Switzerland is a country that is now famed for its delicious chocolates, precise and luxurious watches, chilling alps, and high-security vaults in state-of-the-art banks.
However, in the early 1900s, when Europe was hellbent on tearing itself apart, little Switzerland somehow stayed neutral despite being surrounded by fierce enemies on all sides.
I'm not sure why they remained neutral, but the story of how they managed to do this baffles me.
There are 5 things you need to know to understand how they stayed neutral and what they'd do if they were invaded:
1) Swiss Foreign Policy
2) Switzerland's geographic advantage
3) Tunnels
4) Buying time in case of invasion
5) Secret plan to deter the Nazis from invading them.
1) Swiss Foreign Policy:
At the time, their foreign policy could be oversimplified as, "We will not take sides in the conflict, but we will continue to trade with everyone."
And yes, this did mean they were friendly with both the allies, as well as Hitler and the axis powers.
2) Switzerland's Geographic Advantage:
The Swiss had made their commitment not to attack anyone, and so they needed a way to prevent attacks.
The alps to the South were an impenetrable natural defence. No army in the world could march through such mountainous and cold terrain.
Besides, by invading from the South, invaders would have to march further to reach places worth attacking, because most of the population and infrastructure are North of the freezing alps.
3) Tunnels:
Since these mountains cover 58% of Switzerland, the Swiss were experts at digging tunnels through them.
The Swiss prepared for a possible invasion by building bunkers into these mountains and connecting them by tunnels.
These bunkers had food, supplies and guns.
4) Buying time in case of invasion:
The Swiss were lucky enough to have massive mountains and smart enough to know how to build bunkers, but how would they get into their defensive positions should an aggressor approach their northern borders (where most of the country was)?
Turns out the answer was simple: by bombing their own borders.
The Swiss had installed tons of TNT and other explosives on all the roads, train tracks and bridges at the borders leading into the country.
The idea was that they'd detonate those explosives when an invader approached, making it impossible for the invader to invade their land (or at the very least, buy the Swiss some time to take defensive positions in the bunkers).
5) Secret Plan to deter the Nazis from invading them:
During the 2nd world war, Switzerland needed a plan to prevent the Nazi invasion.
The Treaty of Versailles didn't allow Germany to have an army bigger than 100,000, but Hitler did not abide by that. The allies did nothing.
Hitler wanted 'Lebensraum' or 'Living Space' for what he called the "Master Race", so he invaded parts of Germany's South-Eastern neighbours, Czechoslovakia.
Britain then signed a deal with Germany and made it promise not to take any more land that didn't belong to them
Germany agreed... then invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia.
The allies did nothing.
Six months later, they proceeded to invade Poland in the North-East.
WWII begins
The Swiss knew that Nazi Germany wasn't playing by the rules, which is why they devised a plan to prevent the Nazis from invading them.
Hitler had a strategy for how they would take over small Switzerland (Operation Tannenbaum), but that never happened, being deemed too costly.
However, the head of the Rhine river is in Switzerland, and rumour has it that the Swiss threatened to poison the main source of Germany's water if they invaded.
To think that while other countries were conscripting young men into the army and making ammunition, the Swiss were silently installing bombs on their bridges, stocking food in their bunker fridges, and mixing poison blows my mind.
You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: typefully.com/treasure__n/AyrUc3K
Treasure | Multimedia Student
@treasure__n
Imperfect child of God | Unoriginal Thinker | Studying Multimedia @UPTuks 👨🎓