Logística: Matemáticas y Ejército I. - Universidad de Zaragoza

The Cableways
In the mountain every soldier on
the frontline required a daily supply of
materials, provisions and ammunition
equal to his own weight, in addition
were essential support services supplied
by a further seven soldiers. A dense
network of roads were build to arrive
at the foot of the mountain from where
cableways carried the material up as
high as possible. Squads of porters
shuttled between the arrival station
of the cableway and the huts and
emplacements of the front line. On
Lagazuoi at least four Italian cableways
were constructed on the eastern slopes
(one directly to the Martini Ledge and
three to supply the Pre-Summit) and
two Austrian cableways, one on the
western side leaving the Fort Tre Sassi
and a further which climbed up from
Sare (near the Capanna Alpini inn) to
the Scotoni inn and from here reached
the saddle of Lagazuoi. The construction
of the cableways was one of the many
technical problems that had to be solved
in mountain warfare, complicated by
the continual destructive activity of
enemy artillery fire. Above all the Italian
cableways were subjected to Austro-
Hungarian artillery fire from the Sasso
di Stria and so were operated under the
cover of night fall to reduce losses of
men and materials.
The Martini Ledge
The Martini Ledge was the most
important emplacement in this sector
of the front. During the course of the
war accommodations, field kitchens,
and warehouses, a cableway station, a
forge, a telephone exchange, carpentry
shop, orderly room and medical posts
were all constructed. The original access
path, exposed to bombardments from
the Sasso di Stria was subsequently
replaced by a long tunnel leading
behind the lines, safe from enemy fire.
The defence of the ledge by the Italians
and the attempts the Austro Hungarian
forces to destroy it were the origin of
all the military activity on the Lagazuoi
front. The emplacements on the ledge
were capable of firing at the Austro-
Hungarian trenches in the Valparola
Pass, causing significant losses and
providing a precise guide for the Italian
artillery fire from the Averau and
the Cinque Torri onto those lines.
To neutralise this threat the Austro –
Hungarian committed all their available
resources. Initially attempting an attack
from their positions above the ledge
on the crest of Lagazuoi and the Pre-
Summit (at 2668). Subsequently they
dug three tunnels to mine the ledge but
all attempts failed. A further notably
long tunnel was planned to reach the
ledge from below commencing at
the foot of Lagazuoi but it was never
finished.
Winter on Lagazuoi
The war of positions drove the two
armies to construct an uninterrupted
line of barbed wire fencing and
emplacements in the Valleys and on
the mountains. This front was presided
over by look-outs day and night, in all
seasons even in the hardest winters.
The winter of 1916 had the heaviest
snowfall of the century with more than 8
metres of snow covering the mountain,
all access paths were covered along
with the huts and emplacements. The
real threat to the soldiers lives came
from the avalanches the winter high up
on the mountain was always a terrible
enemy for both armies. The cold at these
heights is truly biting. Temperatures can
drop to - 30°, with blizzards making it
impossible to remain outside exposed.
Watch duties, which continued due to
the fear of a sudden enemy attack, were
a real torture to the look out soldiers,
who stood motionless so as not to be
ARMAS Y CUERPOS 27
detected by enemy snipers positioned
only tens of metres away.
Warfare on the rockface
Fighting on the rockface called for
good technical competence, organisation
ability, agility and nerves of steel. It was
a war fought between machine guns,
positioned in embrasures secretly
carved out of the rock, and ready to fire
as soon the enemy made the slightest
movement. A war of daring squads
who climbed or were lowered down
towards the enemy positions to study
their weak points, evaluate defences,
determine artillery positions and troop
movements, in the dark and absolute
silence along long stretches exposed
to enemy fire and onto which machine
guns were previously aimed at and