GIS analysis of the trafficability determined by slope in the eastern Tyrol front (WWI, Eastern Alps): a military history reading

ABSTRACT

In the autumn of 1914, Austria-Hungary began to prepare for the possibility of an Italian offensive by building field fortifications, which formed the Tyrol Defense Line (TDL). Mountainous areas, such as the area of the TDL, present obstacles to trafficability in large part caused by terrain slope. On the eastern Tyrol front, steep slope obstructed trafficability when the Italians attacked the TDL and represented, in turn, an advantage for the Austro-Hungarian defense. This paper focuses on the assessment of the conditions of trafficability determined by slope in the eastern Tyrol front, using a GIS cost distance analysis. Key sources were the maps of Austrian and Italian official histories, parameters derived mainly from Marinelli’s slope classification, and from the interpretation of the particular historical circumstances. The advantages and disadvantages were considered from the perspective of the defensive and offensive and their significance for the history of this conflict. In particular, these were related to the perimeter to be defended by alternative Austro-Hungarian lines.

KEYWORDS:

• WWI
• Dolomites
• military geography
• cost distance analysis
• trafficability
• slope

Acknowledgments

The main part of this research was developed at the Geography Centre of the University of Padua. The authors want to acknowledge Annamaria Trama of the library of the Istituto italiano per gli studi storici for the bibliographic and cartographic material provided; Dr. Nicola Fontana of the Museo storico italiano della guerra, Dr. Paolo Plini of the National Research Council of Italy, and Professor Paolo Pozzato for the bibliographic material provided and expertise shared; Giada Peterle, Manuelisa Reggibile, and Sven Rank for helping with translations from German; and Scribendi, Margarita Petit, and Marsha Libina for editing of the English. Last, we wish to extend special thanks to the editor, Professor Nicholas Chrisman, and to the reviewers, whose corrections and advice led to a significant improvement of this paper, and to Professor Brigadier General Michael B. Barret and to Professor Michael E. Hodgson, who provided their extensive expertise and generous support throughout this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. In his book, Pichler (1924) uses the terms “line of defense” and “line of resistance” as equivalent.

2. We consider that Clausewitz used the German term “Hindernis des Zuganges” (literally, “obstruction of access”) to express the same concept as the current concept of “trafficability.” Graham, translating in 1873, used other words to translate the term “Hindernis des Zuganges.” However, in this paper, we prefer to use the term “trafficability.”

3. Clausewitz used “Gegen und Boden” (“country and ground”) to cover what he saw as two scales of the word “terrain.”

Additional information

Funding

The main part of this research was made possible by the generous funds received by the Fondazione per l’Università e l’Alta Cultura in Provincia di Belluno and by the funds EX 60% Bondesan (60A05 - 4084/14 and 8555/13: Geomorphology and geomorphological mapping of alpine environments, alluvial plains, and deserts in the Mediterranean Basin). Part of this research was also conducted at the Göttingen Centre for Digital Humanities, thanks to the funds of the CENDARI Project and of the Aldo Gini Foundation.