Why is Switzerland allowed to be neutral?

[King]

I've always wondered about this and hopefully the International Board has the answer for me.

They went through World War I completely unscathed despite being right in the middle of Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.  Then, in World War II, Hitler and the Germans just go after ever country from Britain in the West to the Soviet Union in the East yet walk around Switzerland.  Hell, they aren't a member of the EU and didn't even join the United Nations until 2002.  They just don't do anything.

Why couldn't Poland just be "not so fast, Nazis, WE'RE NEUTRAL?"  Do their army knives scare and confuse invading forces?

[they don't love you like i love you]

Terrain. The mountains scare off potential invaders.

[The Mikado]

Hey, Napoleon kicked some Swiss ass.

[Jens]

Since 1815 Switzerland have had the policy of armed neutrality. Its territory and heavily armed militias has basically made it a bad "deal" to attack the country -  But do remember that the neutrality during WW2 wasn't without a price. Switzerland sent back Jews and other refugees to almost certain death and stolen goods where placed in Swiss banks. The fact these days is that while Switzerland might not be a EU-member country it basically has to follow the ways of the Union since the country cannot afford a economic conflict with the EU. - Much like Norway!

[King]

Thanks, Jens and BRTD. 

[Јas]

Well for WWII, Switzerland presented no threat to the Germans, and offered little prospective benefits in holding it in the short-medium term. It would have been a waste of resources better used against actual enemies.

There was simply no value to trying to take it.

If the Germans had won the war, then I'd imagine it would eventually have been assimilated into the Reich.

[MasterJedi]

I suspect Germany would have gotten them eventually if they had taken out everyone else.

[opebo]

I should've thought this was obvious to anyone - Switzerland has always been kept neutral so that rich people from whatever side 'lost' a given war would have a way to keep their ill-gotten gains.

[John Dibble]

Well, they aren't "allowed" to be neutral anymore than anyone else. They just happen to have had things going for them that made it so people didn't want to invade.

[minionofmidas]

Well, they aren't "allowed" to be neutral anymore than anyone else. They just happen to have had things going for them that made it so people didn't need to invade.

Fixed your post.

[Silent Hunter]

They've certainly got a powerful military and a large number of people under arms.

[Colin]

Well first off you have the national "militia" aspect. Its hard to try and take over a country, especially one that doesn't have a whole lot of resources, when they have roughly 500,000 people all with rifles, ammunition, and military training, among the civilian populace. Add to that the fact that Switzerland has a natural advantage in topography, if the going gets tough they can always retreat into the mountains, and you have a very attractive way of staying neutral.

You cannot also negate the fact that Switzerland is the banker to the world. You attack Switzerland you lose all of the assets that you have stored in Switzerland's famous banks and vaults.

Of course this is not to say that there were never plans drawn up to deal with the Swiss via an invasion. The most recent plan was the Nazi Operation Tannenbaum which was devised in 1940 to deal with a planned invasion of Switzerland. The Swiss feared that something like this might occur so they created the Reduit strategy under the counsel of Swiss General Henri Guisan.

[John Dibble]

Well, they aren't "allowed" to be neutral anymore than anyone else. They just happen to have had things going for them that made it so people didn't need to invade.

Fixed your post.

Generally speaking you don't "need" to invade anyone unless you feel they pose some sort of imminent threat that only invasion can stop, otherwise you're invading because you want to.

[Silent Hunter]

Well first off you have the national "militia" aspect. Its hard to try and take over a country, especially one that doesn't have a whole lot of resources, when they have roughly 500,000 people all with rifles, ammunition, and military training, among the civilian populace. Add to that the fact that Switzerland has a natural advantage in topography, if the going gets tough they can always retreat into the mountains, and you have a very attractive way of staying neutral.

You cannot also negate the fact that Switzerland is the banker to the world. You attack Switzerland you lose all of the assets that you have stored in Switzerland's famous banks and vaults.

Of course this is not to say that there were never plans drawn up to deal with the Swiss via an invasion. The most recent plan was the Nazi Operation Tannenbaum which was devised in 1940 to deal with a planned invasion of Switzerland. The Swiss feared that something like this might occur so they created the Reduit strategy under the counsel of Swiss General Henri Guisan.

Second, you have a rather good Swiss Air Force.

[minionofmidas]

Well, they aren't "allowed" to be neutral anymore than anyone else. They just happen to have had things going for them that made it so people didn't need to invade.

Fixed your post.

Generally speaking you don't "need" to invade anyone unless you feel they pose some sort of imminent threat that only invasion can stop, otherwise you're invading because you want to.

Not if you're a mad "realist". In that case, the chance that anyone else might otherwise invade before you do is quite sufficient to make an invasion necessary. (see Norway, WW II. Also, Greece, WW II.) Besides that, there's the issue of getting from a country what you want from it, without an invasion - see Sweden as well as Switzerland in WW II. It's not as if anybody, not even the derangedest dictator, invades countries just because he can.

[AltWorlder]

What about Sweden's neutrality during WWII?

[minionofmidas]

They exported their iron anyways.