Monte Cimone di Tonezza is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

of the

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It has an elevation of . During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, Monte Cimone di Tonezza was the site of

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

and

mine warfare Mine warfare refers to the use of different types of explosive devices: *Land mine, a weight-triggered explosive device intended to maim or kill people or to disable or destroy vehicles *Minelaying, deployment of explosive mines at sea **Naval mine ...

: In order to protect their soldiers from enemy fire and the hostile alpine environment, both Austro-Hungarian and Italian military engineers constructed fighting tunnels which offered a degree of cover and allowed better logistics support. In addition to building underground shelters and covered supply routes for their soldiers, both sides also attempted to break the stalemate of

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artille ...

by tunneling under

no man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

and laying large quantities of explosives beneath the enemy's positions. On 17 September 1916, Italian troops fired a mine on Monte Cimone di Tonezza in an unsuccessful attempt to halt a mining attack by Austro-Hungarian soldiers, but on 23 September 1916 the Austro-Hungarians still fired that mine. The resulting explosion created a crater wide and deep on the Monte Cimone summit. The Italians lost 1137 men in the detonation and ensuing battle, of which 500 were taken prisoner.Robert Striffler, ''Die 34 Minensprengungen an der Tiroler Gebirgsfront 1916-1918'' (1993)
online
access date 2016-08-03

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cimone di Tonezza Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Veneto