Mattarello factory

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 45 ° 59 ′ 52 ″  N , 11 ° 8 ′ 5 ″  E

Main factory Mattarello - throat side with casemate block and factory entrance

The Mattarello plant (also complex Mattarello ; Italian Forte Mattarello ) was a fortress work ( fort ) in the system of Austrian fortifications on the border with Italy . It was part of the Trento Fortress and is on the territory of the Mattarello fraction of Trento .

Mattarello consisted of the main plant and two annex batteries and, together with the Romagnano plant , had the task of closing the Adige Valley south of Trento. Furthermore, in the event of a breakthrough from the Sugana Valley and the overcoming of the Tenna and Colle delle benne plants there and the batteries of “Maranza”, “Cimirlo”, “Casara” and “Martignano”, it was supposed to repel attacks. It also served as backing for the Doss Fornas and Brussa ferro plants near Valsorda, as well as the San Rocco plant southeast of Trento.

The two annex batteries (lower battery and upper battery) were built at the end of the 1870s in the so-called Trientine architectural style; d. In other words, there were no roofed structures, but open systems with walls and trusses, the guns fired free-standing "over the bank" (i.e. over the top of the wall). The main plant, which was built later in the 1880s and completed in 1900, was, although already more modern, still built in stone and therefore already outdated when it was put into service. It was only considered grenade-proof (resistant up to a fire caliber of 15 cm.)

None of the plants was ever involved in combat.

Upper battery

The upper battery is 345 meters above sea level and consisted of a gun placement for five guns between trusses . Behind it were two hollow cross-beams with rooms for troop accommodation and storage of ammunition, which were lowered and across the front . The complex is surrounded by a largely free-standing crenellated wall with a traditor on the right-hand side . In the left throat area, the wall is backfilled and built in front of the entrance. There is also a local defense system in the form of a trench swipe . The battery was armed with:

  • 4 × 9 cm field cannons M 75
  • 7 × 15 cm field cannons M 61
  • 23 × rifle mounts

In peacetime the battery was not constantly occupied with troops. When the Trento Fortress was alerted, the following crew was planned:

  • Case I (state of war with Italy) 4 officers , 77 NCOs and men
  • Case R (state of war with Russia) 1 officer, 38 NCOs and men

in the battery.
The facility is privately owned, but can be entered. The state of preservation is relatively good (only minor damage).

  • Upper battery - Traditor in the front ditch in front of the wall

  • Upper battery - general view

  • Upper battery - entrance area. Weft direction down the Adige

  • Upper battery - throat capon

  • Upper battery - on the far right gun stand, facing the throat

Lower battery

The lower battery was built together with the upper battery, but was considerably smaller. Here, too, the guns were free-standing on gun placements and fired over the top of the wall. The battery consisted of earth walls and was not designed to accommodate troops. She was armed with:

  • 4 × 9 cm field cannons M 75
  • 20 × rifle mounts

When the Trento Fortress was alerted, the following crew was planned:

  • Case I (state of war with Italy) 2 officers, 73 NCOs and men
  • Case R (state of war with Russia) 1 officers, 15 NCOs and men

Today the battery has expired and is almost impossible to find.

Main work

The main plant is 416 meters above sea level, was built under the direction of Feldmarschalleutnant Vogl (so-called construction period Vogl) and has the characteristics of a real fort, but had no bomb-proof earth covering on the roof. It has the approximate shape of a rectangle and was armed with:

One of the 12cm M96 minimal chart cannons from the Mattarello factory in field position
8 cm armored turret dome from the Przemyśl fortress - identical in construction used in Mattarello's main factory
  • 4 × 12 cm M 96 minimal charter cannons in armored casemates
  • 2 × 15 cm M 80 tank mortars in rotating domes
  • 2 × 8 cm M 94 P tank cannons under rotating armored domes (identical in construction to the Przemyśl fortress)
  • 7 × 8 mm M 93 machine guns
  • 11 × rifle mounts

When the Trento Fortress was alerted, the following crew was planned:

  • Case I (state of war with Italy) 6 officers, 169 NCOs and men
  • Case R (state of war with Russia) 6 officers, 153 NCOs and men

It was set up to accommodate troops and served as a peace powder magazine. After the end of the First World War , it was taken over by the Italian army, which it used as a warehouse until the 1970s, when it became private property. It is completely preserved and still has the original sheet metal covering on the roof.

literature

  • Gian Maria Tabarelli: I forti austriaci nel Trentino e in Alto Adige. TEMI Editrice, Trento 1990.
  • Volker Jeschkeit: The Trento fortress. Trento 2008.
  • Erwin Anton Grestenberger: Imperial and Royal fortifications in Tyrol and Carinthia 1860–1918. Verlag Österreich ua, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-8132-0747-1 .
  • Wilhelm Nussstein: Dolomites. Austrian fortresses in Northern Italy. From the seven municipalities to the Flitscher Klause. Mittler, Hamburg a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0496-0 , ( Military History Travel Guide ).

Web links

Commons : Werk Mattarello  - collection of images, videos and audio files