The Ruined Fort of La Redoute

During the Revolution

From 1769 onwards, seigneurial rights were abolished in Savoy, 20 years before they were in France.

From 1792 to 1815: French revolutionary troops entered Chambéry in 1792; Savoy and Haute-Savoie then formed a single French department known as ‘le Mont-Blanc’.

However, Sardinian troops put up valiant resistance on the border passes to prevent the French from entering the Aosta Valley. Nevertheless, under the command of General Badelaune, a skilful French attack proved successful: on 24 April 1794, Fort du Traverset was captured and subsequently occupied under the banner of a ‘free fort’.

In 1797, the Treaty of Campo Formio forced the French to abandon the fort after they had rendered it uninhabitable. The Republicans, numbering around 4,000, occupied the villages of Montvalezan for four years. The inhabitants were deeply affected by the bans on religious worship and by the compulsory labour involved in supplying provisions at high altitude (blankets, wood, food for the men, straw and fodder for the mules).

Construction of the Ruined Redoubt

Savoy, which had been part of the First French Empire until 1815, was subsequently returned to Sardinian rule. In 1860, Savoy, Haute-Savoie and Nice were annexed by France and became departments. The Aosta Valley became part of the Kingdom of Italy, whose first king was Victor Emmanuel II, a member of the House of Savoy.

At the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass, the border – formerly a provincial boundary – became a national border: the threat now came from an Italian attack sweeping down from the mountains, rather than a French offensive emerging from the valley. Following France’s defeat by the Prussians in 1870 and Italy’s accession to the Triple Alliance, new defence strategies were put in place.

At the instigation of the French General Séré de Rivières, several fortified structures were built in the Haute-Tarentaise, a region bordering Italy. Terraced along the slope above Bourg-Saint-Maurice, the forts of Vulmix, Truc and La Platte were crowned by a new border fort. Built at an altitude of 2,400 metres on the Sardinian ruins of Traverset A, it was named ‘Redoute Ruinée’. Completed in 1892, it was visited in 1897 by the President of the French Republic, Félix Faure.

The First World War

In 1914, during the First World War, Italy opted for neutrality towards France. The Redoute Ruinée fort, which was out of any danger of attack, was manned by a civilian guard. The Alpine Chasseurs were then engaged in fighting against the Germans on the north-eastern front in France: the various theatres of operations there were extremely deadly. Of the 80 men from Montvalézan who were called up, 36 lost their lives, representing around 7 per cent of the population.

From 1925 onwards, at Fort de la Redoute Ruinée, a succession of new companies of Alpine Hunters were stationed: the 7th and 27th B.C.A. (Alpine Hunters’ Battalion), the 5th R.T.M. (Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleurs) and the 70th B.A.F. (Alpine Fortress Battalion). Communications relied on optical stations and the efficiency of pigeon flights to Séez.

A number of improvements were made from 1930 onwards: the wireless station, radio communications, cameras, a generator to replace the acetylene lamps, and the ‘ski chute’ for evacuating the wounded.

The Second World War

On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on France, carrying out a major mobilisation along the border between the Tarentaise and the Aosta Valley: 52,000 Italian soldiers faced 8,500 French soldiers. That evening, the local population were ordered to leave the area. The families, having left in haste with only the bare essentials, were taken in by farms in the Drôme and Haute-Loire regions.

On 21 June, an Italian air raid was launched on the valley, then targeted the strategic Alpine passes: the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass and the Traversette Pass.

At the Redoute Ruinée, 40 defenders of the site – soldiers from the 70th B.A.F. – were stationed. These valiant local mountaineers, including François Gaide, Séraphin Maître, Régis Arpin, Marcel Arpin and Marcel Blanc from Montvallez, were commanded by Second Lieutenant Desserteaux. The Le Gac position is held by Sergeant Marcel Cohendoz.

Italian occupation

At the Fort de la Redoute Ruinée, ‘the 100-hour battle’ came to an end on the evening of 24 June 1940. The French soldiers awaited the order to evacuate, surrounded by enemy troops.

On 2 July 1940, Second Lieutenant Desserteaux was ordered to abandon the position by the French authorities. He withdrew with his soldiers, saluted by the Italian troops who paid them honours. The buildings, liberated but damaged by the fighting, remained habitable. In accordance with the terms of the armistice of 25 June 1940, Italian troops moved in and occupied the territories they had captured.

The populations of Montvalezan, Sainte-Foy and Séez were then placed under Italian authority: Italian schoolteachers and priests, Italian identity cards, and the use of the lira, the Italian currency.

The families returning from exile on 2 August were horrified to find their homes vandalised. They gradually resumed their farming activities, forced to endure, for three years, the requisitions imposed by the Italian troops stationed there (3,500 men).

Bourg-Saint-Maurice was not occupied until November 1942, following the Allied landings in North Africa, which led to the deployment of Italian troops throughout Savoie.

German occupation

Following Mussolini’s removal from power and the signing of the armistice with the Allies in September 1943, Italian troops withdrew from the valley and left the fort at the Redoute Ruinée. The Germans immediately took their place, once again forcing the inhabitants to provide accommodation and supplies for the troops.

Each sector was secretly monitored by groups of resistance fighters and those refusing to serve in the Compulsory Labour Service (S.T.O.), who formed ‘the Maquis’. They liaised with the newly formed French Forces of the Interior (F.F.I.), established in 1944. These groups of men, from different backgrounds and holding different views, had to be armed and trained for combat. Their primary mission was the liberation of France following the Allied landings on 6 June 1944 on the Normandy coast and on 15 August 1944 in Provence.

The Liberation

On 1 March 1945, the Alpine Army Detachment was officially formed under the command of General Doyen, who planned offensives against strategic Alpine passes. In this sector, he prioritised an operation directed towards Le Clapey, a key stronghold in the enemy’s defences. Supported by artillery, a section of ski scouts from the 7th B.C.A., led by Émile Paganon, successfully attacked it on 23 March 1945.

On 31 March 1945, the ski scouts of the 13th B.C.A., reinforced by men from the 7th and 27th B.C.A., set out to storm the Roc Noir, another major stronghold. As artillery fire was ineffective in the snow, it was through fierce hand-to-hand combat in the snow-filled trenches that the French troops liberated the two strategic points (at altitudes of 2,342 m and 2,413 m).

On 10 April 1945, ski scouts from the 7th B.C.A. distinguished themselves heroically at Belleface, at an altitude of 2,800 m. First on skis, then on crampons, the sections led by Wolf and Paganon, assisted by the valiant locals Ulysse Bozonnet, Marcel Cohendoz and Marcel Gaidet, reached the igloos where the Alpini and Germans were entrenched, using crampons and ice axes. After the decisive assaults, they took up position and held this perilous ground until 21 April. On that day, a bloody counter-attack led by the Germans forced the surviving Frenchmen to retreat down a steep couloir in the midst of a snowstorm.

Occupation by the Alpine Chasseurs

In 1888, the first battalions of Alpine Chasseurs on foot (B.A.C.P.) were formed. A detachment from the 22nd B.A.C.P. was stationed at the Redoute Ruinée from 1892 to 1895, after which it was replaced by a detachment from the 11th B.A.C.P. until 1914. Around forty Alpine chasseurs were trained in skiing techniques at the École normale militaire in Briançon. They were stationed there for a year, also receiving training in mountaineering, combat drills and marksmanship. Topographical surveys enabled the first staff maps to be drawn up.

On foot, the soldiers took a daily route along a path marked by three rudimentary shelters intended for rest or emergency assistance (Plan du Repos, the refuges at 22 and 11), now known as the ‘soldiers’ path’. It led to a post at Les Eucherts, where supplies and mail arrived, transported by mule from Séez. These journeys proved perilous in winter: a lamp and a horn served as warning signals. On the access road to this site, at the Col des Embrasures, a monument commemorates the deadly avalanche of 1897.

Post commanders with distinguished careers

Following their service at this high-altitude post, some post commanders went on to distinguish themselves in major military operations: Louis Garbit, Raoul Bouquet, Roger L’Eleu, Louis Ferzelle, Louis Joseph Dingeon, Armand Goez, Charles Henri Lobligeois, Paul André Doyen, Julien Ance, Paul Beynet, Humbert Clair, Guy Villers, Emmanuel Dupont, Gaston Delcros de Ferran, Fernand Albouy, Gérard Thiou and Henri Desserteaux.

The future of the fort

During the latter part of the Second World War, the Germans were stationed here. Repeated artillery attacks by the French from Viclaire, Orbassy, Courbaton and Longefoy caused considerable damage to the Fort de la Redoute Ruinée and the cable car (the ruins of the arrival station are visible in the south courtyard). Only the western entrance gate, flanked by the drawbridge which remains intact, bears witness to the site’s history.

Now owned by the municipality of Montvalezan, the site is the subject of a call for proposals aimed at ensuring it is not forgotten and at giving it a new purpose.