4 ms·
While you may be right about this being "stupid Swiss bashing", the swiss do have a considerable army for such a small country which they should not have to mai
by joi_degn 13y ago
While you may be right about this being "stupid Swiss bashing", the swiss do have a considerable army for such a small country which they should not have to maintain either.
- ctdonath 13y agoSwitzerland hasn't been invited for 800 years precisely because it does have a considerable army (to wit: every able-bodied male), not for want of would-be conquerors. A famous exchange between German and Swiss military leaders: "We have 400,000 troops ready to invade. You have but 200,000 civilian militia. What will your people do when ours arrive?" "Shoot twice and go home." No invasion.
- gsnedders 13y agoAnd being a civilian militia has a number of advantage: one cannot simply bomb a few military bases and decimate their military strength.
- kaybe 13y agoAlso, the terrain is notoriously difficult, the bridges have predetermined break points and places to put the dynamite (none there atm, but not so long ago there was), and any old shed in the mountain could contain a bunker or hangar. Apart from Israel, Switzerland is the only country with enough bunkers for the whole population (even ABC rated I think).
- cafard 13y agoThen how did the Helvetic Republic come about? During the wars of the French revolution it had pitched battles fought on its territory by outside forces (some of which had Swiss regiments on payroll, if not on the battlefield). Foreign powers moved large military forces through Swiss territory for many centuries.