Military of Switzerland
Encyclopedia
The Swiss Armed Forces perform the roles of Switzerland
's militia
and regular army
. Under the country's militia system, professional soldiers
constitute about 5 percent of military personnel; the rest are male citizen conscripts 19 to 34 (in some cases up to 50) years old. Because of a long history of neutrality
, the army does not take part in armed conflicts in other countries, but is and has taken part of several peacekeeping missions around the world.
The structure of the Swiss militia system stipulates that the soldiers keep their own personal equipment, including all personally assigned weapons, at home. Compulsory military service
concerns all male Swiss citizens, with women serving voluntarily. Males usually receive initial orders at the age of 18 for military conscription eligibility screening. About two-thirds of young Swiss men are found suitable for service, while alternative service exists for those found unsuitable. Annually, approximately 20,000 persons are trained in basic training
for a duration from 18 to 21 weeks (increased from 15 weeks, in 2003).
Since 1989, there have been several attempts to curb military activity or even abolish the armed forces altogether (see Group for a Switzerland without an Army
). A notable referendum on the subject was held on 26 November 1989 and, although defeated, did see a significant percentage of the voters in favour of such an initiative. However, a similar referendum, called for before, but held shortly after the 2001 9/11 attacks in the US, was defeated by over 77% of voters.
The reform "Army XXI" was adopted by popular vote in 2003. It replaced the previous model "Army 95", reducing the effectives from 400,000 to about 200,000 personnel, 120,000 on active duty and 80,000 reservists.
, called upon in cases of external threats by the Tagsatzung
or by the canton in distress. In the federal treaty of 1815, the Tagsatzung prescribed cantonal troops to put a contingent of 2% of the population of each canton at the federation's disposition, amounting to a force of some 33,000 men. The cantonal armies were converted into the federal army (Bundesheer) with the constitution
of 1848. From this time, it was illegal for the individual cantons to declare war or to sign capitulation
s or peace agreements. Paragraph 13 explicitly prohibited the federation from sustaining a standing army
, and the cantons were allowed a maximum standing force of 300 each (not including the Landjäger corps, a kind of police force). Paragraph 18 declared the "obligation" of every Swiss citizen to serve in the federal army if conscripted (Wehrpflicht), setting its size at 3% of the population plus a reserve of one and one half that number, amounting to a total force of some 80,000.
The first complete mobilization
, under the command of Hans Herzog
, was triggered by the Franco-Prussian War
in 1871. In 1875, the army was called in to crush a strike of workers at the Gotthard tunnel
. Four workers were killed and 13 were severely wounded.
Paragraph 19 of the revised constitution of 1874 extended the definition of the federal army to every able-bodied male citizen, swelling the size of the army (at least in theory) from under 150,000 to more than 700,000, with population growth during the 20th century rising further to some 1.5 million, the second largest armed force per capita after the Israeli Defence Forces.
A major manoeuvre
commanded in 1912 by Ulrich Wille
, a reputed Germanophile
, convinced visiting European heads of state, in particular Kaiser Wilhelm II, of the efficacy and determination of Swiss defences. Wille subsequently was put in command of the second complete mobilization in 1914, and Switzerland escaped invasion in the course of World War I
. Wille also ordered the suppression of the general strike (Landesstreik) of 1918 with military force. Three workers were killed, and a rather larger number of soldiers died of the Spanish flu
during mobilization. In 1932, the army was called to suppress an anti-fascist demonstration in Geneva. The troops shot dead 13 demonstrators, wounding another 65. This incident long damaged the army's reputation, leading to persistent calls for its abolition among left-wing politicians. In both the 1918 and the 1932 incidents, the troops deployed were consciously selected from rural regions such as the Berner Oberland, fanning the enmity between the traditionally conservative rural population and the urban working class. The third complete mobilization of the army took place during World War II
under the command of Henri Guisan
(see also Switzerland during the World Wars
). The Patrouille des Glaciers
race, created to test the abilities of soldiers, was created during the war.
In the 1960s and 1970s the armed forces were organised according to the 'Armee 61' structure.
In 1989, the status of the army as a national icon was shaken by a popular initiative aiming at its complete dissolution (see: Group for a Switzerland without an Army
) receiving 35.6% support. This triggered a series of reforms, and in 1995, the number of troops was reduced to 400,000 ("Armee 95"). Article 58.1 of the 1999 constitution repeats that the army is "in principle" organized as a militia, implicitly allowing a small number of professional soldiers. A second initiative aimed at the army's dissolution in late 2001 received a mere 21.9% support. Nevertheless, the army was shrunk again in 2004, to 220,000 men ("Armee XXI"), including the reserves.
(in Switzerland called Angehöriger der Armee, shortly AdA, engl.: Member of the Army), of which 4,230 are professionals, with the rest being conscripts or volunteers. Women, for whom military service is voluntary, numbered 1,050: less than 1% of the total, but 25% of career soldiers. Once decided to serve, they have the same rights and duties as their male colleagues, and they can join all services, including combat units. Recruits are generally instructed in their native language; however, the small number of Romansh-speaking recruits are instructed in German.
In contrast to most other comparable armies, officer candidates are usually not career regulars: after seven weeks of basic training, selected recruits are offered the possibility of a cadre function. Officer candidate schools take place separately from NCOs
training, but NCOs have the possibility of becoming officers later on. There are currently 17,506 officers and 22,650 NCOs in the Swiss Armed Forces.
and to the Swiss Federal Council
as a whole. The current Chief of the Armed Forces is Lieutenant-General (Korpskommandant) André Blattmann. Lt-Gen Blattmann replaced Lieutenant-General (Korpskommandant) Roland Nef
who resigned on July 25, 2008 following allegations of sexual harassment
.
In times of crisis or war, the Federal Assembly elects a General (OF-9
) as Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces (Oberbefehlshaber der Armee). There have been four Generals in Swiss history:
Officers which would have the title of general in other armies do not bear the title general (OF-8: Commandant de corps, OF-7 Divisionnaire and OF-6 Brigadier), as this title is strictly a wartime designation. The distinctive feature of their rank insignia are traditionally stylized edelweiss
(image). However, when Swiss Officers are involved in peacekeeping missions abroad, they often receive temporary ranks that do not exist in the Swiss Army, to put them on an equal footing with foreign officers. For example, the head of the Swiss delegation at the NNSC in Korea
(see below) had a rank of major general
.
Since the Army XXI reform in 2004, the basic structure of the Land Forces has been reorganised in the following units: infantry brigades (2 and 5); mountain infantry brigades (9 and 12); armoured
brigades (1 and 11). Additionally two large reserve brigades (Infantry Brigade 7 and Mountain Brigade 10) exist. Four territorial regions link the Land Forces with the cantons by coordinating territorial tasks inside of their sector and are immediately responsible for the security of their regions, depending only on the decisions of the Federal Council
.
The Territorial Regions have their headquarters located as follows: Territorial Region 1, Morges
(Vaud
), Territorial Region 2, Kriens
, Territorial Region 3 (Altdorf
), and Territorial Region 4 (St. Gallen
).
During 2010 all armoured battalions and mechanized infantry battalions were restructured as Combined Arms Battalions that contain both tanks and infantry fighting vehicle
s. Therefore since January 1st, 2011 all armoured and mechanized battalions consist of a Staff Company, a Logistic Company, 2x Tank Companies and 2x Mechanized Infantry Companies.
has been traditionally a militia-based service, including its pilots, with an inventory of approximately 456 aircraft whose lengthy service lives (many for more than 30 years) overlapped several eras. Beginning with its separation from the Army in 1996, however, the Air Force has been downsizing, now with a strength of approximately 270 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, and is moving towards a smaller, more professional force.
The primary front-line air-defence fleet consists of 33 F-18 Hornets (34 aircraft were originally purchased, with one aircraft lost in a crash) organized into three squadrons
(11, 17 and 18) along with 54 F-5 Tiger IIs (110 originally purchased). In October 2008 the Swiss Hornet fleet reached the 50,000 flight hour milestone.
A report in the Swiss news magazine FACTS
reveals that the Swiss Air Force provides ready-to-takeoff aircraft only during office hours on working days. The air force staff declared that, due to financial limits, they are not operational all the time. The difficulty of defending Swiss airspace is illustrated by the mountainous
character and the small size of the country; the maximum extension of Switzerland is 348 km, a distance that can be flown in little over 20 minutes by commercial aircraft. Furthermore, Switzerland's policy of neutrality means that they are unlikely to be deployed elsewhere.
The Swiss military department maintains the Onyx
intelligence gathering system, similar to but much smaller than the international Echelon system.
The Onyx system was launched in 2000 in order to monitor both civil and military communications, such as telephone
, fax
or Internet
traffic, carried by satellite
. It was completed in late 2005 and currently consists in three interception sites, all based in Switzerland. In a way similar to Echelon, Onyx uses lists of keywords to filter the intercepted content for information of interest.
On 8 January 2006, the Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick (Sunday edition of the Blick
newspaper) published a secret report produced by the Swiss government using data intercepted by Onyx. The report described a fax
sent by the Egypt
ian department of Foreign Affairs to the Egyptian Embassy in London
, and described the existence of secret detention facilities (black sites) run by the CIA
in Central
and Eastern Europe
. The Swiss government did not officially confirm the existence of the report, but started a judiciary procedure for leakage of secret documents against the newspaper on 9 January 2006.
Switzerland does not have a high-seas navy
, but it does maintain a fleet of military lake patrol boats. This includes the Aquarius-class Patrouillenboot 80 PBRs
, operated by Motorboat Company 10, patrol Lake Geneva
, Lake Lucerne
, Lake Lugano
, Lake Maggiore
and Lake Constance
.
has mandatory military service for all able-bodied male citizens, who are conscripted
when they reach the age of majority
, though women may volunteer for any position. People determined unfit for service, where fitness is defined as "satisfying physically, intellectually and psychically requirements for military service or civil protection service and being capable of accomplishing these services without harming oneself or others", are exempted from service but pay a 3% additional annual income tax
until the age of 30, unless they are affected by a disability
. Almost 20% of all conscripts were found unfit for military or civilian service in 2008; the rate is generally higher in urban cantons such as Zurich
and Geneva
than in the rural ones. Swiss citizens living abroad are generally exempted from conscription in time of peace while dual citizenship by itself does not grant such exemption.
Operating from a neutral country
, Switzerland's army does not take part in armed conflicts in other countries. However, over the years, the Swiss army has been part of several peacekeeping missions around the world.
From 1996 to 2001, the Swiss Army was present in Bosnia and Herzegovina
with headquarters in Sarajevo
. Its mission, part of the Swiss Peacekeeping Missions, was to provide logistic and medical support to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE as well as protection duties and humanitarian demining. The mission was named SHQSU standing for Swiss Headquarters Support Unit to BiH. It was composed of 50 to 55 elite Swiss soldiers under contract for 6 to 12 months. None of the active soldiers were armed during the duration of the mission. The Swiss soldiers were recognized among the other armies present on the field by their distinctive yellow beret. The SHQSU is not the same as the more publicized SWISSCOY, which is the Swiss Army Mission to Kosovo.
Switzerland is part of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission
(NNSC) which was created to monitor the armistice between North
and South Korea
. Since the responsibilities of the NNSC have been much reduced over the past few years, only five people are still part of the Swiss delegation, located near the Korean DMZ.
to protect against bombing. Such shelters are said to be able to accommodate 114% of the Swiss population. There are also hospitals and command centres in such shelters, aimed at keeping the country running in case of emergencies. Every family or rental agency has to pay a replacement tax to support these shelters, or alternatively own a personal shelter in their place of residence.
Moreover, tunnels and key bridges are built with tank traps. Tunnels are also primed with demolition
charges
to be used against invading forces. Permanent fortifications are established in the Alps
, as bases from which to retake the fertile valleys after a potential invasion. They include underground air bases which are adjacent to normal runways; the aircraft, crew and supporting material are housed in the caverns.
However, a significant part of these fortifications have been dismantled between the 1980s and during the "Army 95" reformation. The most important fortifications are located at Saint-Maurice
, Gotthard Pass
area and Sargans
. The fortification on the left side of the Rhône
at Saint-Maurice is no longer used by the army since the beginning of the 1990s. The right side (Savatan) is still in use.
The Swiss government thought that the aim of an invasion of Switzerland would be to control the economically important transport routes through the Swiss Alps
, namely the Gotthard
, the Simplon
and Great St. Bernard passes, because Switzerland does not possess any significant natural resources.
are also issued, but are not considered weapons.
Source: Swiss Armed Forces - Land forces weapon systems (p. 12)
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
's militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
and regular army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
. Under the country's militia system, professional soldiers
Standing army
A standing army is a professional permanent army. It is composed of full-time career soldiers and is not disbanded during times of peace. It differs from army reserves, who are activated only during wars or natural disasters...
constitute about 5 percent of military personnel; the rest are male citizen conscripts 19 to 34 (in some cases up to 50) years old. Because of a long history of neutrality
Neutrality (international relations)
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
, the army does not take part in armed conflicts in other countries, but is and has taken part of several peacekeeping missions around the world.
The structure of the Swiss militia system stipulates that the soldiers keep their own personal equipment, including all personally assigned weapons, at home. Compulsory military service
Conscription in Switzerland
Switzerland has mandatory military service for all able-bodied male citizens, who are conscripted when they reach the age of majority, though women may volunteer for any position....
concerns all male Swiss citizens, with women serving voluntarily. Males usually receive initial orders at the age of 18 for military conscription eligibility screening. About two-thirds of young Swiss men are found suitable for service, while alternative service exists for those found unsuitable. Annually, approximately 20,000 persons are trained in basic training
Recruit training
Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...
for a duration from 18 to 21 weeks (increased from 15 weeks, in 2003).
Since 1989, there have been several attempts to curb military activity or even abolish the armed forces altogether (see Group for a Switzerland without an Army
Group for a Switzerland without an Army
The Group for a Switzerland without an Army, is a group working to reduce the military activities of Switzerland. The Group was created in Solothurn on 12 September 1982 by 120 people...
). A notable referendum on the subject was held on 26 November 1989 and, although defeated, did see a significant percentage of the voters in favour of such an initiative. However, a similar referendum, called for before, but held shortly after the 2001 9/11 attacks in the US, was defeated by over 77% of voters.
The reform "Army XXI" was adopted by popular vote in 2003. It replaced the previous model "Army 95", reducing the effectives from 400,000 to about 200,000 personnel, 120,000 on active duty and 80,000 reservists.
History
The Swiss army originated from the cantonal troops of the Old Swiss ConfederacyOld Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
, called upon in cases of external threats by the Tagsatzung
Tagsatzung
The Swiss Tagsatzung was the legislative and executive council of the Swiss confederacy from the beginnings until the formation of the Swiss federal state in 1848. It was a meeting of delegates of the individual cantons...
or by the canton in distress. In the federal treaty of 1815, the Tagsatzung prescribed cantonal troops to put a contingent of 2% of the population of each canton at the federation's disposition, amounting to a force of some 33,000 men. The cantonal armies were converted into the federal army (Bundesheer) with the constitution
Swiss Federal Constitution
The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons , contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights , delineates the responsibilities of the...
of 1848. From this time, it was illegal for the individual cantons to declare war or to sign capitulation
Capitulation (treaty)
A capitulation , or ahidnâme, is a treaty or unilateral contract by which a sovereign state relinquishes jurisdiction within its borders over the subjects of a foreign state...
s or peace agreements. Paragraph 13 explicitly prohibited the federation from sustaining a standing army
Standing army
A standing army is a professional permanent army. It is composed of full-time career soldiers and is not disbanded during times of peace. It differs from army reserves, who are activated only during wars or natural disasters...
, and the cantons were allowed a maximum standing force of 300 each (not including the Landjäger corps, a kind of police force). Paragraph 18 declared the "obligation" of every Swiss citizen to serve in the federal army if conscripted (Wehrpflicht), setting its size at 3% of the population plus a reserve of one and one half that number, amounting to a total force of some 80,000.
The first complete mobilization
Mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
, under the command of Hans Herzog
Hans Herzog
Hans Herzog was a Swiss army officer, and was elected Switzerland's General during the Franco-Prussian War.Born in Aarau, he became an artillery lieutenant in 1840, and then spent six years in travelling , before he became a partner in his father's business in 1846...
, was triggered by the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
in 1871. In 1875, the army was called in to crush a strike of workers at the Gotthard tunnel
Gotthard Rail Tunnel
The Gotthard Rail Tunnel, is a 15-kilometre long railway tunnel and forms the summit of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. It connects Göschenen with Airolo and was the first tunnel through the Gotthard massif...
. Four workers were killed and 13 were severely wounded.
Paragraph 19 of the revised constitution of 1874 extended the definition of the federal army to every able-bodied male citizen, swelling the size of the army (at least in theory) from under 150,000 to more than 700,000, with population growth during the 20th century rising further to some 1.5 million, the second largest armed force per capita after the Israeli Defence Forces.
A major manoeuvre
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
commanded in 1912 by Ulrich Wille
Ulrich Wille
Conrad Ulrich Sigmund Wille was the General of the Swiss Army during the First World War. Inspired by the Prussian techniques that he had been able to observe at the time of his studies in Berlin, he tried to impress the Swiss Army with a spirit based on instruction, discipline and technical...
, a reputed Germanophile
Germanophile
A Germanophile is a person who is fond of German culture, German people, and Germany in general, exhibiting as it were German nationalism in spite of not being an ethnic German or a German citizen. Its opposite is Germanophobia...
, convinced visiting European heads of state, in particular Kaiser Wilhelm II, of the efficacy and determination of Swiss defences. Wille subsequently was put in command of the second complete mobilization in 1914, and Switzerland escaped invasion in the course of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Wille also ordered the suppression of the general strike (Landesstreik) of 1918 with military force. Three workers were killed, and a rather larger number of soldiers died of the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
during mobilization. In 1932, the army was called to suppress an anti-fascist demonstration in Geneva. The troops shot dead 13 demonstrators, wounding another 65. This incident long damaged the army's reputation, leading to persistent calls for its abolition among left-wing politicians. In both the 1918 and the 1932 incidents, the troops deployed were consciously selected from rural regions such as the Berner Oberland, fanning the enmity between the traditionally conservative rural population and the urban working class. The third complete mobilization of the army took place during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
under the command of Henri Guisan
Henri Guisan
Henri Guisan was a Swiss army officer, and held the office of the General of the Swiss Army during World War II. He was the fourth and the most recent man to be appointed to the rarely used Swiss rank of General, and was possibly Switzerland's most famous soldier...
(see also Switzerland during the World Wars
Switzerland during the World Wars
During both World War I and World War II, Switzerland managed to keep a stance of armed neutrality, and was not involved militarily. However, precisely because of its neutral status, Switzerland was of considerable interest to all parties involved, as the scene for diplomacy, espionage, commerce,...
). The Patrouille des Glaciers
Patrouille des Glaciers
The Patrouille des Glaciers is a ski mountaineering race organized every two years by the Swiss Army, in which military and civilian teams compete...
race, created to test the abilities of soldiers, was created during the war.
In the 1960s and 1970s the armed forces were organised according to the 'Armee 61' structure.
In 1989, the status of the army as a national icon was shaken by a popular initiative aiming at its complete dissolution (see: Group for a Switzerland without an Army
Group for a Switzerland without an Army
The Group for a Switzerland without an Army, is a group working to reduce the military activities of Switzerland. The Group was created in Solothurn on 12 September 1982 by 120 people...
) receiving 35.6% support. This triggered a series of reforms, and in 1995, the number of troops was reduced to 400,000 ("Armee 95"). Article 58.1 of the 1999 constitution repeats that the army is "in principle" organized as a militia, implicitly allowing a small number of professional soldiers. A second initiative aimed at the army's dissolution in late 2001 received a mere 21.9% support. Nevertheless, the army was shrunk again in 2004, to 220,000 men ("Armee XXI"), including the reserves.
Structure
The armed forces consist of 134,886 people on active dutyActive duty
Active duty refers to a full-time occupation as part of a military force, as opposed to reserve duty.-Pakistan:The Pakistan Armed Forces are one of the largest active service forces in the world with almost 610,000 full time personnel due to the complex and volatile nature of Pakistan's...
(in Switzerland called Angehöriger der Armee, shortly AdA, engl.: Member of the Army), of which 4,230 are professionals, with the rest being conscripts or volunteers. Women, for whom military service is voluntary, numbered 1,050: less than 1% of the total, but 25% of career soldiers. Once decided to serve, they have the same rights and duties as their male colleagues, and they can join all services, including combat units. Recruits are generally instructed in their native language; however, the small number of Romansh-speaking recruits are instructed in German.
In contrast to most other comparable armies, officer candidates are usually not career regulars: after seven weeks of basic training, selected recruits are offered the possibility of a cadre function. Officer candidate schools take place separately from NCOs
NCOS
NCOS was the graphical user interface-based operating system developed for use in Oracle's Network Computers. It was adapted by Acorn Computers from its own , which was originally developed for their range of Archimedes desktop computers...
training, but NCOs have the possibility of becoming officers later on. There are currently 17,506 officers and 22,650 NCOs in the Swiss Armed Forces.
High Command
In peacetime, the armed forces are led by the Chief of the Armed Forces (Chef der Armee), who reports to the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and SportsFederal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports
The Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport is one of the seven departments of the Swiss federal government, headed by a member of the Swiss Federal Council.-Organisation:...
and to the Swiss Federal Council
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
as a whole. The current Chief of the Armed Forces is Lieutenant-General (Korpskommandant) André Blattmann. Lt-Gen Blattmann replaced Lieutenant-General (Korpskommandant) Roland Nef
Roland Nef
Lieutenant-General Roland Nef was the Chief of the Armed Forces of Switzerland in 2008....
who resigned on July 25, 2008 following allegations of sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
.
Comparative military ranks
This article is a list of various states' armed forces ranking designations. Comparisons are made between the different systems used by nations to categorize the hierarchy of an armed force compared to another. Several of these lists mention NATO reference codes. These are the NATO rank reference...
) as Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Armed Forces (Oberbefehlshaber der Armee). There have been four Generals in Swiss history:
- Henri Dufour (1847–1848, Sonderbund WarSonderbundThe Sonderbund War of November 1847 was a civil war in Switzerland. It ensued after seven Catholic cantons formed the Sonderbund in 1845 in order to protect their interests against a centralization of power...
; and 1856–57, Neuchâtel CrisisNeuchâtel CrisisThe Neuchâtel Crisis was the result of a diplomatic question between the Swiss Confederation and the King of Prussia regarding the rights to the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. The Principality of Neuchâtel was granted to Prussia in 1707, then was ruled by Napoléon Bonaparte after the Prussian King was...
) - Hans HerzogHans HerzogHans Herzog was a Swiss army officer, and was elected Switzerland's General during the Franco-Prussian War.Born in Aarau, he became an artillery lieutenant in 1840, and then spent six years in travelling , before he became a partner in his father's business in 1846...
(1871–1872, Franco-Prussian WarFranco-Prussian WarThe Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
) - Ulrich WilleUlrich WilleConrad Ulrich Sigmund Wille was the General of the Swiss Army during the First World War. Inspired by the Prussian techniques that he had been able to observe at the time of his studies in Berlin, he tried to impress the Swiss Army with a spirit based on instruction, discipline and technical...
(1914–1918, World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
) - Henri GuisanHenri GuisanHenri Guisan was a Swiss army officer, and held the office of the General of the Swiss Army during World War II. He was the fourth and the most recent man to be appointed to the rarely used Swiss rank of General, and was possibly Switzerland's most famous soldier...
(1939–1945, World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
)
Officers which would have the title of general in other armies do not bear the title general (OF-8: Commandant de corps, OF-7 Divisionnaire and OF-6 Brigadier), as this title is strictly a wartime designation. The distinctive feature of their rank insignia are traditionally stylized edelweiss
Edelweiss
Edelweiss , Leontopodium alpinum, is a well-known European mountain flower, belonging to the sunflower family.-Names:The common name comes from German edel, meaning "noble", and weiß "white", thus signifying "noble whiteness".The scientific name Leontopodium is a Latin adaptation of Greek...
(image). However, when Swiss Officers are involved in peacekeeping missions abroad, they often receive temporary ranks that do not exist in the Swiss Army, to put them on an equal footing with foreign officers. For example, the head of the Swiss delegation at the NNSC in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
(see below) had a rank of major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
.
Land Forces
Under 'Armee 61' the land forces were organised into Field Army Corps 1,2, and 4, and Mountain Army Corps 3. This structure was superseded by the 'Armee 95' and thereafter the 'Armee XXI' structures.Since the Army XXI reform in 2004, the basic structure of the Land Forces has been reorganised in the following units: infantry brigades (2 and 5); mountain infantry brigades (9 and 12); armoured
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
brigades (1 and 11). Additionally two large reserve brigades (Infantry Brigade 7 and Mountain Brigade 10) exist. Four territorial regions link the Land Forces with the cantons by coordinating territorial tasks inside of their sector and are immediately responsible for the security of their regions, depending only on the decisions of the Federal Council
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
.
The Territorial Regions have their headquarters located as follows: Territorial Region 1, Morges
Morges
Morges is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges and is also the seat of the district.-History:...
(Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
), Territorial Region 2, Kriens
Kriens
Kriens is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.The municipality lies at the foot of Mount Pilatus, and is a western suburb of Lucerne.-History:...
, Territorial Region 3 (Altdorf
Altdorf
Altdorf may refer to: In Switzerland:*Altdorf, Switzerland, the capital of the canton of Uri , *Altdorf, Schaffhausen, a village in the canton of Schaffhausen ,...
), and Territorial Region 4 (St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
).
Armoured Brigades
- Armoured Brigade 1 (HQ MorgesMorgesMorges is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges and is also the seat of the district.-History:...
, VaudVaudVaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
)- Command Support Battalion 1 (Bataillon d'aide au commandement 1)
- Reconnaissance Battalion 1 (Bataillon d'exploration 1)
- Armoured Battalion 12 (Bataillon de chars 12)
- Armoured Battalion 17 (Bataillon de chars 17)
- Armoured Battalion 18 (Bataillon de chars 18)
- Infantry Battalion 16
- Artillery Battalion 1
- Armoured Engineer Battalion 1
- Armoured Brigade 11 (see :de:Panzerbrigade 11)
- Command Support Battalion 11
- Reconnaissance battalion 11
- Armoured Battalion 13
- Armoured Battalion 14
- Mechanized Infantry battalion 29
- Infantry Battalion 61
- Artillery Battalion 16
- Armoured Engineer Battalion 11
During 2010 all armoured battalions and mechanized infantry battalions were restructured as Combined Arms Battalions that contain both tanks and infantry fighting vehicle
Infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle , also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle , is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them...
s. Therefore since January 1st, 2011 all armoured and mechanized battalions consist of a Staff Company, a Logistic Company, 2x Tank Companies and 2x Mechanized Infantry Companies.
Infantry Brigades
- Infantry Brigade 2 (Brigade d'infanterie 2) (HQ Saint-Maurice, Switzerland)
- Command Support Battalion 2 (Bataillon d'aide au commandement 2)
- Reconnaissance Battalion 2 (Bataillon d'exploration 2)
- Rifle battalion 1 (Bataillon de Carabiniers 1)
- Infantry Battalion 13 (Infanteriebataillon 13)
- Rifle battalion 14 (Bataillon de Carabiniers 14)
- Infantry Battalion 19 (Bataillon d'infanterie 19)
- Artillery Battalion 54 (Artillerie Abteilung 54)
- Infantry Brigade 5
- Command Support Battalion 5
- Reconnaissance Battalion 5
- Infantry battalion 11
- Infantry Battalion 20
- Infantry Battalion 56
- Infantry Battalion 97
- Artillery Battalion 10
Mountain Infantry Brigades
- Mountain Infantry Brigade 9 (Brigata fanteria montagna 9)
- Command Support Battalion 9 (Battaglione aiuto condotta 9)
- Mountain Infantry battalion 7 (Bataillon d'infanterie de montagne 7)
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 17 (Gebirgsinfanteriebataillon 17)
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 29 (Gebirgsinfanteriebataillon 29)
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 30 (Battaglione fanteria montagna 30)
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 48 (Gebirgsinfanteriebataillon 48)
- Artillery Battalion 49 (Gruppo artiglieria 49)
- Mountain Infantry Brigade 12
- Command Support Battalion 12
- Mountain Rifle battalion 6 (Gebirgsschützenbataillon 6)
- Infantry Battalion 65
- Infantry Battalion 70
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 77
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 85
- Fortress Artillery Battalion 13
Reserve Brigades
- Infantry Brigade 7
- Command Support Battalion 7
- ISTAR Reconnaissance Battalion 7
- Reconnaissance Battalion 9
- Reconnaissance Battalion 12
- Mechanized Infantry Battalion 8
- Mechanized Infantry Battalion 28
- Infantry Battalion 54
- Infantry Battalion 60
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 72
- Infantry Battalion 73
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 91
- Artillery Battalion 47
- Mountain Brigade 10 (HQ Saint-Maurice, Switzerland)
- Command Support Battalion 10 (Bataillon d'aide au commandement 10)
- Reconnaissance battalion 4
- Reconnaissance Battalion 10 (Bataillon d'exploration 10)
- Armoured Battalion 15 (Bataillon de chars 15)
- Mechanized Infantry battalion 20
- Rifle Battalion 5 (Schützenbataillon 5)
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 8 (Bataillon d'infanterie de montagne 8)
- Mountain Infantry Battalion 10 (Bataillon d'infanterie de montagne 10)
- Infantry Battalion 24 (Bataillon d'infanterie 24)
- Infantry Battalion 36
- Artillery Battalion 32
- Artillery Battalion 41
Air Force
The Swiss Air ForceSwiss Air Force
The Swiss Air Force is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on July 31, 1914, as part of the Army and as of January 1966 an independent service.In peacetime, Dübendorf is the operational Air Force HQ...
has been traditionally a militia-based service, including its pilots, with an inventory of approximately 456 aircraft whose lengthy service lives (many for more than 30 years) overlapped several eras. Beginning with its separation from the Army in 1996, however, the Air Force has been downsizing, now with a strength of approximately 270 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, and is moving towards a smaller, more professional force.
The primary front-line air-defence fleet consists of 33 F-18 Hornets (34 aircraft were originally purchased, with one aircraft lost in a crash) organized into three squadrons
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
(11, 17 and 18) along with 54 F-5 Tiger IIs (110 originally purchased). In October 2008 the Swiss Hornet fleet reached the 50,000 flight hour milestone.
A report in the Swiss news magazine FACTS
FACTS (newspaper)
FACTS was a weekly magazine from Switzerland, appearing in the publishing house Tamedia. Published from 1995 until 2007, it oriented itself, at first, after the German magazine Focus until it obtained its own profile....
reveals that the Swiss Air Force provides ready-to-takeoff aircraft only during office hours on working days. The air force staff declared that, due to financial limits, they are not operational all the time. The difficulty of defending Swiss airspace is illustrated by the mountainous
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
character and the small size of the country; the maximum extension of Switzerland is 348 km, a distance that can be flown in little over 20 minutes by commercial aircraft. Furthermore, Switzerland's policy of neutrality means that they are unlikely to be deployed elsewhere.
Intelligence gathering
Onyx (interception system)
Onyx is a Swiss intelligence gathering system maintained by the Swiss Army. The costs of the system are not public, but the amount of 100 million Swiss francs has been mentioned several times, in particular in 2000 by Werner Marti, SP deputy to the National Council of Switzerland...
intelligence gathering system, similar to but much smaller than the international Echelon system.
The Onyx system was launched in 2000 in order to monitor both civil and military communications, such as telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
, fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
or Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
traffic, carried by satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
. It was completed in late 2005 and currently consists in three interception sites, all based in Switzerland. In a way similar to Echelon, Onyx uses lists of keywords to filter the intercepted content for information of interest.
On 8 January 2006, the Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick (Sunday edition of the Blick
Blick
Blick is a German-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Zürich, Switzerland since 1959 by Ringier.It has a circulation of 275,000 and a readership of 750,000 . Only the free daily 20 Minuten has a higher circulation in Switzerland....
newspaper) published a secret report produced by the Swiss government using data intercepted by Onyx. The report described a fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
sent by the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian department of Foreign Affairs to the Egyptian Embassy in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and described the existence of secret detention facilities (black sites) run by the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
in Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. The Swiss government did not officially confirm the existence of the report, but started a judiciary procedure for leakage of secret documents against the newspaper on 9 January 2006.
Naval patrol
LandlockedLandlocked
A landlocked country is a country entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are 48 landlocked countries in the world, including partially recognized states...
Switzerland does not have a high-seas navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
, but it does maintain a fleet of military lake patrol boats. This includes the Aquarius-class Patrouillenboot 80 PBRs
Patrol Boat, River
Patrol Boat, River , or PBR, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid-hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until the end of 1971...
, operated by Motorboat Company 10, patrol Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
, Lake Lucerne
Lake Lucerne
Lake Lucerne is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country.The lake has a complicated shape, with bends and arms reaching from the city of Lucerne into the mountains. It has a total area of 114 km² , an elevation of 434 m , and a maximum depth of 214 m . Its volume is 11.8...
, Lake Lugano
Lake Lugano
Lake Lugano is a glacial lake in the south-east of Switzerland, at the border between Switzerland and Italy. The lake, named after the city of Lugano, is situated between Lake Como and Lago Maggiore...
, Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
and Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
.
Conscription
SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
has mandatory military service for all able-bodied male citizens, who are conscripted
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
when they reach the age of majority
Age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized in law. It is the chronological moment when minors cease to legally be considered children and assume control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of...
, though women may volunteer for any position. People determined unfit for service, where fitness is defined as "satisfying physically, intellectually and psychically requirements for military service or civil protection service and being capable of accomplishing these services without harming oneself or others", are exempted from service but pay a 3% additional annual income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
until the age of 30, unless they are affected by a disability
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
. Almost 20% of all conscripts were found unfit for military or civilian service in 2008; the rate is generally higher in urban cantons such as Zurich
Canton of Zürich
The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...
and Geneva
Canton of Geneva
The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France. As is the case in several other Swiss cantons The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland,...
than in the rural ones. Swiss citizens living abroad are generally exempted from conscription in time of peace while dual citizenship by itself does not grant such exemption.
Operations
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
, Switzerland's army does not take part in armed conflicts in other countries. However, over the years, the Swiss army has been part of several peacekeeping missions around the world.
From 1996 to 2001, the Swiss Army was present in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
with headquarters in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
. Its mission, part of the Swiss Peacekeeping Missions, was to provide logistic and medical support to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE as well as protection duties and humanitarian demining. The mission was named SHQSU standing for Swiss Headquarters Support Unit to BiH. It was composed of 50 to 55 elite Swiss soldiers under contract for 6 to 12 months. None of the active soldiers were armed during the duration of the mission. The Swiss soldiers were recognized among the other armies present on the field by their distinctive yellow beret. The SHQSU is not the same as the more publicized SWISSCOY, which is the Swiss Army Mission to Kosovo.
Switzerland is part of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission
Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission
The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission was established by the Korean Armistice Agreement signed July 27, 1953, ending the Korean War...
(NNSC) which was created to monitor the armistice between North
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. Since the responsibilities of the NNSC have been much reduced over the past few years, only five people are still part of the Swiss delegation, located near the Korean DMZ.
Shelters and fortifications
Swiss building codes require radiation and blast sheltersFallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War....
to protect against bombing. Such shelters are said to be able to accommodate 114% of the Swiss population. There are also hospitals and command centres in such shelters, aimed at keeping the country running in case of emergencies. Every family or rental agency has to pay a replacement tax to support these shelters, or alternatively own a personal shelter in their place of residence.
Moreover, tunnels and key bridges are built with tank traps. Tunnels are also primed with demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
charges
Explosive material
An explosive material, also called an explosive, is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure...
to be used against invading forces. Permanent fortifications are established in the Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
, as bases from which to retake the fertile valleys after a potential invasion. They include underground air bases which are adjacent to normal runways; the aircraft, crew and supporting material are housed in the caverns.
However, a significant part of these fortifications have been dismantled between the 1980s and during the "Army 95" reformation. The most important fortifications are located at Saint-Maurice
Fortress Saint-Maurice
Fortress Saint-Maurice is one of the three fortification complexes comprising the Swiss National Redoubt. The westernmost of the three, Fortress Saint-Maurice complements Fortress Saint Gotthard and Fortress Sargans to secure the central alpine region of Switzerland against an invading force...
, Gotthard Pass
St. Gotthard Pass
The Gotthard Pass or St. Gotthard Pass is a high mountain pass in Switzerland between Airolo in the canton of Ticino, and Göschenen in the canton of Uri, connecting the northern German-speaking part of Switzerland with the Italian-speaking part, along the route onwards to Milan.Though the pass...
area and Sargans
Sargans
Sargans is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.Sargans is known for its castle, which dates from before the founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291...
. The fortification on the left side of the Rhône
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
at Saint-Maurice is no longer used by the army since the beginning of the 1990s. The right side (Savatan) is still in use.
The Swiss government thought that the aim of an invasion of Switzerland would be to control the economically important transport routes through the Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
, namely the Gotthard
St. Gotthard Pass
The Gotthard Pass or St. Gotthard Pass is a high mountain pass in Switzerland between Airolo in the canton of Ticino, and Göschenen in the canton of Uri, connecting the northern German-speaking part of Switzerland with the Italian-speaking part, along the route onwards to Milan.Though the pass...
, the Simplon
Simplon Pass
Simplon Pass is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont . The pass itself and the villages on each side of it, such as Gondo, are in Switzerland...
and Great St. Bernard passes, because Switzerland does not possess any significant natural resources.
Equipment
Weapons marked in bold are considered personal equipment of the soldier, who is responsible for their well-functioning and must keep them at home until the end of the military service (unless living near an external border of Switzerland). Between brackets is the number of such weapons in personal equipment as of 31 January 2009. Swiss army knivesSwiss Army knife
The Swiss Army knife is a brand of pocket knife or multi-tool manufactured by Victorinox AG and Wenger SA. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by US soldiers after World War II due to the difficulty they had in pronouncing the German name....
are also issued, but are not considered weapons.
Small arms
Individual weapons
- Sturmgewehr 90 assault rifleAssault rifleAn assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
(171,283) - Sturmgewehr 57 battle rifleBattle rifleA battle rifle is a military service rifle that fires a full power rifle cartridge, such as 7.62x51mm NATO. While the designation of battle rifle is usually given to post-World War II select fire infantry rifles such as the H&K G3, the FN FAL or the M14, this term can also apply to older military...
(2,392) - Pistole 75SIG P220The SIG P220 is a semi-automatic pistol designed in Switzerland by Swiss Arms AG . It is manufactured in Eckernförde, Germany, by J.P. Sauer und Sohn GmbH. It uses the Browning linkless cam short recoil action of self-loading with a double action trigger mechanism...
semi-automatic pistol (27,831) - Pistole 49SIG P210The SIG P210 is a locked breech semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured in Neuhausen am Rheinfall by Swiss Arms AG, formerly SIG Arms AG .It is of all steel construction chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum and 7.65x21mm Parabellum...
semi-automatic pistol (1,360) - Heckler & Koch MP5Heckler & Koch MP5The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar....
submachinegun - Brügger & Thomet MP9Steyr TMPThe Steyr TMP is a select-fire 9x19mm Parabellum caliber machine pistol manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher of Austria. The Magazines come in 15, 20, or 30 round detachable box types. A suppressor can also be fitted...
machine pistolMachine pistolA machine pistol is a handgun-style, often magazine-fed and self-loading firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire, and normally chambered for pistol cartridges. The term is a literal translation of Maschinenpistole, the German term for a hand-held automatic weapon... - Tuma MTE 224 VATuma MTE 224 VAThe Tuma MTE 224 VA is a machine pistol of Swiss origin chambered in the 5.56x23mm calibre and is manufactured by Solothurn. Its components are made from chrome nickel-molybdenum steel and 'space technology' type alloys.-External links:*...
machine pistolMachine pistolA machine pistol is a handgun-style, often magazine-fed and self-loading firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire, and normally chambered for pistol cartridges. The term is a literal translation of Maschinenpistole, the German term for a hand-held automatic weapon... - Remington 870Remington 870The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.-Development:The Remington 870 was...
multipurpose shotgunShotgunA shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
(known as Mehrzweckgewehr 91) - Sako TRG-42 8.6 mm anti-personnel sniper rifleSniper rifleIn military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
(Scharfschützengewehr 04) - PGM Hecate IIPGM Hecate IIThe Hecate II is the standard heavy sniper rifle of the French Army, sometimes known as the FR-12,7 .It is manufactured by PGM Précision of France...
12.7 mm anti-materiel heavy sniper rifleSniper rifleIn military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
(Gew06)
Crew served weapons
- MG51MG51The 7.5 mm Maschinengewehr 1951 or Mg 51 is a general-purpose machine gun manufactured by W+F of Switzerland. The weapon was introduced into Swiss service when the Swiss Army initiated a competition for a new service machine gun to replace the MG 11 heavy machine gun and the LMG 25 light...
machine gunMachine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute.... - FN MinimiFN MinimiThe Minimi is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun developed by Fabrique Nationale in Herstal by Ernest Vervier. First introduced in 1974, it has entered service with the armed forces of over thirty countries...
light machine gunLight machine gunA light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:... - MG 710 machine gun / MG55 (still stocked, but neither trained on nor used in rep courses; same as MG3)
Other weapons
- Gewehraufsatz 97SIG GL 5040The SIG GL 5040/5140 is a 40 mm grenade launcher, which can be mounted under all SIG SG 550/551 assault rifle models and is operated in single-shot mode.-Users:: The Swiss military in-service designation for the GL 5040 is 40 mm Gewehraufsatz 97....
40mm grenade launcherGrenade launcherA grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
(mounted under "Sturmgewehr 90" assault rifle for grenadiers and fusiliers) - HG 85HG 85The HG 85 is a round fragmentation hand grenade designed for the Swiss Armed Forces. Due to its special constructed fuze and packaging, it is considered especially secure. For these reasons, it is also used in a number of other European Armies....
hand grenadeHand grenadeA hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time... - Panzerfaust 3Panzerfaust 3The Panzerfaust 3 is a modern and disposable recoilless RPG anti-tank weapon developed between 1978 and 1985 and put into service by the Bundeswehr in 1992...
shoulder-launched recoilless anti-tank weaponWeaponA weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems... - M47 DragonM47 DragonThe M47 Dragon is an American shoulder-fired, man-portable anti-tank missile system. It has since been phased out in US service, in favor of the newer FGM-148 Javelin system.-Description:...
anti-tank guided rocketRocketA rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
(being phased out without replacement due to cost-intensive maintenance)
Combat vehicles
- Leopard 87 - Leopard 2 A4 main battle tankMain battle tankA main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...
(224 in service) - M113 armored personnel carrierM113 armored personnel carrierThe M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...
(580 in service) - APC 2000Combat Vehicle 90The Combat Vehicle 90 or Stridsfordon 90 is a Swedish infantry fighting vehicle designed by Hägglunds where the first generation was fitted with a Bofors turret. It is currently produced by BAE Systems Hägglunds.-Background:...
– variant of CV9030 infantry fighting vehicleInfantry fighting vehicleAn infantry fighting vehicle , also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle , is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them...
(186 in service) - APC 93Mowag PiranhaThe MOWAG Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss MOWAG , corporation....
– variant of Piranha II 8x8Mowag PiranhaThe MOWAG Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss MOWAG , corporation....
wheeled APCArmoured personnel carrierAn armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
(515 in service) - Reconnaissance vehicles 93, 93/97MOWAG EagleThe MOWAG Eagle is a wheeled armored vehicle designed by the Swiss MOWAG corporation. It has gone through several generations of development. The current vehicle, introduced in November 2003, is the Eagle IV, which is based on the Duro IIIP chassis...
– variants of Eagle I-IIMOWAG EagleThe MOWAG Eagle is a wheeled armored vehicle designed by the Swiss MOWAG corporation. It has gone through several generations of development. The current vehicle, introduced in November 2003, is the Eagle IV, which is based on the Duro IIIP chassis...
armoured patrol vehicle (326 in service) - M109M109 howitzerThe M109 is an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. It was upgraded a number of times to today's M109A6 Paladin...
self-propelled howitzerSelf-propelled artillerySelf-propelled artillery vehicles are combat vehicles armed with artillery. Within the term are covered self-propelled guns and rocket artillery...
(224 in service) - Piranha TOWMowag PiranhaThe MOWAG Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss MOWAG , corporation....
– anti-tank variant of the Piranha I 6x6Mowag PiranhaThe MOWAG Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss MOWAG , corporation....
(120 in service)
Source: Swiss Armed Forces - Land forces weapon systems (p. 12)