Merriam Press Military Monograph Series Third Edition April 2012
This is the story of the Rupnik Line, the Vallo Alpino and other fortifications of the Ljubljana Gap in the former Yugoslavia before, during and after World War II. They are covered in detail by a Slovenian author who has visited, researched and recorded the existing remains.
This book deals mainly with two fortification systems controlling the passage through the so-called Ljubljana Gap. These are the eastern part of the Vallo Alpino, built by Fascist Italy, and the Rupnik Line, built by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the first half of the twentieth century. While Vallo Alpino, thanks to its other parts, especially those along the border with France, was to some degree known, hardly anybody had ever heard about the Rupnik Line. Even within the borders of the former Yugoslavia these fortifications were either unheard of or forgotten.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Ljubljana Gap: The Geography
Chapter 3: The History of Military Developments and Fortifying of the Area
Chapter 4: The Eastern Part of 'Vallo Alpino' The Unknown Eastern Part
Chapter 5: The Rupnik Line
Chapter 6: The War
Chapter 7: The Ring of Wire
Chapter 8: Europe's Soft Underbelly or the Ljubljana Gap Strategy
Chapter 9: Discovering the Rupnik Line
Chapter 10: Epilogue
Sources
Appendix: Plans of Individual Forts of the Eastern Part of Vallo Alpino
167 maps, plans, sketches, and wartime as well as present day photos of the remains of the bunkers, turrets and other fortifications of the area
