Blocking point agree

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Infantry bunker Strasse A 2018
Natural obstacle Kandergraben with some

The lock point at Einigen was a border fortification of the Swiss army at the former entrance to the Reduite . It is located in the village of Einigen on the Lötschberg line in the Kandertal in the Bernese Oberland . The barrier was built from 1940, belonged to the operational area of ​​the 3rd division , from 1947 to the Reduit Brigade 21 and later to the fortress regiment 3.

It was released from secrecy in 2002 and is considered a military historical monument of national importance.

history

The impetus for the construction of the lock point 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 The 3rd Division (Bern Division) was withdrawn from the Limmat position and moved from the Fricktal to the new operational area on both sides of Lake Thun .

With the reduit, the deep cut of the Kander trench acquired military significance. The Kander formed the reduit front between Lake Thun and Wimmis from mid-1940, whereby the section of the Kander trench between the Kander bridges and the hamlet of Hani was a major natural obstacle. The section of the edging comprised three main barriers: Einigen, Auwald and Sattelegg.

The lock point Einigen was one of the central defense points of the Kander group (Fusilier Battalion 50) of the 3rd Division in order to stop an approaching enemy. It was the first barrier (from the north) of the 3rd Division on the left bank of Lake Thun.

In July / August 1940, the General issued instructions for the conduct of the war in the defensive positions in the Reduit:

“ Resistance is to be built up everywhere by pooling resources on the main axes of incursion in the depths. The crews of the factories and bunkers have to remain in place until their resources are completely exhausted, even if they are bypassed and have to rely on themselves. As a result, they have to be provided with everything they need (ammunition, food, water) to be able to endure. "

- Henri Guisan

As immediate measures, three provisional roadblocks (Eichbühl, Einigen-Kanderbrücke and Sattelegg) were set up in the Thunersee area.

Since there were not enough 4.7 cm 35/41 L 31 infantry cannons for anti-tank defense, the 3rd division received the entire field artillery of the 3rd and 4th divisions from 1940 with the 7.5 cm field cannons 03/22 for anti-tank defense allocated. In November 1940, the 7.5 cm field cannons of the field artillery battery 20 were used for the first time in a maneuver in Einigen for anti-tank purposes on the then provisional positions "Terrace", "Strassenbrücke", "Eisenbahnbrücke" and "Bahn".

Construction work

In August 1940, over 500 men began work on the entrenchment work on open combat positions (machine gun and mortar positions, infantry cannons were protected with sandbags) and trench systems. Heavy roadblocks, plug-in barricades on the Kander bridges and “Toblerone” concrete bumps on the Kanderufer were carried out by civilian entrepreneurs. In September 1940, the extension of the "Duttweiler Canal" began as an 18 m wide tank trench.

In 1941 the tank walls along the railway and from the railway line to the lake as well as the cross dam and the railway barrier were built. Due to the experience of the war, the system was adapted to occupy the foremost field positions only weakly and to concentrate large reserves for counter-attacks in the depths. Working in four shifts, the troops began to use gasoline and carbide lamps to build permanent fortifications (infantry cannon bunkers, fire stands, storm troop shelters) in concrete. Concreting a tubular bunker took 20–30 hours. In February 1943, five firing stands with machine guns, observers and light machine guns (railway bridge, Holeeweg, station, Kanderschlucht, Waldegg) were handed over to the fortress guard corps .

In 1945 infantry obstacles and steel cables between the humps were removed. During the Cold War the factories (Werkkompanie 10) in Einigen were occupied by Company II / 136. During the Cold War, the five infantry bunkers and two former field cannon stands (street and terrace) converted to 9 cm anti-tank guns were operated.

In 2005, the two-storey machine gun bunker "Julia" (army designation A 2015), camouflaged as a holiday home, next to the Roggern schoolhouse was demolished, although it was classified as worthy of preservation in the federal inventory.

  • Infantry bunker Schlucht A 2023

  • Waldegg A 2020 infantry bunker

  • Infantry bunker Terrasse A 2011

  • Infantry bunker Bahn A 2010

  • Infantry cannon shield Hauptstrasse A 2017

Barriers and infantry bunkers

36 objects belonged to the blocking point: a large tank obstacle, numerous bunkers with different camouflages, rare 7.5 cm anti-tank gun positions and special shock troop shelters (Auswald):

  • T 1180 Panzergraben (now almost completely covered), Toblerone Höcker (opposite side of the Kander, partly in the mud), armored walls ⊙
  • T 1180.09 barricade ⊙ , T 1181 barricade street, T 1182 barricade train ⊙
  • Barricade magazines ⊙ ⊙
  • A 2008 Feldkanonenschild Einigen Hauptstrasse I, East (entrance Spiez)
  • A 2009 Feldkanonenschild Einigen Hauptstrasse VIII, West ⊙
  • A 2010 infantry bunker Einigen Bahn: field cannon (FK), later Pak (9 cm anti-tank cannon) ⊙
  • A 2011 infantry bunker Einigen Terrasse (FK, later Pak) ⊙
  • A 2012 shelter Strandweg Ost ⊙
  • A 2013 Kanderdelta / Kanderdamm III infantry bunker ⊙
  • A 2014 Kanderkies II infantry cannon shield (Creabeton area, demolished)
  • A 2015 infantry bunker school building «Julia»: machine gun (MG), broken off in 2005 ⊙
  • A 2016 shelter Strandweg West ⊙
  • A 2017 infantry cannon shield Einigen Strasse I ⊙
  • A 2018 Infantry Bunker Einigen Strasse: FK, later Pak ⊙
  • A 2019 Infantry Bunker Einigen Holeeweg: Mg ⊙
  • A 2020 infantry bunker Einigen Waldeck: Mg ⊙
  • A 2021 Infantry Bunker Einigen Railway Bridge: Infantry cannon (Ik), later Pak / Mg ⊙
  • A 2022 shelter Holeeweg ⊙
  • A 2023 Infantry Bunker Einigen Kanderschlucht: Mg ⊙
  • A 2024 shelter Tierfeld (Wald Gesige above some) ⊙
  • Explosive objects (SprO) M 2798, 2799, 2800, 2805 ⊙ ⊙

  • Explosive objects Road and railway bridge

  • T 1180 anti-tank ditch

  • Tank wall Höhenstrasse

  • Barricade depot

  • Tank wall lake

Kander group

The Solothurn Infantry Regiment 11 (Fusilier Battalions 49, 50, 51) of the 4th Division was placed under operational order No. 12 as reinforcement of the 2nd Division. As the Kander group, it moved into the defensive section in the Spiez-Wimmis-Einigen area in August 1940 in order to defend the Kander position (Kander delta Thunersee to Wimmis) with its 49 and 50 fusilier battalions. The subsequent narrowing of Wimmis was blocked by the Territorial Battalion (Ter Bat) 174.

The Kander group had the following order (order April 1941) for the defensive front Kander estuary - Kander run up to confluence with Simme - edge of the forest NE Pt 1456 - Pt 1456 - Pt 1327 - Nüschleten:

  • holds the Kander from the confluence with Lake Thun to Kapf and prevents any advance against Spiez and Wimmis.
  • defends the mountain ridge Kapf - Brodhüsi - point (Pt) 1327 - Pt 1990 (Nüschleten) and prevents any advance over the Heitiberg on Erlenbach
  • provides advance postings on the Gwatt - Zwieselberg - Pt 1300 line and between Kapf and Lindenthal
  • blocks the throat of Wimmis north and south with Ter Bat 174 to prevent a break in or an outbreak of the Simmental
  • monitors the left bank of the lake between Thun and Spiez
  • clears up against Jaberg - Uetendorf - Wattenwil

literature

Web links

Commons : Block Unite  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Disengage point. Military monuments in the cantons of Bern and Friborg. VBS, Bern 2006
  2. ↑ 4.7 cm infantry cannon 35/41 L31
  3. ↑ 7.5 cm cannon, model 03 Krupp / 1922

Coordinates: 46 ° 42 ′ 34.6 "  N , 7 ° 38 ′ 36"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred and fifteen thousand six hundred fifty-three  /  173175