Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Thursday, January 26
    Trending
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on January 26th
    • History Short: Who is the Octomom?
    • This Day in History on January 25th
    • History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh
    • Headline: The Doomsday Clock Has Moved Closer to Midnight Than Ever Before!
    • Headlines: 2023 Oscar Nominations Released!
    • This Day in History on January 24th
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»April»April 9»How Switzerland Remains Independent in the Face of Powerful Neighbors
    April 9

    How Switzerland Remains Independent in the Face of Powerful Neighbors

    Major DanBy Major DanApril 9, 2020Updated:April 9, 2020No Comments6 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    Battle of Näfels

    A Brief History

    On April 9, 1388, at the Battle of Näfels, a military force of the Old Swiss Confederation fought a much larger force representing the Austrian royal family, the Habsburgs.  In a stunning example of David beating Goliath, the Swiss soldiers won a rousing victory, an indication of why other powerful European countries have been leaving Switzerland alone for many years now.

    Digging Deeper

    At the Battle of Näfels, the Swiss fielded a modest troop of only about 400 or so fighting men against a superior Austrian force numbering around 6500 soldiers.  The attacking Austrians at first forced the Swiss to withdraw, and began sacking the local town, seeming to enjoy their apparent “victory.”  The wily Swiss were having none of that!  Swiss soldiers counterattacked unexpectedly, taking the preoccupied Austrians by surprise and leveling a devastating defeat against the larger foe.  While the Swiss suffered 54 soldiers killed, more than 10% of their number, the Austrians left 1700 men dead on the battlefield.  The Austrians panicked and ran, flocking to a bridge to escape the Swiss, but the bridge collapsed under the weight of too many men and even more of the Austrians drowned.

    A year later the Swiss and Austrians signed a treaty acknowledging Swiss sovereignty over lands taken during the war.  Victory in the Battle of Näfels against 16 to 1 odds is an indication of the ferocity the Swiss people are able to call on in defense of their nation.  The Swiss Confederation (1300-1798) was the precursor to the modern nation of Switzerland (1648, as that date is celebrated as the date of independence from the Holy Roman Empire), a loose  amalgam of cantons that became a relatively small country in the middle of a continent prone to warfare  and populated by powerful nations with state of the art armed forces.  Despite having no real ethnic or national origin, as the Swiss are broken up into German, French and Italian regions and linguistic segments (with a smaller minority of Romansh speaking people), these hardy people have managed to establish an enviable reputation for intelligence, banking, industry and industriousness, skiing, chocolate, cuckoo clocks, wristwatches, multi-function army knives, and self-defense, maintaining their neutrality during both of the World Wars, and remaining non-aligned during the Cold War (1947-1991).  The country is one of the richest nations in the world per capita without the benefit of sitting on top of vast oil reserves.

    A landlocked country, Switzerland has no navy, but its Army and Air Force are staffed by a broad cross section of the population, mostly conscripts from 20 to 34 (50 in some cases) that are called upon to remain as members of the national reserve after their active duty training is over.  On the several border lakes that  Switzerland shares with its neighbors the Swiss maintain patrol boats. A unique aspect of the Swiss military is that these citizen soldiers keep all their military gear at home in their houses!  This includes their fully automatic rifles, along with a supply of ammunition, though the issue of military ammunition has largely been curtailed in recent years.  Men must register and are slotted for the national conscription when they turn 18 years old, and women are permitted to join the military voluntarily, and are not conscripted.  In 2003 the strength of the military was reduced to 200,000 from the previous 400,000, probably a nod to the reduced likelihood of another World War in Europe.

    So, with this tremendous firepower available to most able-bodied Swiss men, are the automatic rifles (assault weapons) jumping out of their cases and killing people?  No, they are not.  Switzerland is a prime example of the fact that the widespread distribution of firearms does not automatically mean the widespread murder of people by the use of those firearms.  With about 29% of the population armed with military style weapons, the country of Switzerland makes for a daunting target for would be invaders.  This concept is quite similar to that envisioned by the Founding Fathers of the United States when they created the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution allowing citizens to keep and bear military arms.  (Prior to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, an estimated 11 million AR-15 type rifles and carbines were in the hands of American citizens, and in the first few months of 2020, an untold number of additional tens of thousands or perhaps many more have been added to the civilian arsenal, with no increase in gun crimes at all.  Just saying…)

    In Switzerland, citizens are permitted free access to private ownership of semi-automatic weapons and with the granting of a permit, ownership and possession of fully automatic weapons.  Swiss citizens are not required to show or prove any “need” to obtain guns.  With a population of just under 8 and a half million people, private citizens in Switzerland own about 2.332 million firearms (estimate), an ownership rate much higher than most countries.  (Some estimates nearly double the number of privately owned firearms in Switzerland.)

    Note: The murder rate in Switzerland ranks 211th in the world (out of 230 entities).  The United States ranks 94th.  Perhaps we could learn something from the Swiss…

    Notable instances of Swiss mobilization to deter any ideas of invading the country took place in 1871 in response to the Franco-Prussian War, in 1914 in response to World War I and in 1939 in response to World War II.  In each instance, no country dared to attempt to invade Switzerland or violate their neutrality.  Obviously, this relatively small country with a small population is respected enough to be left alone.  After examining the results of the Battle of Näfels, we can see why!  Do you need more proof?  The Swiss Guards are the security detail for the Pope!

    Question for students (and subscribers): What is your favorite Swiss product? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Luck, James Murray. A History of Switzerland the First 100,000 Years: Before the Beginnings to the Days of the Present.  SPOSS, 1986.

    Urner, Klaus and General Alexander Haig. Let’s Swallow Switzerland: Hitler’s Plans against the Swiss Confederation. Lexington Books, 2001.

    The featured image in this article, a photograph by Roland Zumbühl (Picswiss), Arlesheim (Commons:Picswiss project), of a commemorative plaque at the Battle of Näfels memorial near Näfels, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleMass Shooting…in Canada???
    Next Article Inmates Escape Auschwitz and Reveal Horrors to the World
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)

    January 26, 2023

    History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh

    January 25, 2023

    Headline: The Doomsday Clock Has Moved Closer to Midnight Than Ever Before!

    January 24, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)

    January 26, 2023

    This Day in History on January 26th

    January 26, 2023

    History Short: Who is the Octomom?

    January 26, 2023

    This Day in History on January 25th

    January 25, 2023

    History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh

    January 25, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.