abstract
| - The primary function of the Gaugefechtsstand Wien was to provide strategic air raid warning and air defence coordination for Vienna (which was defended by three Flak towers) and to assist air defence in the entire south-eastern region of the Third Reich. The Drahtfunk (a power line communication system similar to the to Norwegian Linjesender) was used to broadcast air raid warnings. From the main entrance at the top of the Gallitzinberg hill, a blast-proofed staircase descended 25 meters to the main tunnel (profile, 2 x 2 meters) which ran for about 100 meters horizontally to the north, ending in a secondary entrance where a small power plant was situated. Another tunnel diverged eastward towards the 17 x 5 meter actual bunker core. On its upper level were the communications facilities, with landlines to all civil emergency services, the Führer Headquarters, the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe and even the Kriegsmarine. On the lower level were the command center, a meeting room and Schirach's personal facilities. The tunnel system had a total length of 340 meters. A tripartite security zone system controlled access to the installation. The Gaugefechtsstand Wien was evacuated, and its entrances were destroyed by explosives, on April 4, 1945 as the advancing Red Army shock troops took Hütteldorf, a suburb of Vienna situated 2.5 km southward of the command center.
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