Most people know the German Westwall and the French Maginot Line. But few know that the Italians have built one of the most heavy defence lines in the world. This line, called the Vallo Alpino, was constructed between 1931 and 1943. The Westwall and the Maginot Line are the most famous lines of defence build in the thirties when Germany and France prepared themselves for the coming war. However also other European countries rightly foresaw a new war. Nations, like Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Yugoslavia started to reinforce there defences. Italy had constructed its first new casemates already in 1925, but the majority of the new defences were constructed in the thirties. Its new line of defence, called the Vallo Alpino or Alpine Wall, would eventually be one of the heaviest lines of defence in Europe. When the construction of the Vallo Alpino ceased in the beginning of 1943 a total of 1.475 positions, each with one or more casemates, had been constructed. Another 450 were still under construction. Several points were defended by no less than six lines of defence. The idea was that the enemy troops would be exhausted by the lasting fighting over every defence line so the Italian army could prepare and launch its counter-offensive driving the enemy back over the border.

After WWII the Vallo Alpino near the Austrian border was modernised and incorporated in the new NATO defences against the East block. Since the casemates near the Yugoslavian border had been annexed by Yugoslavia an entire new line of defence was constructed. The new Vallo Alpino against Yugoslavian border incorporated turrets from old American M4 Sherman and M26 Pershing tanks, German MG-Panzerneste and even old turrets from the old Vallo Alpino.