Many countries in the world have declared neutrality and will not participate in any war or military alliance. In other words, I don't fight other countries, and other countries don't come to beat me. The most famous neutral country is Switzerland, which has not fought a war for more than 150 years.
In fact, whether a country can remain neutral is often not determined by itself, but by the intentions of the great powers, otherwise everyone declares neutrality, and the world will not be free of wars? Therefore, it is a blessing to be a neutral country, otherwise, even if it is declared neutral, it is useless.
Before World War II, Belgium and Luxembourg were neutral countries, but who let them stop on the German marching route, Belgium also resisted for a while, Luxembourg is directly surrendered, why should the mantis arm go to be a car?
The two countries finally realized that their declaration of neutrality was pointless, that there was no protection from the great powers, and that the so-called neutral powers were merely deceiving themselves. As a result, the two countries actively participated in the US-led NATO after the war.
When the United States called for the formation of a United Nations force to intervene in the Korean Civil War, both Belgium and Luxembourg signed up. Belgium sent a battalion, which was the average for a Member State of the United Nations, while Luxembourg sent a platoon of 44 men. These 44 men were one-tenth of its total strength at the time, and they were definitely not low in proportion.
Luxembourg can be said to be a living fossil of the European feudal system, and the head of state is the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. As a feudal regent, Luxembourg was once under German and Dutch rule, and became independent and neutral in 1867.
Luxembourg's territory is only 2,580 square meters, about the same as China's counties. Because of the fertility of the land, it was one of the main battlefields for European knights, and the dense castles in its country are a witness to this history.
Luxembourg was wise to choose to be a neutral country, with Germany to the east and France to the south, sandwiched between two great powers, and whichever side it fell to would be regarded as an enemy by the other, and it would be itself who would be beaten first whenever there was a disturbance.
At that time, the European powers were very fierce, and there were many small countries that declared neutrality, so why did only Switzerland really do it, but Luxembourg could not keep it? The reason is that the situation in Switzerland is very special, and other countries cannot learn at all.
Switzerland is a mountainous country that is not only easy to defend and difficult to attack, but also has poor land and no mineral resources. There are not many roads in Switzerland to Germany and France, and these roads are closed only by occupying mountain passes. That is to say, even if Switzerland is occupied, it will be difficult to open up new offensive channels.
On the other hand, the Swiss have a tradition of martial arts, historically known for their Swiss phalanx, and even the French emperors have been killed by them. Because of their poverty, the Swiss often served as mercenaries to other countries, and their loyalty was particularly high, and they were designated by the Pope as the permanent guard, thus gaining fame throughout Europe.
In short, the benefits of a force attack on Switzerland were not enough to offset the costs incurred, so Germany did not break Switzerland's neutrality in both world wars. What's more, Switzerland is one of the financial centers of Europe and has an irreplaceable role for Germany. And these conditions Luxembourg does not have, Germany naturally wants to do as it pleases.
Although not ravaged by the war, Luxembourg was not able to stay out of the war. More than 2,000 Luxembourgers were imprisoned in concentration camps by the Nazis, and more than 7,000 were forced into enlistment or labor, and 500 were executed by the Nazis. The Nazis even incorporated Luxembourg into Germany, completely abolishing its independence.
The people of Luxembourg did not succumb to Nazi rule, and because the territory was so small, many had to travel to Belgium to join the guerrillas there and provide intelligence to the Allies against the Nazi ruling institutions in Luxembourg.
After World War II, Luxembourg reorganized its armed forces, the army was its only branch of the armed forces, a battalion of a total strength of about 550 people, the commander-in-chief was a colonel, and officers of all levels had to go to French or Belgian military academies for training.
According to Luxembourg's population and affluence, it should be fine to form at least a regiment or a brigade of a few thousand people, but this will not help Luxembourg's security, and only shelter from the United States and NATO is the fundamental solution.
In 1948, Luxembourg joined this collective defense organization as a founding member of NATO, which is actually a military alliance, contrary to the purpose of neutral countries, and is no longer regarded as a neutral country by the international community.
For Luxembourg, Germany was completely disarmed after the defeat of the war, the need for national defense has been minimal, and joining NATO is more of a sign of special relations with the United States, Britain, France and other countries.
NATO's main enemy is the Soviet bloc, and if there is a war between the two, whether it is a nuclear war or a conventional war, when Luxembourg becomes the front line, the war is actually nearing its end. If the French failed to hold off the German tank corps, the Soviet steel torrent, which was more powerful than Germany, would surely be able to sweep through Western Europe and drink the English Channel.
Luxembourg's defection to NATO was not so much about defending the Soviet Union together as it was about finding a good owner for the government-in-exile, and not to be almost gone as it was in World War II. Therefore, Luxembourg changed its previous neutral attitude and sent troops to North Korea thousands of miles away.
The most incomprehensible thing is why Luxembourg sent infantry to participate in the Korean War, what can a platoon do, defending a hill is not enough, so how can the Americans assign them tasks? It's better to send some medical teams or something like the Nordic countries.
It should be because Luxembourg wants to reflect its special status as a member of NATO, and it is necessary to send combat troops to be certified by the Big Brother of the United States, and other countries cannot even send it.
By the time Luxembourg selected 44 elites from the Wehrmacht of more than 500 men, the war had already taken two turns, with the UN forces almost occupying the entire peninsula before being driven back south of the 38th Parallel by the Volunteers, and the "Christmas General Offensive" became the "Christmas Total Retreat".
On January 31, 1951, when the belated Luxembourg platoon finally arrived in North Korea, an atmosphere of defeat pervaded the Un army. The Luxembourg platoon would certainly not have been sent to the battlefield alone, and would have most likely been grouped with Belgian or French troops.
The Belgian battalion landed in Korea on the same day, and the Luxembourg platoon was supposed to be with them. The combined Belgian and Luxembourg forces, commanded by the British 29th Brigade, were placed on the front line of the Rinjin River, facing the volunteer front directly.
Opposite them was the Volunteer 63rd Army, which, through covert maneuvers, quietly ambushed the troops along the river, and after dark on April 22, 1951, the Volunteers launched the fifth campaign. The 63rd Army sent one way to feint the enemy, and the other way to complete the crossing of the river from the downstream, detouring the British flank.
Belgium and Luxembourg are iron brothers, but there is no reason to give Luxembourgers extra care when they start a war. As a result, when the Volunteers attacked, the Luxembourg platoon was hit hard. Belgium also did not perform well, quickly collapsing under the attack of the volunteers, abandoning its positions and retreating to the rear.
Led by the Belgian battalion, the British 29th Brigade was completely shaken, and only 1 battalion could not be withdrawn because it was surrounded by volunteers. The British and Americans repeatedly tried to rescue the battalion, but they were successful, and in the end the battalion killed less than 200 people and was captured more than 500, which can be regarded as a total annihilation.
In contrast, the Casualties of the Luxembourg Platoon were even heavier, with a total of 44 men fighting, 2 killed and 13 wounded, adding up to more than a third of the total strength. In proportion to the war damage, Luxembourg was probably the most vulnerable of the United Nations troops, perhaps by a volunteer fighter.
The only fortunate thing was that the Luxembourg soldiers ran fast enough that none of them were captured by the volunteers. Therefore, the 63rd Army has never known that it has also taught the Luxembourg soldiers a lesson, and has not added a stroke to the history of the war.
From this point of view, the only actual combat experience of the Luxembourg army was obtained from the volunteer army. In both world wars, they did not fire a single shot, but they fired many shots in North Korea and received more guns from Chinese soldiers.
Since then, the Luxembourg army has never participated in the battle again, stayed in the rear and survived the war safely, naturally there were no more casualties. Americans may think that Luxembourg is interesting enough, can no longer let them go to desperate, in case of fighting, how to transport to Luxembourg? This war is really not something that small countries can afford.
If Luxembourg had not worked so hard and had to send combat troops, 15 soldiers would not have been killed and wounded. Even if Luxembourg only sends medical and logisticians, the United States certainly has nothing to say, the country is supposed to be charged everywhere, which means that it is enough to use human life to fill the number, which seems a bit luxurious.
After the lessons of the Korean War, Luxembourg returned to its low profile in international affairs, shouting twice behind others, easily not offending any country. The United States is now aggressively targeting countries such as China and Russia, while the attitude of Western European countries such as Luxembourg is ambiguous.
On the contrary, the newly joined Eastern European countries are shouting for the United States, and even act as the mouthpiece of the United States, making anti-Russian and anti-China remarks from time to time. Most of them do not really hate Russia, but want to take this opportunity to gain the favor of the United States.
If the big powers really fight back, the first to bear the brunt of these small countries that play the tiger, and their big brothers are just thinking about selling them for a good price. The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 is the best example.
Georgia actually provoked war during the Olympic Games, seriously lost points in morality and strength, and was cleanly taken over by Russia. Is the United States rushing to train itself and claiming to be transported home by elite Georgian peacekeepers, is this the rhythm of rushing to surrender to the Russian army?
For a small country like Luxembourg, it is safest for Mingzhe to protect itself and not participate in the competition of major powers. If only on the day of the outbreak of all-out war, at least the men of the Great Congress would be merciful, fists would not hit the smiley face people, and being a harmless mascot for humans and animals was their best fate.