Military cableways in the First World War

Troops were often in high-altitude positions during the so-called “White War”, far removed from roads, mule tracks, pathways or existing cablecars.

As well as overcoming steep, impassable slopes, the engineers who built them had to deal with rockfalls and avalanches and sometimes work under enemy fire.

Beyond this transport was initially by pack animal or by porter, but both beasts and humans required large supplies of food themselves, and could not continue to work in the depths of winter.

Here the importance of infrastructure such as cableways was first appreciated, and the government began to make preparations for the transport of goods and even soldiers by this means in future conflicts.

[5] When Italy declared war in May 1915, "Cableway formations" (Seilbahn-formationen) were hastily put together with men from companies with relevant technical expertise and other soldiers.

The two biggest spans were from Bohini up to Mt Peski (next to Mount Krn/Monte Nero) and from Kranjska Gora across the Vrsic pass to Trenta.

The technology came from established German firms, including Adolf Bleichert & Co. and de:Gesellschaft für Förderanlagen Ernst Heckel.

A single cableway could operate for 20 hours a day with a few hundred men and reliably deliver 6 thousand quintals of supplies.

Over the three years of the conflict, the Italian Army built 2,170 cableway installations with a total length of 2,300 kilometers, transporting 3,800 tons of material per hour.

[4][11] Three companies supplied most of the machinery for the Italian cableways: Ceretti & Tanfani of Leini, Badoni, Bellani and Benazzoli of Lecco and Luigi Spadaccini of Milan.