortress . Artillerie-Fort-Verein-Magletsch AFOM, Wartau
  • Walter Gabathuler: Prättigau in World War II, changing responsibilities between Gz Br 8, fortress Sargans and Geb Br 12, troops and defense works . Artillerie-Fort-Verein-Magletsch AFOM, Wartau
  • Werner Pfenninger, Walter Gabathuler: Documentation on the Sargans Fortress in 1944: Territory allocation, organization, troops and objects, exterior shots of still existing objects, interior shots of all objects that were accessible to us. 12 volumes, Artillerie-Fort-Verein-Magletsch AFOM, Wartau

Web links

Commons : Sargans Fortress Room  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Schweizerische Bauzeitung, 1946, No. 9, pages 120 f.
  2. ↑ Fortress Brigade 13 - Overview and history of the "Sargans Fortress"
  3. ↑ Operation order No. 1 of September 2, 1939: The troops newly subordinated to the fortress command according to the special order block the access to the Sargans basin.
  4. ↑ a b c Artillerie-Fort-Verein-Magletsch: Schollberg Fortress ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2014 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.afom.ch
  5. ↑ Officer Society of the Canton of St. Gallen: Walter Gabathuler, Trilogy on the Sargans Fortress ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kogsg.ch
  6. ^ Tschingel Fortress Association: Fortress History
  7. ↑ DDPS Armasuisse, Armaments Programs 1990–2003. 1993: 16 15.5 cm fortress cannons 89 bison with ammunition ( memento of the original from August 19, 2014 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ar.admin.ch
  8. ^ Defense Threat Informations Group DTIG: Bison ( Memento from April 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ Fortress Museum Lock Trin: Lock Ellhorn 1307
  10. ↑ Fortress Museum Lock Trin: Lock Anstein 1316
  11. ↑ Fortress Museum Lock Trin: Lock St. Luzisteig 1317
  12. ↑ Fortress Museum Lock Trin: Lock Fläsch 1318
  13. ↑ Crestawald Fortress Museum: Gadenstätt – Stelserberg barrier 1284 St. Antönien
  14. ↑ Fortress Museum Lock Trin: Lock Trimmis 1322
  15. ↑ St. Luzisteig Military Museum: The history of the large army units (Mountain and Border Brigade 12, Sargans Fortress and Fortress Brigade 13, Mountain Division 12, Territorial Zone and Territorial Brigade 23)

Coordinates: 47 ° 3 '0.7 "  N , 9 ° 26' 14.2"  E ; CH1903:  751852  /  212,952