Heinrich command post
The command post Heinrich (army designation "KP Heinrich" A 1956) is located in the rock ( Triaskalk ) of the Hondrichhügel (Hondrichwald) 851.8 m above sea level. M. , the highest point in the municipality of Spiez , and on the left bank of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland . The plant belonged to the operational area of the 3rd Division and from 1947 to the Reduit Brigade 21 . It was created in 1941–1943 and released from secrecy in 2005.
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). The 3rd Division (Bern Division) was withdrawn from the Limmat position and moved from the Fricktal to the new operational area on both sides of Lake Thun.
The KP Heinrich was the central fire coordination / fire control center with command and observation posts for the artillery works around Lake Thun ( Aeschiried , Burg , Faulensee , Hondrich , Krattigen and Hentschenried , Legi , Mülenen , Heustrich Schmockenfluh , Waldbrand ) and the mobile batteries.
construction
Due to the relatively stable reduit front, central observation posts and a fire control for the entire artillery group were to be made possible with the construction of the Heinrich command post. In September 1940 officers of the type Ob Kp 3 evaluated possible locations for two light measuring points in the Hondrichwald and created photos for a panorama of the Hondrichwald. In January 1941 bunkers and tunnels were planned and tunnel exits were marked out. In September the two entrance tunnels, from October to March the two central tunnels, the main tunnel as well as access, side, side (accommodation and offices) and window tunnels were excavated. Then the floors and stairs were concreted and the radio and crew caverns were gunited with special shotcrete to seal them. In 1943 the structures and installations (doors, observation slits, partition walls, water reservoir, toilet and washing system with ventilation, switchboard room, low-voltage installation) were created. The construction costs amounted to around 900,000 francs.
At the west and east end of the Hondrichhügel, two detachable observation towers were erected on concrete plinths in October / November 1940, which had previously stood on the Limmat position on the Gibstorferhorn (they were demolished in 1955/56). The upper part of the tower could be pulled in 5 meters, so that the tower disappeared into the treetops outside the observation time.
The infrastructure of the command post
Access is from Bäuert Hondrich via two footpaths that lead through the forest to the forecourt of the facility and to the two tunnel entrances. It was accessed by a material cable car next to the footpaths.
The command post had a 318 meter long main tunnel, four double observation posts (from east to west: A, B, C, D) with evaluation rooms, 11 radio niches / cabins and two entrances, each with a notch for close defense, telephone connections and a large control center. The observation stand D had a slot for a telescopic sight and light measuring theodolites.
The main floor, 10 meters above the entrance, is reached via a staircase. At the main intersection, the two central tunnels, the secondary or window tunnels (emergency exit, cable car access) and the access tunnels to the accommodation and office wing and to the main tunnel meet.
The factory defense consisted of entrance and local defense. The emergency exits are located by the window gallery and near observation post A.
Today's infrastructure
- Switchboard P66 / 90 (1968)
- Fresh water supply
- Washroom and toilet facility
- power supply
- Engine room, gas lock, armored doors (1953)
- Heating and cooling
- Ventilation, gas protection, air conditioning (1954)
- Plant security
- Kitchen, lodging, office (1957)
- Material ropeway (dismantled in 2007)
Artillery observation
The KP Heinrich was mainly operated by Artillery Observation Company 3. The artillery intelligence service (Art ND) developed during World War I comprised cavalry, cyclist patrols, balloon pioneers and airmen. With the troop order in 1924 the artillery observation companies (Art Ob Kp) were introduced. The Art ND had to determine, collect and check relevant messages for the artillery as well as to compare messages from different sources and to forward them to the respective artillery command.
With the 1936 troop order (TO36), each division was assigned a type of ob kp, which consisted of a staff, sound measuring train , light measuring train , photographer train, weather train, liaison train and motor driver train. The type Ob Kp had to determine the location and fire intensity of enemy batteries based on their fire so that they could be fought by their own artillery.
In order for the shooting commander could direct the fire of the battery, he was supported on the observation post of a clerk and telephone operators. In addition to shooting and topographical maps, map protractors, coordinates and side scales of the lead guns, he used trench telescopes, battery instruments or light measuring theodolite .
Art Ob Kp 3 had to measure positions, photo locations, buildings, tunnels in the Reduit and to create dispositifs and photo panoramas in the Thun area. The previous sound and light measurement was obsolete and the corresponding units were dissolved in 1949.
troops
During the Second World War (active service 1939-1945): The Artillery Group II of the 3rd Division with the Heavy Motor Cannon Regiment 14 (from June 1941 Regiment 12) and the Heavy Motor Cannon Division 3 had their firing positions in the Faulensee-Krattigen-Reichenbach-Aeschi-Hondrich area and the command post in the Hondrichwald.
During the Cold War: The fortress artillery regiment (Fest Art Rgt) 21 was established in April 1948. In addition to the fortress department 8, it comprised the units relevant for the Heinrich command post: fortress artillery department (Fest Art Abt) 14 with the fortress artillery companies (Fest Art Kp) 73 (Schmockenfluh), 77 (Legi-Waldbrand), 78 (Interlaken) and the Fest Art Abt 15 with the Fest Art Kp 74 (Hondrich), 75 (Burgfluh) and 76 (Faulensee). With the 1951 troop order, the artillerymen and infantrymen of the external defense were combined in fortress units (Fest) and the designation type was omitted.
today
At the end of 2006 the fortress was sold to private individuals. The Hondrich Fortress Association operates the facility with the aim of preserving it for posterity. It is open on fixed guided tours according to the website of the fortress association or on request for guided tours.
literature
- Hans-Rudolf Schoch: KP Heinrich. Command post, fire control center and observation post . Fortress Association Hondrich bei Spiez (Ed.) 2012.
Web links
- Website of the KP Heinrich
- Oberland Fortress: Command post Heinrich A1956
- Underground Switzerland: Heinrich artillery fire control center
- Association of Museums in the Canton of Bern: Fortress Association Hondrich: KP Heinrich, Hondrich bei Spiez
- Jungfrau Zeitung of March 22, 2016: Where the spirit of the Reduit lives
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Rudolf Schoch: KP Heinrich. Command post, fire control center and observation post . Fortress Association Hondrich bei Spiez (Ed.) 2012.
- ^ HS publications: publishing house for publications on Swiss fortifications, bunkers and fortresses, Frutigen
Coordinates: 46 ° 40 ′ 28.8 " N , 7 ° 40 ′ 45.7" E ; CH1903: 618,420 / 169300