The Trais Linguas Path

The Austrian troop camp on the Dreisprachenspitze and near the positions along the Italian border had a dual significance. On the one hand, it served as a retreat for soldiers who had to occupy the front line along the border ridge described above (see illustration above). On the other hand, the location also offered the opportunity to access the site safely by cable car and to ensure logistical services. Accordingly, the Breitkamm site not only contains the remains of accommodation huts and at least one kitchen, but also those of an ammunition depot, a medical aid station and the remains of the foundations of a cable car station.

Small border traffic

The immediate proximity to the Swiss border troops naturally led to frequent exchanges of ideas. There was also a lively exchange of food and war artefacts. Swiss chocolate was traded for Austrian ‘souvenirs’ such as dud bombs and tobacco pipes. The latter were even manufactured especially for the Swiss soldiers.

The boundary stones on the Dreisprachenspitze also became a meeting place for generals. Various photographs document such meetings.

LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE

Cable cars: the lifeline of supply

Supplying the mountain soldiers was a matter of utmost importance to everyone involved. ‘No food, no fight!’ This old soldier’s saying applied both at the front and across borders. In addition to food, wood was also on the daily list of requirements to fuel the sparse cooking and heating facilities in the high altitudes. Construction timber was also needed to erect new fortifications or maintain existing ones, and ammunition was always on the requisition list for their defence.

Providing all these goods in the valley was challenging enough. In the final years of the war, there was a shortage of everything. The daily supply of the front lines presented logisticians with additional, far more difficult tasks.

The availability of transport cableways was essential for supplying the high ground positions.

Both Italians and Austrians built large numbers of such railways along the entire front. Technical knowledge for constructing such facilities was virtually non-existent at the start of the war. Only Bavaria had so-called branch lines to supply remote farms, and so it was the German Alpine Corps that provided the Austrian army with the necessary expertise. It can be assumed that Italy, as a former ‘ally in the Triple Alliance’, also benefited from this knowledge.
Switzerland completely refrained from using transport cableways. Military cableway construction in the Swiss Confederation did not begin until after the First World War.

SUPPLYING THE FRONT

Franzenshöhe was the hub of supply along the Ortler front. Before the four branch lines could transport goods from this location to the positions, the necessary materials had to be brought there. It is therefore worth taking a look at the preceding links in a delicate transport chain.

Goods from the Reich territory were transported by rail via the Brenner line (opened in 1867) or the Puster Valley (opened in 1871) to Bolzano and on to Merano, which had been connected to the Brenner line via a standard-gauge connection since 1881. In Merano, the goods were transferred to narrow-gauge railway vehicles through the Vinschgau Valley, which was opened in 1906.

After another 50 kilometres, the Vinschgerbahn reached the small station of Spondinig, an inconspicuous hamlet on the eastern edge of the municipality of Schluderns. Here, the railway wagons were unloaded and the goods temporarily stored.

THE STAGE

Spondinig was operated in a broader sense as a staging area, a logistical supply facility. This is where the rear services such as military hospitals, supply trains, administrative and maintenance units were located. The members of the supply train were then responsible for transporting the goods to the supply points near the front. Trucks were used for this purpose, but carts were also used in particular. Finally, pack horses and even dogs were used for transport.

MEDICAL SERVICES

The care and specific treatment of sick and wounded soldiers was also the responsibility of the rear echelon. However, the rescue and transport of the affected persons to appropriate facilities was the task of the frontline troops. For this purpose, the units had a medical patrol with four ‘wound bearers’.

The command assumed that approximately 10% of each unit would be wounded during and after combat. Of these, 25% were expected to be killed, 25% seriously wounded and 50% suffer injuries resulting in minor wounds. With an average unit strength of 140 men, 14 soldiers were expected to be seriously injured and rescued via the so-called ‘patient route’.

Initial treatment was provided at the scene by comrades. For this purpose, each soldier had a ‘first aid kit’ containing items for disinfecting and dressing gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

They were then transported by stretcher bearers to the first facility supervised by a doctor, known as the ‘aid station’. One such station was also operated at the Dreisprachenspitze, where initial triage was carried out to separate the seriously wounded from the lightly wounded. The latter were transferred to a ‘lightly wounded station’. Depending on their recovery, the patients were either returned directly to the troops or, after a stay in the ‘field hospital’, a decision was made on their further use.
The seriously wounded were admitted to the ‘dressing station’, where measures comparable to those taken in today’s emergency rooms and intensive care units in hospitals were taken. Surgical procedures, including amputations, were on the list of tasks for a large number of doctors and nurses. The locations of these dressing stations in Defence District I cannot be conclusively proven. It is possible that one was set up in Prad.
If the patient survived the operation, they were taken to a ‘field hospital’ which was operated for the Ortler section in Spondinig. It is conceivable that the ‘dressing station’ was also located here. Sad evidence for this assumption is provided by the immediate vicinity of the ‘war cemetery’, which was always built near dressing stations or field hospitals.

Literature: There are numerous publications on medical services in the First World War. Recommended reading: Lüchinger Stephan / Brunner Theodor ‘Verwundetentransport im Ersten Weltkrieg’ (Transport of the wounded in the First World War), GMS annual publication 2004.

The ‘Lempruch camp’

About one kilometre northeast of the summit of the Dreisprachenspitze, we come across the remaining foundation walls of an impressive accommodation complex. The outlines of barracks, kitchen facilities and the concrete anchoring of a cable car station can be seen, which was used to supply this location from the Franzenshöhe. These facilities were named after the second commander of Defence District I, Colonel Moritz Erwin Freiherr von Lempruch, and were recorded as the ‘Lempruchlager’ in field files and later historiography.

In Lempruch’s camp – which included the other facilities along the ridge – there was almost everything a soldier, and especially an officer, could wish for. There was a bathhouse, sources also mention a ‘casino with the possibility of projecting moving images’, in front of the accommodation huts there were ‘herb gardens’, physical and health needs were taken care of, and the first anti-aircraft guns ensured protection against attacks from the air. The local power supply provided electric light, and telephone lines enabled communication with the front lines and facilities in the valley.
Troops returning from the front lines were to be able to recover here, and the ‘Lempruch camp’ offered almost all the amenities they could expect. These included a chapel, the floor plan of which we can no longer find today, but whose existence is documented in photographs and artistic illustrations.

Accordingly, he attended the three classes of the engineering department at the Imperial Military Technical Academy at Stiftgasse 2 in Vienna as a ‘pupil’ until 1890, graduating with average results.

His certificate attests to his ‘fairly quick comprehension, cheerful, respectful and characterful disposition, and courteous, very decent behaviour.’

At the age of 19, the newly qualified lieutenant of the Railway and Telegraph Regiment began his professional career in the Imperial and Royal Army. In addition to his duties in the regiment, he attended several further training courses, mainly in the field of engineering. In 1899, a report from the military academy records his training in the following subjects: tactics, strategy, fortifications, artillery, military geography, construction engineering, electrical engineering and French.

He was then assigned to the staff of the Engineering Directorate in Trento, where he was deployed to construct various defensive positions in the Fiemme Valley (Val di Fiemme) and at the Passo di Rolle.

In 1900, Lempruch was appointed captain and in 1908 recommended for promotion to major in the engineering staff. Two years later, he received the corresponding promotion. In addition to Vienna, sources mention Korneuburg, Trento, Theresienstadt, Krakow and other locations as places of service.

From 1910 to 1913, he taught engineering subjects at the Military Academy.

At the beginning of the war, he was involved in barrier installations in Tyrol and served as a lieutenant colonel in the Engineering Directorate in Brixen. From December to March 1915, he assisted in the construction of fortifications in Galicia, where he was deemed to have been ‘in enemy fire’.

After Italy declared war, he returned to Brixen, where he temporarily fell ill with dysentery and was promoted to colonel on 1 September 1915. In this capacity, he commanded the combat group on the Folgaria plateau from October 1915 and, in March 1916, following the sudden death of Colonel Abendorf, was appointed his successor as commander of the defence sector on the Ortler.

Lempruch had been married to Maria-Viktoria Countess Sizzo-Noris since 1905. Two children, a daughter Maria-Alix (1906) and a son Karl Heinrich (1907), were born from this union. Another son (1917) was born from an extramarital relationship with his housekeeper in Prad.

After the war, the von Lempruch family settled in Innsbruck, where the retired colonel wrote down his memories of the front, which were published in 1925 in the richly illustrated work ‘Der König der Deutschen Alpen und seine Helden – Ortlerkämpfe 1915/1918’ (The King of the German Alps and his Heroes – Battles on the Ortler 1915/1918). In the meantime, he was promoted to Major General in the reserve, probably in recognition of his achievements and to increase his pension contributions. No other reasons can be substantiated.

The pensioner, who had been widowed since 1930, spent his twilight years in Wiedendorf (now Strass im Waldviertel) in Lower Austria. He died on 19 February 1946 at the age of 75 and was buried in Elsarn.

Literature: In his account of the events of the World War, Lempruch provides little information about himself. His work has been republished in an expanded form. Recommendation: Heinz König: ‘Gedenke, O Wanderer…’ (Remember, O Wanderer…): biographical mosaic about Moritz Erwin Freiherr von Lempruch, retired Major General. Autonomous Region of Trentino-South Tyrol, no place, 2012 and Helmut Golowitsch (ed.): Ortlerkämpfe 1915–1918. Der König der Deutschen Alpen und seine Helden von Generalmajor Freiherrn von Lempruch (The Ortler Battles 1915–1918. The King of the German Alps and his heroes by Major General Freiherr von Lempruch), supplemented by historical contributions, Buchdienst Südtirol, Nuremberg, 2005.

The ‘Goldsee’

Two kilometres to the northeast, almost at the same height as the Dreisprachenspitze, are the remains of the former artillery position ‘Goldsee’.

The choice of this location for artillery guns and the materials used for the expansion raise questions. The remaining building ruins indicate solid construction. In contrast to the facilities along the ridge, concrete was used and the entire complex does not give the impression of a temporary installation. If we consider the original defence concept of the Austro-Hungarian Army to repel an Italian attack via the Stelvio Pass, much becomes clear. What can be found here was built around 1912 and formed the left flank protection of the Gomagoi fortress. Further information can be found on the page ‘Kleinboden’.

The guns stationed here were mainly effective in the first days of the war. Cannons and howitzers successfully supported the daring operation to occupy Monte Scorluzzo in the days leading up to it.

A monument with a special history

A few metres from the Dreisprachenspitze, just before boundary stone no. 3, we find three special commemorative plaques on Swiss soil. The inscription on the marble slabs commemorates the ‘heroic struggle’ of Austro-Hungarian soldiers along the Ortler front with the following words:

With the exception of the language, which seems somewhat archaic to us today, there appears to be nothing unusual here – but why is this monument located in Switzerland?

The memorial plaques are no longer in their original location. Their arrangement also differs from the original layout. The exact date of their erection is unknown, but the inscription mentions the last year of the war (1918) as the year of construction. However, the diaries contain no references to the reason for the memorial or the form of its inauguration. It can be assumed, however, that this took place in a dignified manner as part of a field mass.

The story behind the story

In the course of the far-reaching measures to Italianise South Tyrol, the monument fell victim to an act of vandalism. Whether this was an officially ordered action or a spontaneous act by fascist supporters cannot be determined. After South Tyrol was ceded to Italy (1919), the government eliminated everything recognisable that reminded people of the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Double-headed eagles were removed from official buildings, inscriptions were painted over… but this is a story after the story and would inevitably go beyond the scope of further explanations.

We know that in July 1953, a group of history students from the University of Zurich on a study trip led by the legendary Prof. Marcel Beck were informed by a Swiss border guard about the whereabouts of the marble fragments. These were found not far from their former location on the slope leading to the Stilfserjoch road and were recovered by the group in a ‘cloak-and-dagger operation’. Swiss border guards from the Umbrail post were then tasked with assembling the fragments into a temporary monument. The location of this memorial, which stood for the next 20 years, is unknown and, unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence of it.

Marcel Beck visited the Dreisprachenspitze once again in 1972 and decided to take measures that would contribute to the ‘complete rescue of the monument’.

The restoration of the marble slabs, consisting of 14 fragments and some missing parts of the inscription, was carried out in the marble workshop in Laas, where the originals had been made in 1918. The original head section of the diptych with the inscription 1915-1916 F.J.I. (for Emperor Franz Josef I) and 1917-1919 K. (for Emperor Karl) remained missing and was not reconstructed. The project was once again financed by donations, this time mainly from the members of the Officers‘ Association of the Canton of Graubünden and the Lions Club Val Müstair.

In 1976, the panels were to be erected on the Breitkamm at their current location. Emperor Karl’s son, Otto von Habsburg (1912–2011), and his mother, Empress Zita (1898–1989), who was living in Zizers at the time, were not present at the inauguration of the memorial, but letters of thanks for their moral support demonstrate the gratitude of the House of Habsburg for this initiative.

The ‘Schweizergraben’

Don’t leave the Dreisprachenspitze without taking a look at another special feature. At the foot of the terrace of today’s Ristorante Garibaldi, a few metres to the north-east, you can see the course of a trench that was of special significance. There are various names for it. Sources refer to it as the ‘Schweizergraben’ (Swiss trench), the ‘Lebensversicherung’ (life insurance) and also the ‘Paradegraben’ (parade trench) as common place names.

This Austrian defensive position ran along the border with Switzerland, which was already Italian territory at the time. Exactly means here: two metres from the border.

This trench caused the Italians some concern, as it was almost impossible to fight the enemy from this position. Any shots fired inevitably resulted in projectiles or ricochets landing on Swiss soil, which was tantamount to a violation of the neutrality of the Swiss Confederation, recognised by both sides.

The Italians therefore intervened against the use of this Austrian facility as a trench against the commander of the Swiss troops. If the enemy continued to fire from the ‘Swiss trench’, Italy would respond with artillery fire, even if this meant violating the border.
The Swiss officers responded pragmatically: ‘Then we will withdraw from the trilingual peak and only guard the border at the Umbrail Pass.’ This could not be in Austria’s interest, as neutral Switzerland guaranteed the protection of its accommodation facilities on the Breitkamm.
Through Swiss mediation, a unique compromise was reached: observation from the ‘Schweizergraben’ was permitted, but firing from it was not. The original combat trench was now an observation post and soon became a ‘parade trench’. The agreements reached suggested that this position was unlikely to come under fire. Anyone who entered the trench was therefore ‘on the safe side,’ and so the generals mainly used this location during their visits to the front to inspect the troops ‘under cannon fire.’ The alternative name for the trench, ‘life insurance,’ is therefore understandable.

The ‘military track’

Although the name is not particularly appealing, this is what the Swiss supply route to the Dreisprachenspitze peak from the Umbrail Pass is known as locally. Ideally, convoys of pack animals would set off from the middle of the Umbrail Pass to supply the officers‘ post on the Dreisprachenspitze peak with goods, but transport often involved a great deal of effort and was carried out on foot.

Sixteen hairpin bends overcome an altitude difference of almost 400 metres along a path that was built by the 6/3 Sapper Company in the second year of the war. Along the way, we come across two Swiss non-commissioned officers‘ posts – the “Frohburg” near boundary stone no. 3 and the “Splitterheim” near stone 6A.

The retaining walls and rain deflectors of the ‘military track’ are currently in a deplorable state. Even though a project to renovate the hiking trail is underway, care is still needed. We would particularly ask the many mountain bikers who often use this trail, unaware of its historical significance, to be considerate.