Klenke - Nov 8, 2004 8:51 pm - Voted 10/10
Enemy stupidityI can just see the enemy running up that steep slope trying to take those trenches. Heck, who needs bullets. All the Austrians needed to do was toss big rocks down on them. Maybe they did (if they saw any action at all).
Gangolf Haub - Nov 9, 2004 3:50 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Enemy stupidityThey certainly saw action but the main purpose of these trenches must have been deterrence. If I'm struggling up there I don't want to be knocked on the head, so maybe I decide to stay where I am.
Look at the picture below. From where it was taken the plce was held by the Italians, the mountain in the back - Raudenspitze - was Austrian. The fort in the center was Italian again and a trench crossed the ridge in between. Old fashioned rock hurlers would have been enough to smash anything in or around the trenches. But how do you get the equipment up the mountains?
Klenke - Nov 9, 2004 12:13 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: Enemy stupidityThat's a pretty cool photo.
With regard to getting heavy equipment up a mountain slope, it was often possible to use a donkey wench. These were common for mining operations in the west. The hard part was getting the heavy wrought-iron cable up the mountain first (actually two cables or a big loop of cable, like a tramway). It would then be affixed to something above. A donkey engine would then pull itself up the mountain. Sometimes this would be done in stages if you had suitable anchors along the way. Once up the mountain, the engine would be used from above to pull more equipment up from below. This is the same kind of thing modern day trucks use when they get stuck in the woods. Attach your wench to a hefty tree and then tug yourself out of the hole.
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