Border Brigade 8
Map with all coordinates: 
The Grenzbrigade 8 (Gz Br 8) was one of eleven border brigades of the Swiss Army . It was subordinate to the 4th Army Corps (since 1961 Field Army Corps 4 , FAK 4) and existed from 1938 to 1994 ( Army 95 ).
history
The border troops were reorganized in accordance with the Hague Agreement with the 1938 Troop Order (TO 38) and 11 border brigades (Gz Br) were created. In addition to the border fusilier battalions, they had a company of cyclists, motorized mitrailleurs and infantry gunners .
In order for the border defense (border occupation) to remain credible despite the rapid development of war technology, the Federal Council decided to strengthen the line of defense with permanent, deeply staggered border fortifications . In 1935, the federal authorities had the office for fortifications (BBB) revived and from 1937 the border fortifications (fortress Sargans etc.) were rebuilt.
Border Brigade 8 was assigned to the 4th Army Corps for training and preparation for operations. The subordination during the mission was determined by the respective operation plan. In all border troop associations, militiamen residing in the operational area were assigned because the border troops were the first to be mobilized in the event of mobilization and had to be ready for immediate action so that the mobilization of the majority of the army could not be disrupted.
The brigade had to fight the attrition from the border. The operational area bordered on the left with border brigade 7 near Steinach (Steinach estuary on Lake Constance) ⊙ and on the right with Buchs in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley ⊙ on that of fortress brigade 13 and led in upper Toggenburg to the Starkenbach barrier ⊙ .
The Border Brigade 8 had to ensure the neutrality protection service (NSD) and to block the axes leading through their area (A1 between St. Margrethen and St. Gallen). The Halden infantry factory with its five anti-tank guns, which was modernized in 1986, was used for this purpose. The fight against this lock in the “Rorschacher funnel” was supported by several 12 cm fortress mine launchers.
There were strong permanent weapons positions on the Appenzeller passes between Oberegg and the Hohen Kasten (Reute, Ruppen, Stoss), on the ascent from Grabs to Wildhaus and in Toggenburg (Barrages Wildhaus and Starkenbach). In the last years of its existence, Border Brigade 8 would have been subordinated to Field Division 7 in an emergency .
The brigade's last dispositive (1980s) was designed for an attack from the east along the Swiss northern border westwards with a possible parallel thrust over Swiss territory.
Units (as of 1991)
- Border Brigade Staff 8
- Infantry regiments (Inf Rgt) 59 with the Fusilier Battalions (Gz Füs Bat) 287, 288, 289
- Infantry regiments (Inf Rgt) 77 with the Fusilier Battalions (Gz Füs Bat) 141, 142, 187
- Grenadier company I / 8
- Anti-tank company (Pzaw Kp) II / 8
- Anti-tank guided weapon companies (PAL Kp) 81, 82, 83
- Mobile light anti-aircraft battery (Mob L Flab Bttr) III / 8
- Fusilier Company 646
- Heavy Fusilier Company (Sch Füs Kp) 920
- Genius Department 48
- Border Transfer Company (Gz Uem Kp) 8
- Factory company 44, 45, 49
- Fortress department 108: Fortress fire control company (Fest Flt Kp) 108, fortress company I / 108 (mine thrower), fortress howitzer batteries (Fest Hb Bttr) II / 108, III / 108, IV / 108
The Thurgau Fusilier Battalion 75 (excerpt) would have been subordinated to combat operations.
Command posts, artillery works and blocking points
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The majority of the works and blocking points of Border Brigade 8 are in the canton of St. Gallen:
- Command post (KP): KP «Kästlis» Grenzbrigade 8 A 5950 Schlatt-Haslen ⊙ , KP Infantry Regiment 59 F 8100
- Artillery plant: Heldsberg A 5850 ⊙
- Blocking points (blocking points of national importance with *): Au , Berneck , Bruggerhorn *, Buechberg, Buechsteig, Buriet, Diepoldsau, Goldach, Grub, Haag, Halden , Halt-Thal *, Heldsberg *, Hirschensprung, Kriessern, Landmark, Loch, Knollhausen , Montlingen, Oberbüchel, Oberriet, Rheineck , Rorschach, Rorschacherberg, Salez, Sonderegg, Steinig Tisch , Starkenbach, Stoss *, St. Margrethen , Widnau, Wildhaus ⊙
Fortress Museum Heldsberg
The Heldsberg Fortress, built in 1939/41, was located in the brigade room. With its four 7.5 cm fortification cannons 39 it supported the blocking associations between Altstätten and St. Margrethen until the 1980s and was able to work as far as Bregenz / Lindau. The fortress was released from secrecy in 1992 and has been a museum since September 1993.
literature
- Border Brigade 8 . Verlag Schläpfer, 1994.
- Walter Gabathuler: Prättigau in the Second World War. Changing responsibilities between Border Brigade 8, Mountain Brigade 12, Sargans Fortress: Troops and border security devices: Defense purposes of the barriers: Chlus, Valzeina, Seewis, Girenspitz, Stelserberg - Gadenstätt, St. Antönien, Schlappin, Pardenn . Verlag W. Gabathuler, St. Gallen 2008
- Silvio Keller, Maurice Lovisa, Thomas Bitterli: Military monuments in the cantons of Glarus, Appenzell Inner- and Ausserrhoden and St. Gallen, VBS 2006
Web links
- Bunker friends: facilities in the canton of St. Gallen
- Bunker friends: facilities in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden
- Little Porcupine: Border Brigade 8
Individual evidence
- ↑ Agreement on the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in the Event of Land War, concluded in The Hague on October 18, 1907.
- ↑ Schlatt-Haslen May 7, 2017: Yes to buying bunkers
- ↑ SRF of November 24, 2016: Innerrhoder district communities Schlatt-Haslen buys old bunkers. The Heldsberg Fortress Museum Association will set up a museum in the Kästlis command bunker.
- ^ Military-historical monuments in the cantons of Glarus, Appenzell Inner- and Ausserrhoden and St. Gallen, VBS 2006
- ^ Fortress Oberland: Border Brigade 8