Blocking point Etzel

The Etze blocking point was a Swiss Army border fortification. It is located at the Reduit entrance in the Etzel area in the canton of Schwyz. The reduit line was built from 1941, belonged to the operational area of the 7th Division and from 1947 to the Reduitbrigade 24.

The approximately 600 combat structures built in Canton Schwyz between 1939 and 1945 were integrated into barriers and bases and equipped with different types of weapons depending on the order. The 6th and 7th divisions planned different types of bunkers for the same function, which were mostly built by builders from the area.

These installations were intended to prevent the deployment of the 6th and 7th Divisions as part of the Réduit national from a thrust through the pre-Alpine part of Canton Schwyz into the Schwyz basin and from there further in the direction of the Gotthard.

In January 1941, the 7th Division received the following order from the 4th Army Corps: block access to the Wäggithal and cover the upper Sihltal valley and the Einsiedeln area with a heavy emphasis on the Etzel base. Barrier line on the Linth Canal and protection on the upper Lake Zurich. The existing bases are to be used. Further bases are to be set up as support for the mobile defense on the heights between the upper Lake Zurich and the upper Sihltal.

The "Kampfgruppe Etzel" (33rd Infantry Regiment) received the following order from Division Commander Hans Frick: deny the enemy access to the Sihlsee area in the Etzel-Bühl section; For this purpose holds the line north drop of the Etzel crossing and the High Etzel creek cut from Bühl by a closed and deeply structured defensive front. The Etzel crossing itself and the crest of the High Etzel are to be maintained as closed bases by reserves. The Feuerschwand and Raten roadblocks formed the section of the Reduit border between the Unterägeri roadblock and the Schindellegi roadblock. The Etzel blocking point formed the section of the Reduit border between the Schindellegi blocking point and the "Oberegg combat group" and the Wägital blocking point ("Pfiffegg combat group").

The fortifications consist of road barricades, terrain tank obstacles in the form of tank ditches and tank walls, anti-tank bunkers, machine gun bunkers, shelters, artillery command post caverns, artillery bunkers and permanent artillery gun beds for 7.5 cm and 15 cm field guns. They continued to be operated in the post-war years and were equipped with newer types of weapons.

Text/Source: Wikipedia

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperrstelle_Etzel

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Puffin

February 22, 2025

bunkers and numerous massive tank traps

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Location: Feusisberg, Höfe, Schwyz, Zentralschweiz, Switzerland

Anti-tank bunker Ragenau A7113

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