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Monday 23 December updated on 12-23-2024 at 8:06
Monday 23 December updated on 12-23-2024 at 8:06
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The prices and visiting days are available on My week at Les Arcs or at the Tourist Offices.
The Quartier des Alpins in Bourg-Saint-Maurice hosted the Diables Bleus of the 7th Battalion of Alpine Hunters (BCA) until 2012. This memorial site offers an opportunity to discover the Haute Tarentaise valley and the defensive structures built to protect and control communication routes to Italy. It provides a chance to explore the local military history, including its organization, the construction of fortifications, the battles, and the men who gave their lives for our freedom and peace.
«I was born in 1913 in Pontarlier. In 1934, I joined the Saint-Cyr military school where my comrades nicknamed me “John Bull”. In 1938, I discovered the mountains during my posting to the 70th Alpine Fortress Battalion (BAF) at Bourg Saint Maurice. At the beginning of 1939 I took command of the Ski Scout Section of the 80th BAF stationed at Beaufort. In 1943 the French army was dissolved and I joined the Resistance in the Albertville region. Under the different pseudonyms of “Mr Jean, Dubois, Devèze or Baffert”, my mission was to travel the region to assemble and unite the resistance.»
Jean Bulle (1913-1944)
During the liberation of Savoy, Jean-Marie Bulle was murdered by the Nazis on August 21st, 1944 whilst negotiating the surrender of the German garrison at Albertville. Shortly afterwards his name was given to a battalion combining the Beaufortain and Tarentaise companies.
Crossroads between the valleys of Beaufortain and Tarentaise, the Vallée des Glaciers gives access to Italy by the Col de la Seigne. In 1888, the creation of the Alpine Troops was followed by a strengthening of the military presence in anticipation of a possible Italian invasion. The barracks at Seloge and les Chapieux were the first to be built (1890-1894).
Italy declares war on France on June 10, 1940. The first battles (June 14 to 17) take place at the Col de la Seigne between the Alpini and the French soldiers of the 80th Fortress Alpine Battalion (BAF) and some elements of the 7th BCA. The position quickly becomes untenable for the French troops, who are ordered to retreat to the ridge lines and outposts to block the enemy in the upper Vallée des Glaciers. On June 22, the Alpini face troops commanded by Lieutenant Bulle (at Col d’Enclave) and Second Lieutenants De Castex (on the Bellegarde Ridge) and Guidot (on the Ouillon Ridge). The Italians outnumber the French, but the French troops have far better knowledge of the terrain. These battles occur under terrible weather conditions, marked by snowstorms, strong winds, and temperatures as low as -15°C. The armistice of June 24 ends the fighting. French losses (6 killed) are significantly lower than Italian losses.
Faced with the German advance and their entry into Bourg Saint Maurice, the Tarentaise Resistance set up their command post in the hamlet of Les Chapieux, from where actions against German troops were coordinated. To secure the southern part of the valley, Lieutenant Émile Paganon’s unit set up a blockade on the road connecting Les Chapieux to Bourg Saint Maurice. On the night of August 21 to 22, 1944, the Germans attacked along the ridges, advancing through the Combe de la Neuva. Part of Paganon’s unit rushed to assist the command post, but the resistance fighters were quickly overwhelmed. With reinforcements from the Lac company, arriving from Beaufortain, the French managed to overpower the German troops, who retreated while burning buildings in Les Chapieux. The exhausted resistance fighters halted their pursuit: 10 men fell in combat. The battle of Les Chapieux remains a striking example of resistance activity in Tarentaise.
This shelter is named after its designer: Louis Adrian (1859-1933). Assembled from metal sheets carried on the backs of mules, its two ends were built of masonry. It accommodated a dozen men. The interior was equipped with bunks and a stove.
