Giswil replenishment base
Map with all coordinates: 
The Giswil replenishment base was a logistics location of the Swiss Army in the municipality of Giswil in the canton of Obwalden in the alpine position during the Second World War and the Cold War . It is an example of the interaction of the militia system at federal, cantonal and municipal level.
prehistory
In order for the army to be able to withdraw into the redoubt , the necessary fortifications and logistics facilities had to be built there and supplies (weapons, ammunition, fuel, coal, food, etc.) for the troops and the local population had to be built up for six months.
With the operational order No. 12 of July 17, 1940, four divisions (Div 1, 3, 6, 8) were moved to the foothills of the Alps / Alps from July to August. Together with the two divisions (Div 7, 9) that were already in the Reduit area, six out of nine Divisions were in the Reduit. After fortresses had been built there and supplies laid out, the other three (Div 2, 4, 5) divisions were also relocated to the central area with Operation Order No. 13 of May 24, 1941.
In order to be able to deliver the necessary funds for the intended warfare in sufficient quantities at the desired time to the right place or to be able to take them away from there, appropriate logistical planning, procurement, storage, administration and availability of means of transport ( requisition ) and traffic routes (Rochade axes) was necessary Means of communication (radio, telephone, carrier pigeons) necessary.
The catering troops ("services behind the front") were responsible for the substitute system ( storage depots ) and the replenishment and return : This included food, fuel, lubricants, ammunition, team accommodation, horse stables, clothing, medical equipment, veterinary service, maintenance, repairs, field post , Traffic and transportation. These important facilities and systems had to be guarded and protected militarily. In addition, internees could be guarded and employed.
history
At the beginning of September 1939, the community of Giswil organized an auxiliary service (from 1940 local military ), which initially had to guard and defend the Unteraa power station and the pressure lines (later Giswil station, railway bridges, etc.). With the federal decree of October 25, 1940, the municipality was subject to air protection because it would be particularly exposed to air attacks due to its location in the defense system (army supplies, traffic junction, quarters of higher staff). A bomb-proof system had to be built for the local, civilian, “blue” air raid protection (command room, alarm center, ready and medical room, equipment room). Air protection, in which women also helped, included air observation posts and air raid alarms, telephone exchange, war fire brigade, police tasks (review of measures such as darkening, guarding air raid protection systems, defense against acts of sabotage, etc.), medical and chemical services (detection of toxins, detoxification) and technical services (Debris clearance, damage repair).
From the summer of 1940, the retreat into the Reduit made it necessary to build logistics facilities in the central area. Due to its strategic location on the Brünig Pass , which connects Obwalden and Central Switzerland ( 4th division ) with the Bernese Oberland ( 3rd division ), the municipality of Giswil became an important logistics base for the Redoubt. From May 1941, the 8th Division 's main task was to fortify and defend the Obwalden area and to set up a Rochade axis to the Brünig axis.
From 1941 onwards, ammunition magazines, troop accommodation, military bakeries, underground magazines, military barracks, armory barracks and tank systems were built in Giswil and large quantities of supplies were stored. Giswil received the first federal armory in the canton of Obwalden. So that the widely scattered barracks and facilities could be reached more easily, paths to roads or existing ones had to be expanded.
Giswil belonged to the area of the Reduit Brigade 22, newly created in 1947 (R Br 22 «Ob- und Nidwalden, Oberhasli»). With Army 61 , the Reduit Brigades were subordinated to Mountain Army Corps 3 and abolished in 2003 with Army XXI .
Military installations Giswil
Crew quarters, horse stables
In Giswil, soldiers and horse accommodation, kitchens and military offices had to be provided at the beginning of the war. First the two existing school buildings were occupied and later military barracks (Ankenmattli etc.) were built. At Christmas 1940 over 500 soldiers were quartered.
For the soldiers, the Swiss People's Service Association operated alcohol-free soldiers' rooms in Diechtersmatt and on Glaubbergberg (Sarnen), the net proceeds of which were donated to the Swiss national donation.
- Team quarters, horse stables Mörlialp ⊙
- Horse stables with cantons in Oberried ⊙
- Four horse stables on Gerbiplatz-Allmend, near the parish church ⊙
- «Worbla» stable, upper Schibenried ⊙
- Hay and straw store Diechtersmatt ⊙
- Hay and straw supplies for Forstmattli ⊙
- Horse stables with team accommodation Pfedli, today Forsthof ⊙
- Barrack for hay and straw supplies Pfedli ⊙
- Horse stables with Wolfsmatt team accommodation, small part ⊙
- Barracks Strassenbau and Flab, Fachshubel, Glaubbielen ⊙
Oberried stables
Horse stable
Forstmattli hay and straw store
Catering
In 1941/42, one of ten field bakeries in the canton of Obwalden was built in Wolfsmatt. In 1941, the "Rübihütte" underground bakery was built near Glaubbielen.
In order to be able to increase the level of self-sufficiency in the country with the Wahlen plan , larger industrial companies and cities were required to cultivate potatoes, vegetables, oats, etc. in addition to the plowing of meadows by draining reed areas. The city of Zurich and Worbla AG in Worblaufen leased drained reed areas (Mühlemattli, Schwerzbachried, Schibenried, Aaried) in Giswil and managed them with their own cultivation managers and work groups, with people from Giswil also being employed.
The food shortage led to rationing measures . A Federal Council resolution obliged the municipalities to collect waste materials (metals, bones, rubber, rags, paper, heating material, etc.) so that they could be recycled.
- "Extension" warehouse building (Wahlen plan) City of Zurich in Schwerzbachried ⊙
- Worbla stable "extension" in the upper Schibenried ⊙
- Fat and cooking oil storage Diechtersmatt ⊙
- Wolfsmatt military bakery ⊙
- Rübihütte underground bakery ⊙
Fat and cooking oil storage Diechtersmatt
Wolfsmatt military bakery
Rübihütte underground bakery
Fuels
In addition to the rifle house, seven underground tanks for normal fuel with siding were built behind the Giswil train station. In the 1950s, a large fuel store was built in a military tunnel behind the target. These plants were abandoned in 2009. Aviation petrol was stored in the facility on Zollhausallmend ( Sachseln ).
- Fuel storage and barracks Schälf cable car station ⊙
- Tank system Zollhausallmend Diechtersmatt ⊙
- Underground tank systems (UTA), UTA area, Diechtersmatt (demolished in 2014) ⊙
- Underground flame oil tank for flame thrower woodpeckers, large part (dismantled) ⊙
- Forest underground tank system (year of construction 1951) ⊙
Tank farm with pump house
ammunition
The rock magazine Pfedli was built in 1941/42 with two 100 meter long chambers as ammunition tunnels. In 1965, Bristol Bloodhound guided missiles were stored here, and later the engines of military aircraft. Today a cheese warehouse is operated.
- Ammunition barracks Waldecke Durnacheli ⊙
- Felskeller Pfedli (Bloodhound guided weapons) ⊙
- Forstwald ammunition depot (500 kg bombs) ⊙
- Five ammunition barracks Helferweg ⊙
Forest forest ammunition barracks
material
Tools for genius units and road construction as well as barbed wire were stored in the bulwark depot.
- Barrack and shelter Diechtersmatt ⊙
- Schanzdepot Diechtersmatt ⊙
- Federal Armory Giswil-Rudenz ⊙
- large material barracks in front of Lauidamm Durnacheli ⊙
- Barrack behind Holder Marcel's house Durnacheli ⊙
- Barrack next to Schibenried-Käppeli, upper Schibenried ⊙
- Material barrack in Durnacheli ⊙
- Corps material, tents, ambulance vehicles Grundwald ⊙
Bulwark depot
Material barrack (including coal storage) on Grundwaldstrasse
Maintenance, repairs, medical services, veterinary service, field post
The mountain sapper battalion 8 took over the service in the bulwark depot and the road maintenance in the division area. Boats and transfer boats were housed in a barrack.
- Zündli barracks shoemaking, saddlery, etc. Grundwald ⊙
- Grundwald fire station ⊙
- Tschächenplätz Grundwald war laundry ⊙
- Grundwald oxygen works (post-war operation) ⊙
- Tailoring Rüteli Grundwald (canceled) ⊙
- Military hospital MSA Hirsern (demolished 2001) ⊙
Zündli barracks
War laundry
Grundwald oxygen works
Military hospital MSA Hirsern
Lock points
The carcass assembly point for mobilization at Giswil train station, Brünigstrasse and important objects in the central area were secured with four 7.5 cm and four 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. To protect the military cable car, there were four 20 mm anti-aircraft gun emplacements at the Mörlialp valley station and at the Glaubbielen angle station. There were three important blocking points in the Chratzeren area, in the forest near Steinibach and in Eschlen (between Zollhaus and Ewil).
- Schwand command post, 8th Altibach Division ⊙
- four 20mm flab positions angle station Glaubbielen ⊙
- four 20mm flab positions Mörlialp ⊙
- eight 20mm / 7.5cm Flab positions basket assembly point Giswil ⊙
- 15cm artillery positions Emmetti, Schibenried, Zündli, Zwirchi, Dörsmatt ⊙
- Anti-tank barrier Hotel Landhaus ⊙
Command post Schwand of the 8th Division
Anti-tank barrier below the Landhaus hotel
communication
Telephone and radio networks were set up to ensure communication between the military installations spread across the entire municipality. In addition, the pigeon service was also used.
- Radio operator forester's hut Zwirchi ⊙
- Telephone networks Schwand-Kleinteil etc. ⊙
- Transmission troops Juch / Grosteil ⊙
- Telephone line Sörenberg – Jänzimatt – Fluonalp ⊙
Transport systems and castling axis
Several military ropeways have been set up and operated by the cable car service for the transport of construction, military material and supplies as well as a winter-safe Rochade axis .
From autumn 1941, Polish , Italian and Soviet internees built connecting roads over the heights to Entlebuch: Glaubbielenstrasse , the road to the Sattelpass, parts of the Höhenkarrweg Glaubbielen – Sattelpass – Glaubberg, the beginning of the new small-section mountain road from Riedacher to Mettlen and the majority of Kilchwegstrasse.
In 1941, the electrification of the strategically important Brünig Railway resulted in time savings of almost an hour on the route from Lucerne to Interlaken.
- Valley station Mörlialp-Glaubbielen-Habchegg MSB50 (today Restaurant Mörlialp) ⊙
- Angle station in Glaubenbielen MSB50 ⊙
- Habchegg valley station (Mariental, Sörenberg ) MSB50 ⊙
- Zimmerplatz-Talwald MSB52 wooden cable car ⊙
- Valley forest mountain station MSB52 ⊙
- Talwald-Schälf cable car (Iwi) MSB53 ( 1308 m above sea level ) ⊙
- Talwald-Hohnegg MSB54 funicular (supply to the Sattelpass area) ⊙
Mörlialp valley station (converted into a restaurant)
Habchegg valley station
Internment camp
The internees were housed in Giswil in the Forstwald, Herber / Ninzenacher, Sattelpass, Breitstein camps and in accommodations and deployment locations from Mörlialp to Glaubbielen. They came from Poland, Italy, the Soviet Union and some from Germany and Austria.
In addition to the internment camps, the municipality had to make preparations ( requisitioning of a plot of land in Untergass, large part) for a possible camp with 2,000 to 3,000 prisoners of war due to a ruling by Territorial Command 8 in Lucerne .
- Forstmattli internment camp ⊙
- Polish chapel Forstmattli ⊙
- Internment barracks Sattelpass Heiwmattli ⊙
- Internment barracks Italian, Herber, Ninzenacher ⊙
Internment camp Sattelpass
See also
literature
- Albert Imfeld, Erwin Müller et al .: Giswil - Traces of the Second World War. Editor of the Giswil Local History Association, issue 11, Giswil 2011.
- Hans Richard, Jürg Keller: Military cable cars / Téléfériques militaires. Association of Historical Military Facilities Freiburg / Bern VH + MA, annual issue 2016.
- Mike Bacher: The military cable car Mörlialp – Glaubbielen – Mariental. In: Around the Giswilerstock. Issue 15 from the Giswiler history booklet series . Local History Association Giswil, Giswil 2018.
- Military monuments in the cantons of Nidwalden, Obwalden and Lucerne
- Johannes Gerber et al., Kommando Reduitbrigade 22 (Ed.): Mission accomplished - Die Reduit Brigade 22. Druck-Shop Engelberger, Stans 1994.
- Elsbeth Abächerli-Dolder: L'histoire - c'est moi. Time and audio documents (DVD).
- Gregor Bättig: The defense efforts in the Nidwalden area 1935–1995, a contribution to the history of Nidwalden. 150 years of Nidwalden Officers' Association, 1857–2007. Aktiv-Verlag, Stans 2007, ISBN 3-909191-36-3 .
Web links
- Local history association Giswil
- Lucerne newspaper from April 2, 2019: Giswil memorial work turns 20 years old
- Christian Jaberg: Normally the pick-up principle, the basic supply point (BVP) is a military supermarket . ASMZ Security Switzerland. General Swiss military magazine Volume 158, Issue 10 1992
- Tobias Gu: The Second World War in the mirror of the Obwalden Volksfreund . Matura thesis, Engelberg 1999.
- Oberland Fortress: On the trail of the bread train (video)
Individual evidence
- ^ O. Meyer: Modern replenishment . The Fourier: official organ of the Swiss Fourier Association and the Association of Swiss Fourier Assistants, Volume 21, Issue 12, 1948
- ^ Albert Imfeld: Giswil - traces of the Second World War. Editor Giswil Local History Association, Giswil 2011.
- ↑ The underground bakery Rubihütte , in: Military Monuments in the cantons of Nidwalden, Obwalden and Lucerne, page 37
- ↑ Mike Bacher: The military cable car Mörlialp – Glaubbielen – Mariental. In: Around the Giswilerstock. Issue 15 from the Giswiler history booklet series . Local History Association Giswil, Giswil 2018.
- ↑ Poland routes through Switzerland (PDF).
- ↑ Urs Schorno: Interned in Obwalden. Published by the Giswil Local History Association, issue 14, Giswil 2018.
- ^ Archimob: L'histoire - c'est moi . Oral history project about the time during the Second World War in Switzerland with 555 contemporary witnesses, 2004