WW2 From the Swiss Perspective | Animated History

foreign [Music] hi I'm Griffin Johnson the armchair historian nestled in the central Alps lies the nation of Switzerland a country stereotyped as the aloof sideliner of Europe its strict adherence to neutrality in the second world war has garnered a reputation for the country Switzerland however has a special history one that helps explain the course they thought necessary to survive the coming storm during the second world war the Swiss military made extensive use of the Swiss k a commercially available version of the infamous German Enigma machine to encrypt vital intelligence and Communications thanks to the sponsor of today's video nordvpn you won't need to rely on an Enigma machine to protect your information and online activities visit nordvpn.com history VPN and find out how Nord can protect you from fake networks DDOS attempts malicious malware and costly ransomwares as a high-profile creator with my own brand and YouTube channel I'm no stranger to the dangers that come from 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active neutrality fascist elements remained weak in Swiss Society much weaker than other European countries at the time a combination of national spirit and swiss cultural norms helped support their commitment to Independence as tensions deepened throughout Europe Switzerland saw the need to reduce its Reliance on food imports a government official by the name of Dr Fritz vollen created a program to increase arable land alongside the promotion of pig breeding to boost numbers of non-fodter-based livestock across the country vollen also pressed to cut back the raising of Thieves steers and calves which drastically reduced the production of fodder and increased the surface of arable land allowing for an abundance of grain to be produced over the coming years alarmed by developments from German expansion in 1938 the Swiss government raised the age limit for compulsory military service to 60 hoping to draw many recruits from their pool of roughly 4.3 million citizens by the war's outbreak most of these mobilized citizens were trained marksmen thanks to an already existing proliferation of gun ownership among the Swiss population as president Philip Etter once remarked the Swiss will never part with his gun symbol and protection of his freedom and Independence in effect the Swiss Army was to be a citizen's Army based on universal military training service in the reserves and the keeping of arms and ammunition at home spearheading the Swiss military was General Henry Gezon commander-in-chief of the Swiss Army elected on August 30th 1939 General Giza quickly became popular thanks to his extensive mobilization efforts and defensive preparations aimed at protecting the country at all available costs behind gizal the slogan of spiritual National Defense Was Heard throughout all cantons of Switzerland the term became a rallying cry for the nation as it faced the most powerful threat in its history [Applause] foreign two days after Germany's fateful invasion of Poland the number of mobilized Swiss citizens totaled 435 000 with an extra thousand volunteer Sharpshooters helping bolster these numbers later in the month throughout the rest of September the Swiss remains diligent in their preparations and defenses all over the country servicemen were building field fortifications artillery positions tank traps hidden concrete covered trenches and machine gun nests Bridges were also mined and Road obstacles were set in place president Etter declared if War extends to our country it will find us ready men women soldiers civilians old and young all of whom swear to give their life to their country preferring death rather than slavery early October saw the fall of Poland reach its completion and general Giza intensified planning for an expected Invasion these included plans made in the event of case West a French incursion into Swiss territory as well as the more likely case North a German invasion to outflank the imagino line through the Alps gizal issued operation order number two which described the critical positions in the north that were to be held up to the last cartridge as German troop concentrations gathered on the southern border November and December saw the Swiss continue in their efforts to reshape their nation into a fortified Mountain redoubt the Germans were aware of these developments with high command estimating that it would take the Vermont 40 days to cross Switzerland and that it would be necessary to oppose the Swiss five to one to achieve it in a near total contrast from Germany's Blitzkrieg Theory the Swiss instead opted for a defensive strategy which hoped to contain the enemy's mechanized attack within smaller contained zones bogging them down in slow methodical and brutal engagements despite logistical difficulties with construction this approach had the desired effect of deterring the Germans and forcing them to reconsider their trusted strategy during the phony War period between September 1939 to May 1940 the mood was tense on the Western Front however for Switzerland things were only ramping up already since September of the previous year the Swiss military had been dealing with aerial violations over Swiss airspace by now Swiss anti-air batteries had opened fire on both French and German warplanes that chose to stray over their border the Battle of France which began on May 10 1940 was Switzerland's first major test of resolve already on the first day of Germany's Invasion into France Swiss anti-airguns and Fighters engaged both German and French aircraft Crossings Swiss airspace 27 German bombs landed in Northern Switzerland damaging a railway as the Battle of France raged on luftwaffe incursions into Swiss airspace became more common and the Swiss Air Force harshly expelled the Germans through repeated sorties against any intruding aircraft more German bombers were shot down in early June with a noted dogfight involving 29 German bombers and fighter bombers against a dozen Swiss Fighters over show the fall in Western Switzerland two German and one Swiss plane were shot down the German airplanes were found with the following order lure these Swiss Fighters into battle and shoot down as many as possible more dogfights ensued in the following days with a grand total of 11 German to only three Swiss planes shot down after the fall of France on June 10th Switzerland quickly found itself surrounded in Europe for a brief period Swiss morale wavered with the defeat of their French neighbors though efforts by General Giza rallied his people to the cause of National Defense with plenty of food and ammunition stockpiled hizon's National redoubt plan would see the bulk of the army abandon the Swiss plateau and take up position in the nation's fortified mountain ranges from where it could resist an Invader for many months all relevant industry and infrastructure would be blown up the second in axis Army set foot on Swiss soil with this strategy Giza hoped to deter the Germans from embarking on a likely highly costly and time-intensive campaign especially with Britain still in the war another way for these Swiss to evade the invasion was to acquiesce to some axis demands for one Switzerland felt forced to submit to Berlin's demands for free commercial Transit and for access to Swiss Financial Services notably the Swiss also allowed German and Italian military supply trains to pass through its borders for which they charged the axis even while Germany halted the export of coal to Switzerland and severely lessened the export of food meanwhile Swiss Air defenses were still dealing with incursions this time from retaliatory strikes caused by the British royal Air Force who would mistakenly hit Swiss targets thinking them to be German one example happened as early as June 12th when the RAF accidentally dropped bombs near Geneva killing five and injuring 50 Swiss from here on this Swiss would remain grimly determined in their air war against both the Allied and Axis powers foreign was busy Shoring up defenses through troop concentrations and air patrols another key part of Switzerland's defense came in Espionage and intelligence Swiss intelligence had established a reliable spy Network across Europe to help notify them of important developments in the war one agency known as The Bureau ha used the Viking line spy Network to tap directly into Adolf Hitler's own headquarters [Music] starting in 1941 Switzerland took on an increasingly diplomatic role on the world stage as it represented the interests of the United States United Kingdom Canada Australia New Zealand and Germany among others still the Swiss government refused to recognize axis conquests and continue to host the occupied Nations embassies in Barron which resulted in many scathing attacks against the country from the Nazi press another stress upon the Swiss cause for non-alignment came in 1942 when the Germans occupied Vichy France all but isolating the Swiss from the rest of Europe until 1943 all Jewish refugees fleeing the vaishi regime into Switzerland were refused entry rounded up and escorted back to France the Swiss government Justified its Draconian immigration laws claiming that subversive agents were entering the country among the refugees and that these Swiss people might lose jobs to the immigrants and that many immigrants would not move on to third countries as such a ban was imposed upon any Refugee or migrant engaging in any professional activity paid or unpaid [Music] still these policies were deeply unpopular among many of the Swiss population and over the war many refugees including women and children were able to cross the border and shelter in camps by May of 1945 the Swiss were holding over 115 000 people in refugee camps across the country [Music] foreign 1943 the Swiss were dealing with a developing situation on both sides of the conflict Allied intelligence networks such as the office of strategic Services established in Barron were actively gathering information about the Nazis and helping resistant cells adjacent to the Swiss border on the other hand axis military developments found the Swiss becoming more concerned about the possibility of a German invasion General gizal especially had become alarmed by rumors of Fortress Europe a planned german-ringed defense of its core European territories based out of the Alps despite Switzerland's official policy of neutrality they couldn't help but find themselves shifting over to the Allied side of the line something which German aggression certainly did not help amend when the Allies landed in Sicily the threat of invasion again loomed as Germans occupying Northern Italy looked to secure supply lines to their troops Railway tunnels running between Italy and Germany through the Swiss border became crucial targets for the Vermont in response the Swiss warned the Germans that these tunnels would be destroyed if they dared to invade relations with the axis declined but the latter end of the war saw damaged relations with the Allies as well prior to the commencement of Operation Overlord in 1944 Allied bombers had pounded Germany's occupied zones continuously in order to weaken them a side effect of this came with further intrusions into Swiss airspace including more accidental bombardments of Swiss targets during this period the Swiss press changed its once friendly tone towards Britain into a swath of denunciations mostly due to the high civilian casualties caused by RAF mistakes the United States Air Force Was Not Innocent of these violations either as many B-17 and B-24 bombers were forcefully evicted by Swiss aircraft in one terrible misfortune 40 Swiss civilians were reported killed and over 270 seriously wounded when 30 B-24 bombers dropped incendiary Bombs Over the city of schafhausen as the war pushed further into the German Heartland Switzerland attempt to maintain the Integrity of its borders preventing any advancing Allied armies from using their territory as strategic shortcuts to push quickly into the Reich despite shaky relations between the two sides the Swiss held firm standing by cautiously as the Allies steamrolled into the bombed out ruins of Nazi Germany altogether Switzerland invested a total of 8 billion Swiss Francs in its defenses accruing a national debt of 9 billion Swiss Francs by 1945 but with its infrastructure intact Switzerland experienced a rapid economic upswing contributing 200 million Swiss Francs to the rebuilding of neighboring war-damaged countries despite strict immigration laws they had also given Refuge to some 300 000 people while Switzerland's neutral position has not always been met positively by other nations armed neutrality was the best strategy the Swiss could pursue in order to remain independent from German rule support the show on patreon and gain unique perks like an armchair historian coloring book uniform guide profile pictures or wallpapers

Channel: The Armchair Historian

Views: 1,833,644

Keywords: military history, war, battle, the second world war, historical

Id: -6cVcEQD3dk

Length: 17min 37sec (1057 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 01 2023