To the west of Switzerland is powerful France, to the north is Germany, which provoked World War II, to the east is relatively weak Austria and Liechtenstein, and to the south is Italy, one of the Axis countries during World War II.
Switzerland is called "World Park". With abundant rain and snow, numerous lakes and towering snow-capped mountains, it is a beautiful small country in Western Europe.
Switzerland is famous for its "permanent neutrality" policy. As early as the Vienna Conference in 18 15, Britain, France, Russia, Austria and other countries signed a declaration, acknowledging that "for common interests, Switzerland will enjoy the privilege of permanent neutrality", which enabled Switzerland to escape the smoke of World War I and World War II during its 200-year history of neutrality, and the country was spared from the scourge of war, so that its people could live and work in peace and contentment.
Therefore, by perfecting the scientific bank secrecy system, Switzerland has become a paradise for tax evaders in various countries. Switzerland's per capita GDP is nearly $654.38 million, ranking among the richest countries in the world.
Then, as Switzerland, its land area is less than half that of Jiangsu Province, and its population is only the size of a medium-sized city in China, how can it remain neutral for a long time, and even the United States, known as the "world policeman", dare not provoke it?
In fact, Switzerland's neutrality does not mean giving up resistance, not having its own powerful armed forces, or leaving the fate of the country to other countries for arbitrary disposal.
On the contrary, Switzerland's neutrality is a kind of "armed neutrality", which has a unique national defense force of "hedgehog military strategy" and "all the people are soldiers". Let other countries dare not cross the border and stay away from Switzerland.
The so-called "hedgehog military strategy" is an image statement. Switzerland is like a hedgehog. Although it does not intend to invade others, once it is in danger, it will immediately curl up and stab the whole body at the enemy to resist external aggression.
The basis of this "hedgehog military strategy" is the Swiss military service system of "all the people are soldiers".
There are only about 3,600 professional soldiers in Switzerland's standing army, but once the war comes, it can assemble 350,000 people into the battlefield in just 24 hours. This is the characteristic of Switzerland's "all the people are soldiers".
Swiss military service law stipulates that all male citizens between the ages of 20 and 42 must perform military service, and female citizens can perform military service voluntarily. /kloc-Men over 0/6 must know the policy of military service. /kloc-you must register with the relevant government agencies at the age of 0/8, and you must start military service at the age of 20.
The Swiss government also has a standardized scientific military training system. Male citizens began to receive 19-year-old compulsory conscription training for 15 weeks, and then they were incorporated into the company. After the training, everyone went home and waited for the next training. Those with excellent grades will be recruited into the standing army.
Before the age of 42, all Swiss men should receive 10 military training, each lasting about 20 days, and the life service time of each Swiss male citizen should not be less than 3 10 days.
So, if you travel to Switzerland, you will often meet these young people with long guns on their shoulders and wearing gray uniforms and boots. They are militiamen returning from military training.
After the military training, the militia can take home the uniforms, guns and ammunition issued by the government for safekeeping. Women will polish men's guns and make them ready to fight. Once the country calls, these militia will hold guns and become the backbone of resisting aggression and defending the country.
It is obviously not enough to build Switzerland's national defense system only by "hedgehog military strategy" and "all the people are soldiers". Especially in the modern war era characterized by air strikes and non-contact wars, Switzerland has to find ways to deal with air strikes and prevent nuclear weapons attacks. After all, Switzerland is too small to have enough strategic depth and space.
As a result, the Swiss built huge underground bunkers all over the country to ensure the safety of all citizens when the country was attacked by nuclear weapons.
Since 1935 after World War I, the Swiss government began to build underground bunkers. By 1960, the Swiss government began to force every building to build underground works to prevent nuclear war.
According to statistics, the population of Switzerland is more than 8 million, and the underground bunkers are more than 7 million square meters, with per capita close to 1 square meter. At the same time, these underground bunkers even extend to mountainous areas with dense forests. The snow-capped Alps are full of secret cave fortifications. On the surface, it looks like beautiful natural scenery, but in fact, the underground bunker is tens of meters underground.
In these bunkers, besides food, weapons and ammunition, gas masks and medical equipment, they also have their own independent water, electricity, gas and other security systems, which can ensure the survival of Swiss soldiers and civilians in extreme attacks.
In addition, the Swiss took extreme defensive measures. Legend has it that all roads in Switzerland are embedded with vertical steel pipes. As long as they are invaded, these steel pipes will rush out of the road and make it difficult for the enemy to move. Explosives are also placed on each bridge. If necessary, these explosives will be detonated, cutting off the enemy's passage and so on. Of course, these are just legends, and no one has confirmed them.
Then, does such a small country "armed to the teeth" make the aggressor's scalp numb? As Hitler said at the beginning: "The Swiss are brave and good at fighting. If we fight them, we will lose more than we gain. "
It is precisely because of this that Switzerland escaped the war of German fascism during World War II.
(Reference:
A Brief History of Switzerland, History and Present Situation of Switzerland's Neutral Policy, etc. )