Switzerland has a land area of ??41,300 square kilometers and a population of approximately 8.2 million. The world-famous Alps cover almost most of Switzerland's territory, making it a veritable mountain country surrounded by several other European countries.
To the west of Switzerland is the powerful France, to the north is Germany, which once provoked the war in World War II, to the east is the relatively weak Austria and Liechtenstein, and to the south is Italy, one of the Axis powers during World War II.
Switzerland is known as the "World Park". It is a beautiful small country in Western Europe with abundant rain and snow, numerous lakes, towering snow-capped mountains and other tourism resources.
Switzerland is best known for its policy of "permanent neutrality". As early as the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Britain, France, Russia, Prussia, Austria and other countries signed a declaration recognizing that "for the benefit of the Communist Party, Switzerland will enjoy the privilege of permanent neutrality." This decision made Switzerland in 200 In the history of neutrality, the country escaped the smoke of World War I and World War II, and the country was able to avoid the ravages of war, and the people were able to recuperate and prosper in a peaceful environment.
For this reason, Switzerland has become a paradise for tax avoiders from all over the world with its perfect and scientific bank secrecy system. Switzerland's per capita GDP is nearly US$100,000, ranking among the richest countries in the world.
So, how can Switzerland, with a land area less than half the area of ??Jiangsu Province and a population the size of a medium-sized city in my country, can remain neutral for a long time, even when the United States, known as the "world police", Don't you dare to provoke it?
In fact, Switzerland remaining neutral does not mean giving up resistance, does not mean not having its own strong armed forces, and does not mean leaving the fate of the country to the arbitrary disposal of other countries.
On the contrary, Switzerland's neutrality is a kind of "armed neutrality". It has a unique "hedgehog military strategy" and "all people as soldiers" defense force in the world. Let other countries not dare to cross the line and stay away from Switzerland.
The so-called "hedgehog military strategy" is a metaphor. It means that Switzerland is like a hedgehog. Although it has no intention of invading others, once it encounters danger, it will immediately curl up and point its sharp thorns at the enemy to resist external aggression.
The basis for supporting this "hedgehog military strategy" is Switzerland's "all citizens are soldiers" military service system.
The Swiss standing army only has about 3,600 professional soldiers, but once war comes, it can mobilize 350,000 people to join the battlefield in just 24 hours. This is the characteristic of Switzerland's "all people are soldiers".
Switzerland’s military service law stipulates that all male citizens aged 20 to 42 must perform military service, while female citizens can voluntarily perform military service. Men over the age of 16 must be aware of the military service policy. They must register with relevant government agencies at the age of 18 and begin military service at the age of 20.
The Swiss government also has a normalized scientific military training system. Starting from the age of 19, male citizens are required to undergo 15 weeks of recruit training before being incorporated into the company system. After the training is completed, everyone goes home to wait for the next training. Those with outstanding results will be recruited into the standing army.
Before the age of 42, all Swiss men must undergo military training 10 times, each lasting about 20 days, and each Swiss male citizen must serve no less than 310 days in his lifetime.
Therefore, if you travel to Switzerland, you will often encounter these young people in public places with long guns on their shoulders, wearing gray military uniforms and wearing leather boots. They are participating in the military. Militiamen returning from training.
After the military training, the militiamen can take home military uniforms, guns and ammunition issued by the government for safekeeping. The women will polish the men's guns so that they are ready for the battlefield at any time. Once called upon by the country, these militiamen will grab their guns and become the backbone of the force to resist aggression and defend their homeland.
It is obviously not enough to build Switzerland's national defense system based solely on the "hedgehog military strategy" and "all people as soldiers". Especially in the era of modern warfare characterized by air strikes and non-contact warfare, Switzerland has to find ways to deal with air attacks and prevent nuclear weapons attacks. After all, Switzerland's land area is too small and does not have enough strategic depth and space.
As a result, the Swiss built huge underground bunkers across the country to ensure the safety of all citizens when the country was attacked by nuclear weapons.
Beginning in 1935 after World War I, the Swiss government began building underground bunkers. By 1960, the Swiss government began to mandate that every building must have underground engineering to prevent nuclear war.
According to statistics, Switzerland, with a population of more than 8 million, has more than 7 million square meters of underground bunkers, with an average of nearly 1 square meter per person. At the same time, these underground bunkers even extend into jungle-covered mountainous areas. The snow-capped Alps are full of secret cave fortifications. On the surface, it looks like a beautiful natural scenery, but underneath it is actually an underground bunker that goes tens of meters underground.
In addition to food, weapons and ammunition, gas masks, and medical equipment being prepared all year round, these bunkers also have their own independent water, electricity, air and other support systems to ensure the survival of Swiss soldiers and civilians in the event of extreme attacks.
In addition, the Swiss have also taken defensive measures to the extreme. Legend has it that all roads in Switzerland have vertical steel pipes embedded in them. Whenever there is an invasion, these steel pipes will break out of the road, making it difficult for the enemy to move forward. Explosives were also placed in each bridge, which would be detonated if necessary to cut off the enemy's passage, etc. Of course, these are just legends and no one has confirmed them.
So, does such a small country that is "armed to the teeth" feel like it would make the scalp of an invader numb? Just as Hitler said at the time: "The Swiss are fierce and good at fighting. If you go to war with them, the gains will outweigh the losses."
It is precisely because of this that Switzerland during World War II escaped the war of German fascism.
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Reference materials: "A Brief History of Switzerland", "The History and Current Situation of Swiss Neutrality Policy", etc.)