Battles fought at high altitude were one of the most peculiar characteristics of the Great War. Armies, in fact, not only clashed in the plains, on hills or plateaus like the Karst, but also on the Alps, over 2000 metres ASL. Defying harsh weather conditions and the mountain terrain, Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops exchanged blows in several of such battles, including some decisive ones, such as the Strafexpedition on the Asiago plateau or the battle of Mt. Grappa in the last year of war.
Since theearly days of war, the two armies clashed all along the Alps, resulting in a number of operations that were deemed secondary from a military standpoint; yet, they should be regarded no less engaging considering the human efforts both sides put in: thousands of men, often poorly equipped, were able to build massive militaryinstallations on mountains and survive the harsh conditions of winter.
This is what happened, for example, on the Julian Alps along the former border between Italy and Austria-Hungary, on the peaks dividing the Dogna from the Canale Valley. Alpine trails, meadows and pine woods are home to several remains of the Great War indeed; most of them still surprise visitors due to their magnitude.
Visitors are fascinated by infrastructures that were built over a century ago for the transportation of goods, livestock, supplies and the transit of men, such as roads, trails, tunnels and cableways; you can travel the routes in the heart of the Dogna and Saisera Valleys, and imagine how difficult it must have been to survive in such a hostile environment.
In addition, villages and hamlets of the Julian Alps host several war cemeteries, where Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers rest, as well as museums and, especially, forts and military posts of both sides. In the Malborghetto area and around the Predil Lake (Tarvisio), you can see plenty of Austro-Hungarians remains, while the Resia Valley and the areas around Chiusaforte hold numerous Italian fortifications.
