Chapter 5
The Carnic Alps
Photos and maps relating to Chapter 5 of Thunder in The Mountains. Some of these archive photos are rather poor quality, but I think they are worth including.
Sketches appeared in newspapers throughout the war, giving the readers a (positive patriotic) glimpse of conditions at the front.
Italian barracks, somewhere in the Carnic Alps.
Reconstructed Austrian barracks at Bombaschgraben near Pontebba.
Inside the reconstructed barracks at Bombaschgraben.
My drunk "taxi" driver’s car, into which I crammed myself, my bike, and my luggage.
View of the Lanza pass from the Austrian positions to the north of the pass.
The Scotti chapel at Rattendorfer Alm on the Austrian side of the border.
A wounded soldier being moved through one of the snow tunnels dug by the Austrian troops at Rattendorfer.
In the absence of much military activity, shovelling snow and doing chores was all most men did.
A typical Austrian cavern dug into the reverse slope of the Carnic Alps ridge line, filled with rotting wood and tar-paper.
Italian barrack, somewhere in the Carnic Alps.
The charming little town of Paularo, from whence over 200 portatrici Carniche came.
More Italian barracks in the Carnic Alps.
The delightfully named Upper But valley, with Cima Avostanis (the front lines) in the distance.
Italian infantry attacking uphill through the snow. Probably a staged photo.
Even in mid-summer, the Carnic Alps can be cold, wet, and hostile.
Pal Piccolo (Kleiner Pal), looking at the Austrian trenches from the Italian positions, with Monte Cellon and Monte Coglians behind.
Italian positions on Pal Piccolo.
More Italian positions on Pal Piccolo.
Pal Piccolo
The Austrian side of Pal Piccolo, clearly visible from Monte Cellon.
Some of the 8th FJB who died in the March 1916 attack at Pal Piccolo.
After the Italians captured Cellon, the Austrian positions became very vulnerable and had to be tucked out of sight.
The Pal Piccolo battlefield today.
An Italian memorial at the Plöckenpass (Passo Monte Croce di Carnico).
Armoured Austrian forward observation post on Pal Piccolo.
A loo with a view.
Austrian report on avalanches in the Plockenpass sector
Digging out the dead after an avalanche
Destroyed buildings at the Plöckenpass.
Youngest son Harry climbing the Via Ferrata Senza Confini on Monte Cellon.
This was how soldiers reached the front line in some places in the Carnic Alps.
Austrian sentry, Carnic Alps.
The author on Monte Cellon, with the Pal Piccolo shrouded in cloud below.
Neither side would allow any men to head up to the front lines without taking something up with them.
Rifugio Marinelli near the Plöckenpass, one of my favourite rifugi.
The Passo Volaia (Wolayer), Carnic Alps.
Trenches at Passo Volaia (Wolayer pass).
The Wolayersee hütte and WW1 memorial.
Passo Giramondo, a few miles west of Passo Volaia.
Another Italian “sentinel of nothingness”.
Val Fleons in the Carnic Alps. A strangely gloomy and oppressive place.
Searchlights in use in the Carnic Alps.
Left to right: Monte Oregone, Passo dell’Oregone, and Monte Tap de Cadene, the Peralba sector.
Monte Peralba, from Cima della Varda.
Hochweißsteinhaus refuge, with Monte Oregone behind.
Austrian machine gun team somewhere in the Carnic Alps.
University of Innsbruck archaeological excavations in the Carnic Alps.
My friend Jorian on the Karnischer Höhenweg, with the Sexten Dolomites behind and Col Quaternà on the left.
Austrian military cemetery at Hochgräntensee.
Hochgräntensee cemetery during the war
The tiny (seven burials) Austrian military cemetery at Hochgräntensee, Carnic Alps.
The extraordinary beauty of the Val Comelico, with the Sexten Dolomites in the distance.
Even in the summer, there is often still plenty of snow on the ground.
An Austrian defensive position overlooking Col Quaternà and the Sexten Dolomites.
The local fuzzy-eared cows are delightful.
Roteck and the Chinasattel, where the front lines leave the Carnic Alps and enter the Dolomites.
Ladders were everywhere on this front, often the only way to access observation posts.
Austrian crew with a Schwarzlose machine gun.
Innichen (San Candido) ossuary.
We need your consent to load this video
We use a third party service to embed video content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the video.