Les vestiges d’une frontière oubliée : Le Vallo Alpino dans les Alpes françaises

Abstract

Between 1931 and 1942, on its northern border in the Alps, Italy built a defensive line called the Vallo Alpino del Littorio. This ‘Alpine Wall’ consisted of a double row of underground bunkers armed with machine guns and light artillery, all forming a ‘resistance position’. Behind it was a ‘deployment zone’, comprising heavy artillery batteries, ammunitions and equipment depots and barracks. While it looked very impressive, these fortifications in fact suffered from significant weaknesses. Benito Mussolini’s fascist government simply did not have the means to implement its ambitious military policy. Although it was reputed to be invincible, the Fort du Chaberton was incapacitated by French artillery in June 1940, a striking example of the failure of Italy’s strategy regarding its border defense system during this period. In fact, the Vallo Alpino was poorly equipped and the technological advances in the field of armament made it obsolete. In 1947, Italy was obliged to give France 700 square kilometers of its border territory. This explains why many of the bunkers which originally belonged to the western part of the Italian Alpine Wall are now located on French soil. This remarkable heritage is of considerable interest, not only on account of its dramatic appearance in the landscape, but also because of its importance for the history of World War II. Unfortunately, it remains largely unknown today and, as yet, enjoys no statutory protection.

Keywords

• twentieth-century architecture
• military architecture
• artillery
• battery
• Benito Mussolini
• concrete