In the modern world, many small countries claim or claim to be permanently neutral, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland, Turkmenistan and so on. But in the end, most of the permanent neutral countries have failed, especially when war and threats come, and it is immediately difficult to neutralize themselves. The only exception is actually Switzerland, which has really achieved permanent neutrality with its own strength, so how many troops does Switzerland have? You might not think of it.
The reason why Switzerland has maintained its permanent neutrality for hundreds of years is actually the core because Switzerland's own military power is so strong that no country dares to invade Switzerland. So even in the First World War and the Second World War, Switzerland remained safe, Germany and Britain and France did not invade Switzerland, behind which, in fact, Switzerland's military strength. So how many troops does Switzerland have? You might not think of it.
Swiss army in active service, 120,000 people.
Although switzerland established the Wehrmacht, in fact, it adopts a militia system, and there are only two parts of the active army, one is the Swiss Army, the other is the Swiss Air Force, and there is no navy. Because Switzerland is a landlocked country, there is no way to build a navy.
From the army point of view, basically more than 110,000 people, divided into three field commands, stationed in strategic positions, guarding the surroundings, is the main force in Switzerland. In addition, there is an air force of less than 10,000 people, with more than 170 combat aircraft of various types, 17 combat squadrons, and spending a huge amount of money every year on advanced fighters, so from the perspective of active forces, Switzerland is not strong, nor is it the focus of the West.
Second, all the people are soldiers.
Switzerland implements a system of all soldiers, all men must perform military service, and men are divided into three stages from 20 to 52 years old, 20 to 32 years old, mainly the core of the field army, this age group must participate in field army training, once the state of war immediately enters the war.
The second stage is 33 to 42 years old, this stage of physical decline, so the task is to reserve the army, mainly to guard the border, important strategic points and strongholds. The third stage is 43 to 52 years old, basically very old, mainly regional defense and other military affairs, basically rarely participating in the war.
So according to this system, the West estimates that Switzerland can organize a field army of 600,000 people in 24 hours, and it is all young and fresh. Moreover, every household in Switzerland has a military treasury, which is basically its most handy weapon. Once that happens, it is conceivable that whoever wants to invade Switzerland could be hit at any time.
And in practice, in the event of an invasion, Switzerland could mobilize the vast majority of the country's men and half of its women to join the war. In other words, it can organize millions of troops, which is its most powerful core, so even the Soviet Union or the United States do not dare to underestimate Switzerland, because once it provokes Switzerland, it may suffer heavy losses and it is difficult to get out. What do you readers think about this? Welcome to leave a message and discuss with the editor!
Welcome to pay attention to [Behind the Historical Truth], update your fresh historical information every day, and don't go out to see the world!
Reference: Modern and Contemporary World History.