Switzerland Gun Control: Voters Back EU Regulations

[The_War_Wagon]

Did they forget why they WEREN'T invaded in WWII?

Apparently...

[26 Inf]

Did they forget why they WEREN'T invaded in WWII?

Apparently...

Because it wasn't in Hitler's best interest?

As a neutral country Switzerland was useful to German - they sold Germany manufactured goods, including military goods, but most importantly they served as Germany's banker. This gave Nazi Germany banking connections and thus purchasing power beyond the nations of the Axis Pact.

Additionally, a neutral Switzerland required no occupation troops.

If WWII had ended as Hitler envisioned, Switzerland, completely landlocked and bordered by Germany, German-controlled Fance, and Axis-Pact member Italy, would have simply been assimilated into the Third Reich.

[SteyrAUG]

Because it wasn't in Hitler's best interest?

As a neutral country Switzerland was useful to German - they sold Germany manufactured goods, including military goods, but most importantly they served as Germany's banker. This gave Nazi Germany banking connections and thus purchasing power beyond the nations of the Axis Pact.

Additionally, a neutral Switzerland required no occupation troops.

If WWII had ended as Hitler envisioned, Switzerland, completely landlocked and bordered by Germany, German-controlled Fance, and Axis-Pact member Italy, would have simply been assimilated into the Third Reich.

Actually Hitler called it a "cancer in his reich." There was an invasion plan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tannenbaum

[26 Inf]

Actually Hitler called it a "cancer in his reich." There was an invasion plan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tannenbaum

Aware of that, I believe the reality of Switzerland's usefulness as a 'neutral' country inclined Hitler to delay dealing with the 'cancer in his Reich' until other things were accomplished.

But then, again, who really knows why Hitler did anything.

[Firefly]

Switzerland didnt mind hoarding all that money...

[SteyrAUG]

Aware of that, I believe the reality of Switzerland's usefulness as a 'neutral' country inclined Hitler to delay dealing with the 'cancer in his Reich' until other things were accomplished.

But then, again, who really knows why Hitler did anything.

Hitler wanted Switzerland but it wasn't his highest priority, which was in the East. To him it was another Austria full of "pan German" citizens who belonged to the reich and simply needed a new government and some political reeducation. When threats failed to intimidate the Swiss leaders from falling in line and voluntarily joining the reich, Hitler planned on in invasion but the east taught him Blitzkreig doesn't always work all the time, every time, so it largely got put on hold and he used to for banking purposes and other things in the meantime.

Had Hitler successfully taken Moscow, at some point he'd have blitzed the Swiss. He had no respect for difficult terrain, well armed armies or any of that. In his mind he would simply bomb it to rubble, roll in tanks and mop up with the army...even if it meant he had to sacrifice a few million German "heroes" to achieve his goal.

Nothing pragmatic or practical prevented the invasion of Switzerland, he simply wasn't able to get that far down on his "to do" list yet.

[The_War_Wagon]

Because it wasn't in Hitler's best interest?

Neither was Greece... but no one ever accused the little corporal, of rational thinking.

[ralph]

Switzerland didnt mind hoarding all that money...

I think they're still hoarding some of it to this day..

[BoringGuy45]

Neither was Greece... but no one ever accused the little corporal, of rational thinking.

Hitler's undoing was the fact that he, and many of the other top Nazi Party leaders, underestimated their enemies. He rolled into a lot of countries thinking that they'd just collapse in the face of the blitzkrieg. While the Germans were ultimately successful in conquering Greece and Yugoslavia, both countries cost a lot of time, resources, and lives. Both the Greeks and Yugoslavs were ferocious fighters. Of course, Hitler really didn't learn, and then he bit off way more than he could chew with the USSR.

[pinzgauer]

Kind of an interesting debate on whether Switzerland could be invaded or not.

Common perception is the inpentrable mountain fortress, etc. One of my sons reminded me that Germany held France and it would have been trivial to sweep in through Geneva and head east.

I personally think the Swiss would of fought back and made it very expensive.

They take home guard fairly seriously and every town has bunkers and compounds. The ones I've seen in German-speaking Switzerland are embedded in the mountains. Clearly Germany could have taken them as would a modern large Army. But it would not be a matter of just dropping some bombs.

That said, after learning more about the Norway ww2 experience, partisan warfare can delay things, but rarely does it vanquish the invader. (There is a tiny but excellent Norwegian resistance museum in Oslow)

Here's what the Germans did with partisan warfare in Norway...

- partisans attack occupying forces? Kill 10 locals for every German soldier lost. Run out of men? Kill women and children.

- people try to flee to Sweden? Confiscate all the rubber boots, field boots, etc. that you need to make it while avoiding improved routes.

- locals still flee without decent outdoor footwear? Confiscate backpacks, sleeping bags, poncho's, parkas, anything you would need to survive outdoors in the winter.

They still fought, but were at a huge disadvantage.

We need to set aside perceptions we have about how occupying forces behave that are colored by our modern experiences in the US military and our allies.

Serious enemies (China/Russia) could / would be ruthless just like the Germans were in ww2 and others since.