User:Acroterion/Savatan

The Fort de Savatan is the a component of Fortress Saint-Maurice, which is in turn one of the three principal fortified regions of the National Redoubt of Switzerland. The Fort de Savatan was built on a shelf in the mountains lining the right bank of the Rhône overlooking Saint-Maurice, beginning in 1892. With the Fort de Dailly, it comprises a fortress complex high above the strategic Saint-Maurice valley, capable of commanding the valley from Chillon to Martigny. It is a central component of Fortress Saint-Maurice. Construction began in 1892 and the fort became operational in 1894.

Fortress complex
The Fort de Savatan part of a fortress complex extending the length of the Saint-Maurice valley, with coordinated fields of artillery fire and interlocking defenses. While most of these positions are detached from one another and are self-sufficient installations, Savatan and its neighbor Dailly are connected. The Fort de Savatan adjoins Dailly at a lower level, facing to the north,and is connected by an inclined funicular in the mountain. The forts at Dailly and Savatan were completed in 1894 and became the central elements of Fortress Saint-Maurice. They were progressively expanded and upgraded through the twentieth century.

The Fort de Dailly and surrounding installations were manned through their modern history by Fortress Brigade 10. Dailly and Savatan comprised Fortress Group 2, under Fortress Regiment 19 of Fortress Brigade 10.

Description
The Fort de Savatan is located on a small plateau overlooking Saint-Maurice, overshadowed and protected to the south by the Massif de Dailly. Work began at Savatan in 1892. The first armament consisted of four 120mm howitzers in concrete emplacements. The fort was provided with barracks and support facilities and was surrounded by a ditch covered by 84mm guns in caponiers.

Flanking coverage from across the valley was provided by the Fort du Scex.

The construction of Dailly and other fortifications at Saint-Maurice raised concerns in France at the turn of the twentieth century. The Saint-Maurice defenses were first reconnoitered in December 1896 by a French Colonel Raymond, followed by Lieutenant Vignon in July, 1898.. French citizens working on the fortification projects were interviewed by the French gendarmerie. In 1901 the French military attaché in Berne obtained pictures of Dailly from a Swiss officer.

Construction
Initial studies were carried out for a fortification at Savatan in 1890. It became clear that a position in the higher Dailly massif to the south would protect forces on the Savatan plateau and would complement a battery on the opposite side of the valley at Scex. An old weather observation station on the Dailly massif was chosen for the barracks. Initial work installed two 150mm mortars on Dailly at an altitude of about 3000 m, which remained in place until the 1920s. A single 120mm howitzer in an armored turret was installed on the summit, remaining in place through the 1940s. For local defense, two 84mm guns were placed in concreted casemates near an observation point in 1894, called the Batterie de la Galerie de Morcles.

Present status
Dailly was partially deactivated in 1995 and fully decommissioned at the end of 2003. No mention has been made of similar action with respect to Savatan, which is apparently still in commission.