A = Tunnel adit, B = Ladder to tunnel adit, C = Castelletto Tunnel, D = Austrian Embra-sures, E
= Tofana di Rozes, F = Castelletto, G = Ridge destroyed by Italian Mine.
The First World War Military Tunnels of the Italian-Austrian Front
S. Pedemonte
Military history enthusiast
E.M. Pizzarotti
Pro Iter, Milan, Italy
ABSTRACT: During World Wa
I, particularly in the years 1915-1917, all along the Austrian-
Italian Front spreading from eastern Lombardy to the Gulf of Trieste, many intense tunnel works
were on going for diverse military purposes. Some of these underground activities, many of which
are nowadays well preserved and can be visited thanks to the constant effort in conservation and
restoration by the local Authorities, are impressive if one thinks of the difficult environmental
conditions in which they were built and the technical challenges of the operations. A remarkable
literature exists on this subject from the historical and biographical point of view. This paper,
instead, focuses on technical and technological aspects, on material resources, manpower, design
and construction means and methods used to build tunnels that today seem extraordinary in
relation to the period in which they were completed and to the difficulties encountered during the
execution.
