The pass between the Ampezzo basin and the Val Badia was controlled by Forte Tre Sassi on the stony ground of the Valparola Pass, while the Livinallongo del Col di Lana was blocked upstream of Pieve by and . Finally, near Moena stood , guarding the Fassa Valley and the mouth of the San Pellegrino valley, a few kilometres from the front. All these forts were of modest size, much less impressive than the large fortresses on the Trentino highlands and in the Adige valley. At the beginning of the war they were partially decommissioned because they were outdated and inadequate to resist modern artillery.: Their guns were moved to more favourable positions less detectable by the enemy; the buildings were highly visible and at times the Austrians continued to pretend that they were occupied in order to divert Italian fire towards useless targets.