Is Switzerland Arming Itself? In preparation for violent social unrest in Europe

[wvwvw]

Is Switzerland Arming in Preparation for A European Social Meltdown?
By Peter Koenig
GlobalResearch.ca
November 12, 2014

This is the headline of the internet site “dprogram.net”, reflecting on RT reporting on 31 October,

“The Swiss Army is preparing contingency plans for violent unrest across Europe. A nation mostly famous for its banks, watches and chocolate fears it may face a massive influx of European refugees in the near future.”

It doesn’t come as a surprise. Switzerland has a history of xenophobia, even though it has one of the most generous policies for political refugees in the world. About 22% of its 8.1 million legally registered population consists of foreigners, not including the thousands of UN functionaries living in and around Geneva.

So – why this rather negative reputation about ‘fear of immigrants’? - The right wing of this center-right governed country makes a lot of anti-foreigner noise. They have the majority in Parliament and they have a lot of money – the financial sector and big industry. Largely thanks to their propaganda, but as an apparent surprise to the Federal Government, the Swiss have voted in a referendum in February 2014 to limit the number of foreigners that are allowed to enter Switzerland. This completely contradicts the rules of the EU – of which Switzerland is not a member, but it has a large number of bilateral agreements with EU member countries, almost equaling EU membership. As a consequence, Helvetia has to adhere to most of the EU rules. And the free (unlimited) movement of people across EU borders is one of them.

Especially the financial sectors and big industry need to import foreigners. Of course, not hamburger flippers – those they want to keep out – but highly qualified professionals and researchers, for which they would like having an open door.

The Swiss Government is now struggling to find ways on how to accommodate their EU interests – huge business interests to be associated with the EU – and at the same time to follow the decision of the people. It will not be easy. Brussels is not ready for compromises.

Add to this the just exploded scandal of the Luxembourg tax haven – the brain child of Jean-Claude Juncker, the current EU Commissioner and former PM of Luxembourg, who is now supposed to fight tax havens in Europe. The Luxembourg corporate average tax rate is 29%. Yet many international corporations have negotiated – under Juncker – a tax rate below 1%.

Swiss corporations, mostly but not exclusively from the financial sectors, i.e. large banks and transnational insurers, are among the big Swiss tax evaders who establish profit centers in Luxembourg.

On the other hand, Switzerland offers international corporations and rich foreign individuals quite similar incentives as does Luxembourg. For once, with a large fiscal autonomy, many Swiss cantons literally compete with each other with low-low tax rates to attract foreign corporations. On the other hand, most Swiss cantons offer rich to dirty-rich foreign individuals Swiss residency against a negotiated flat tax rate, way below what they would have to pay in their home country. One of Russia’s oligarchs, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of Yukos Oil, who was behind bars for tax evasion and corruption, was pardoned by Vladimir Putin in December 2013. Soon after his release from Russian prison, he settled in Switzerland under a negotiated flat tax agreement.

There are hundreds if not thousands of super-rich foreigners living in Switzerland under negotiated tax rates, while ordinary, especially middle class Swiss citizens are imposed rather hefty tax rates, when compared to the extremely low fiscal dues for corporations and rich foreigners.

How does that enter into the contingency plans of Switzerland against violent unrest across Europe? – Simple.

Until recently most Swiss were oblivious to these double standards. Silence on the subject by the MSM obliges. Lately, however, there is a gradual awakening. Uneasiness among the Swiss citizenry is rising. – Discontent about unequal treatment, continuous banking scandals, tax evasion of the big shots, huge, disproportionate boni paid to corporate top managers is gradually getting under the skin of the Swiss. A public referendum to abolish countrywide the negotiated flat tax on super-rich foreigners will come to a vote by end November 2014.

Indeed, unrest within Switzerland is in the wings, if the government keeps ignoring the concerns of the average citizen. Unemployment in Helvetia is still low with 3.1% (October 2014) – which is a general pacifier. Yet, there is a sense of uncertainty about the future among Swiss citizens. They look around themselves in Europe and the rest of the world and see crisis after crisis and rightly suspect that their paradise may not be a safe haven forever.

The so-called financial or Euro crisis, especially in the southern European states is not getting better. Instead, it takes on an air of ‘permanence’. It’s just that the MSM (mainstream media) doesn’t talk about it anymore. But street protests – not always non-violent – in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, are becoming common place.

The continuity of this crisis – of course, constantly fueled by the likes of the troika – FED, ECB and IMF – may indeed lead to a disintegration of Europe, and disintegration within individual Eurozone nations themselves – which in turn could mean a deluge of refugees into ‘safe haven’ Switzerland.

Perhaps that’s what the Swiss Defense Minister, Ueli Maurer, meant when he said - “I will not rule out that we will need the army in the coming years.”

However, maybe Mr. Maurer’s foresight went beyond what meets the eye. He could well have seen the deliberate effort of the western powers, Washington and its European minions, to destabilize Europe financially and politically to the point where US and NATO interference will become a must, from the Washington perspective that is – and Europe as such is no longer a potentially interesting partner for the East, Russia and China – but instead, will be ready to be salvaged Washington style.

Just look at the latest financial manipulation by the European Central Bank (ECB), inspired, of course, by Wall Street and the FED – ECB’s setting up of the new watchdog, the Single Supervisory Mechanism – SSM, designed to control the Eurozone banking system, beyond the sovereignty of the banks and the nations they primarily serve. SSM, i.e. ECB, will make the future rules for the European banking system.

The SSM went into effect on 4 November 2014 – and if the Euro nations go along with it – which looks likely – then there will be no return, meaning, the ECB will have economic and financial control of the Eurozone’s banking activities – imposing ‘sanctions’ if necessary. For example, if Eurozone banks sway towards trading with the forbidden eastern alliance, Russia and China. ECB / SSM can make or break a bank at will, if it does not behave.

At the same time we are witnessing a stocking up of NATO armament and personnel all through Europe at the request of the northern European NATO alliance, echoed as a necessity in the face of Russia’s aggressions in Ukraine… by the new Chief of NATO, the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, the new Washington Cold Warrior mouthpiece. As a parallel gesture, he asks the European NATO members to increase their financial contribution to NATO.

All of this will not bode well with the people of Europe. They are never asked how much they want to spend on defense, for example, vs. health or education, nor are they asked how the European financial system should be organized, how the banks should be monitored, so as to protect their savings and investments. They are just assumed to go along – as they have done so far. But there is an end of patience in sight.

Mr. Maurer, Swiss Defense Minister, not a great friend of Washington’s hegemonic games, sitting on top of the Swiss power pyramid, may have just foreseen coming turmoil in Europe – or may have access to intelligence which most of us are not privy to.

Reprinted with permission from GlobalResearch.ca.

[Ctwentysevenj]

The Swiss may have to implement this:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Redoubt_(Switzerland)


National Redoubt (Switzerland)
Watch this page

Plan of the Defence lines of the Swiss National Redoubt
The Swiss National Redoubt (Schweizer Reduit or Réduit suisse) was a defensive plan developed by the Swiss government beginning in the 1880s to respond to foreign invasion. In the opening years of World War II the plan was expanded and refined to deal with a potential German invasion. The German plan, Operation Tannenbaum, was real, but was never carried out. The National Redoubt primarily refers to the fortifications begun in the 1880s that secured the mountainous central part of Switzerland, providing a defended refuge for a retreating Swiss army.

The National Redoubt encompassed a widely distributed set of fortifications on a general east-west line through the Alps, centering on three major fortress complexes, Fortresses St. Maurice, St. Gotthard and Sargans. These fortresses primarily defended the alpine crossings between Germany and Italy and excluded the industrialized and populated heart of Switzerland. The Swiss heartlands were defended by the Border Line, an advanced line of defenses near the borders, and the Army Position somewhat farther back. While not intended as an impassable barrier, these lines contained some significant fortifications. The National Redoubt, however, was planned as a nearly impregnable complex of fortifications that would deny an aggressor passage over or through the Alps by controlling the major passes and the railway tunnels running north-to-south through the region. This strategy was intended to deter an invasion altogether by denying Switzerland's crucial transportation infrastructure to an aggressor.

By the 21st century, the National Redoubt was the subject of debate in Swiss society, with many fortifications decommissioned.

Contents
Réduit in the Swiss Alps
History
Guisan plan
World War II
Cold War
Comparison with similar projects
Fortress St. Gotthard
Airolo positions
St. Gotthard Pass positions
Göschenen
Andermatt
Urserne Valley North
Oberalp Pass
Furka Pass
Fortress St. Maurice
Fortress Sargans
First Rhine Barrier Forts
Major Forts
Southern Forts
Second Rhine Barrier Forts
Modernization
1995 army closures
Fate
Sources
Notes
References
German-language references
External links
Réduit in the Swiss AlpsEdit

Main article: Military history of Switzerland

Camouflaged cannon at the Lucendro dam in the Gotthard region. It has a 105 mm calibre and fires up to range of 17 km.
In Switzerland, the concept of "réduit" is a recurring theme of the Swiss concept of defence. Having avoided fighting during World War II, Switzerland retained the concept for its plans of resistance against a putative Soviet invasion, thus shaping a part of the national folklore, and a strong influence in the Swiss concept of neutrality.

History
Fortification of the Swiss alpine region began in the 1880s, shortly after the opening of the Gotthard railway. Forts similar to those of Belgian military engineer Henri Alexis Brialmont were built at Airolo, the Oberalp Pass, Furka Pass and Grimsel Pass, all in the central Alps. Additional positions were constructed in the area of Saint-Maurice, using mining and tunneling techniques in the steep mountainsides of the glacial valley.[1]

Following World War I, there was little Swiss interest in further fortifications. However, during the 1930s as France built the Maginot Line from the Swiss border to Belgium, and Czechoslovakia built the Czechoslovak border fortifications: Switzerland re-examined its need for fixed defenses. At the same time, job creation programs became desirable as a result of the worldwide Great Depression.[2] By 1935 design work began, and in 1937 construction began on the expanded Alpine fortifications, the Border Line and the Army line fortifications.[3]

Guisan plan
General Henri Guisan developed a strategy for the defense of Switzerland that recognized Switzerland's limited resources in equipment and manpower compared to its potential adversaries. Guisan proposed a delaying strategy in the broken terrain of the borders to keep an invading force out of the open country in the central plateau for as long as possible, allowing an orderly retreat to the secured Alpine perimeter. Once the retreat to the Alps was complete, the Swiss government could remain in hiding for an extended time. Accordingly, the border fortifications were improved with major programs along the Rhine and at Vallorbe in the Jura. The strategic Alpine nodes of Saint-Maurice, Saint Gotthard and Sargans were identified as the primary points of access to the Alpine redoubt for a potential aggressor. While Saint Gotthard and Saint-Maurice had been previously fortified, the area of Sargans was newly vulnerable, owing to a drainage program of former wetlands along the Rhine that would now provide easy access to the eastern Alpine gateway at Sargans.[2]




Debate continued over the extent of the Redoubt under the Guisan plan. A proposal was developed by officers from German-speaking cantons, advocating a more compact redoubt. This was overcome by a proposal, authored by Guisan's chief of staff, Colonel Samuel Gonard, whose plan ratified the Saint-Maurice - Saint Gotthard - Sargans strategy, prefaced by a defense in depth. Additional impetus was provided by the fall of France in June, 1940. Two days after the French surrender, on 23 June, the border zones were reduced in priority in favor of the "advanced position" or Army Line. The army was shifted to the center of the country, leaving industries and population centers relatively unprotected. The final Guisan plan, adopted on 12 July 1940, defined an organized retreat to the Alps, where supplies would be stocked for an indefinite resistance with no thought of further retreat. On 25 July 1940, the Swiss defensive plan was disseminated, dictating a fallback to the Alps in the event of an Axis attack, focusing in particular on the Gotthard massif and destroying all access points as necessary once inside.[4]

The National Redoubt strategy was emphasized on 24 May 1941. Until this time only about two thirds of the Swiss Army had been mobilized. Following the swift overrunning of the Balkan countries by German forces in April 1941, in which relatively low mountains had proven to be little barrier to the aggressive German forces, the entire Swiss army was mobilized. The Swiss, lacking a significant armored force, drew the conclusion that withdrawal to the Redoubt was the only sound course. Any actions in the Central Plateau would be delaying actions only. This was publicly reported after Switzerland was surrounded by German and Italian forces, Guisan revealed on 25 July 1940 at the so-called Rütlirapport, a meeting of the Swiss army staff at the founding site of the Swiss confederation, that in case of attack the Swiss would only defend the high Alps including the important transalpine roads and rail links. As a last resort, the army would make these routes useless to the Axis by destroying key bridges and tunnels. This plan meant that the populated lowlands - including the economic centres of the country - would be effectively ceded to the Germans. The gold reserves of the Swiss National Bank in Zürich were moved farther away from the German border, to the Gotthard Pass and to Bern.[5]

World War II

Camouflaged infantry fortification in Sufers (machine gun bastion left, antitank gun right, housing and connecting tunnel underground)
The National Redoubt assumed great importance to the Swiss in 1940, when they were entirely surrounded by Axis powers, effectively at the mercy of Hitler and Mussolini. The National Redoubt was a way to preserve at least part of Swiss territory in the event of an invasion. The Redoubt was to be manned by eight infantry divisions and three mountain brigades;[6] the Swiss practiced for war by imitating the battles occurring around them.[7]

Switzerland's Réduit strategy during World War II was essentially one of deterrence. The idea was to make clear to the Third Reich that an invasion would have a high cost. Simultaneously, economic concessions were made to Germany in the hope that the overall cost of a German invasion would be perceived as higher than the potential benefits. Despite this, it is clear that Hitler intended to invade eventually and that the Allied landing at Normandy as well as the difficulties faced in invading Russia were pivotal in merely delaying an invasion.[8] Concessions included a national blackout, and the destruction of a secret German radar system that had accidentally landed in Switzerland in exchange for a dozen aircraft. In their invasion plan, Operation Tannenbaum, Germany planned to capture Geneva and Lucerne while Italy would capture the Alps; the two countries would divide the country.[7]

Cold War
Swiss policy during the Cold War adopted a more aggressive defense of the borders, relying less on a retreat to the mountains. While Switzerland was again surrounded by an alliance, NATO was not considered a threat to Swiss national existence. The Swiss strategy sought to exact a high price from any direct ground attack on Swiss territory. Control of the Alpine crossings remained a cornerstone of the Swiss strategy of neutrality. The dense network of passive and active barriers and large and small fortifications allowed considerable flexibility in the disposition of Swiss forces, and represented an almost optimal scenario of defense in depth.[6]

The strategic importance of the Alpine crossings had only increased since the Second World War, and any incursion by Warsaw Pact forces would require that they either be taken, or that terms for their use would need to be agreed upon to the satisfaction of Switzerland.[6]

In 1953 Swiss policy was formalized to place greater emphasis on the defense of the borders and population centers, and to extend the concept of defense in depth, pioneered in the Redoubt, to the entire Swiss territory. This corresponded to an unspoken reliance on cooperation with NATO to secure the flanks of Swiss territory and to resupply Swiss forces, which already purchased equipment from members of NATO. The Redoubt, with its determinedly neutralist connotations, lost priority.[9]

Many billions of francs have been invested in building the fortifications in the mountains, which are partly still used by the army. The most important buildings of the Réduit were the fortifications of Sargans, St. Maurice and the Gotthard region. The caverns of those time were equipped with the needed infrastructure, beside cannons and howitzers they consisted of dormitories, kitchens, field hospitals, rooms for the sick and bakeries; and they provided space enough to accommodate 100 to 600 soldiers for a timespan of up to several months. Because the tensions between the western countries and the USSR cooled down and bunkers became increasingly obsolete because of newer weapon systems, a great number of the Réduit buildings were closed. Some of them have been reopened as museums and can be visited.

Comparison with similar projectsEdit

The National Redoubt fortifications, when compared to contemporary French, Belgian, German or Czech fortifications, were much more extensive and heavily armed than the Maginot Line, the Belgian border fortifications, the Siegfried Line or the Czechoslovak border fortifications. While the Maginot fortifications were typically armed with short-barreled 75mm fortress howitzers or 120mm mortar/howitzers, the Swiss fortifications were armed with 75mm and 120mm guns, upgraded in the 1950s to 105mm and 150mm guns. The Swiss guns were typically casemate-mounted or turret-mounted long guns, not howitzers, and were more akin to naval guns than fortress guns. Because they were typically mounted on inaccessible cliffs or plateaus with an advantage of enfilade over any possible opposing force, they were not exposed to infantry attack or direct artillery fire and could afford to have exposed gun barrels. The French positions, which could be targeted by anti-tank weapons or infantry, avoided any exposed gun tubes.[10]

Fortress St. GotthardEdit

Airolo positions

Fort Airolo
Fort Airolo 46°31′42.19″N 8°35′21.25″E, also known as Forte di Airolo, was built between 1887 and 1890 at the southern end of the Gotthard Pass overlooking Airolo. The fort was a compact massif similar to a Brialmont fort, with an encircling ditch defended by caponiers and provided with a twin 120mm gun turret and four 53mm gun turrets for close defense, with five 84mm guns in casemates.[11][12] A 1-km tunnel links Fort Airolo to the Gotthard Rail Tunnel. Abandoned by the military in 1947, the fort is maintained as a museum by a preservation group and may be visited.[13][14][15][16]

Battery Motto Bartola 46°32′01.15″N 8°35′17.15″E is located just up the hill from Fort Airolo and mounted an additional four 120mm guns.[12][13] The fort, built between 1888 and 1890, also mounted four 84mm guns, with extensive underground galleries linking the firing positions.[17][18][19]

Battery Foppa Grande mounted one 105mm gun in a camouflaged turret above Motto Bartola, with three 20mm anti-aircraft guns. The position featured a mortar battery, installed in 1953. The position was deactivated in 1997 and classified as potentially historical. The position may be visited by prior arrangement.[20]

Fort San Carlo is an artillery fort [21][22]

Fort Stuei[23]

Saint Gotthard Tunnel South Portal monitored the original south entrance to the Gotthard Rail Tunnel. Portions of the original installation remain, but the tunnel entrance has been extended to the south and the historic portal no longer exists. These positions were built in 1886-87 and represent the first modern fortifications in Switzerland. A gallery links the tunnel positions back to Fort Airolo.[24]

St. Gotthard Pass positions
Redoubt Hospiz 46°33′24.20″N 8°34′06.37″E, also known as Forte Ospizio, was built in 1894 and operated until 1947 near the summit of the Gotthard Pass. The fort mounted two single 120mm gun turrets.[12][25] The fort is now operated as a museum and may be visited by the public.[15]

Fort Sasso da Pigna 46°33′31.68″N 8°33′59.50″E was built during the early part of World War II, becoming operational in 1943, effectively replacing Redoubt Hospiz. The fort consists of an eastern battery overlooking the Leventina valley and a western battery overlooking the Bedretto valley and the main pass. The main entrance is located just to the north of Fort Ospizio, with 2,400 metres (7,900ft) of galleries and four 105mm gun positions. A proposed addition of two more guns in the late 1950s never proceeded. The position was used until 1999. It is being redeveloped as a museum.[26] This place has been opened to the public on 2012 August 25.

Infantry positions: A number of small infantry bunkers exist near the top of the pass, most notably Bunker No. 3. Construction took place in three stages: 1886-87, 1892–1920, and 1946-1973. These works exhibit a high quality of workmanship and integration into the landscape.[16][18]

Göschenen
Andermatt
Urserne Valley North
Fort Bühl[27]

Fortin Altkirch[28]

Fort Bäzberg[28]

Oberalp Pass
Fort Stöckli 46°39′28.99″N 8°37′17.21″E[29]

Oberalp infantry positions[30]

Fort Gütsch[31]

Furka Pass
Fort Galenhütten 46°34′38.24″N 8°23′27.61″E

Fort Fuchsegg[32]

Fortress St. MauriceEdit

Main article: Fortress Saint-Maurice
Fortress Saint-Maurice encompasses the area around Saint-Maurice in the western, French-speaking portion of Switzerland. The Rhône leaves the central Alpine region through a narrow defile, between 4000m mountains to the south and 3000m mountains to the north. The only comparatively easy access to the upper Rhône valley, and thus to the western National Redoubt, is through Saint-Maurice. Fortress Saint-Maurice is a series of fortifications set into the mountains on either side of the valley, dominating the region as far as Lake Geneva with their artillery. The principal fortification is the enormous Fort Dailly, supported by forts Savartan, Scex and Cindey, as well as lesser positions. The extent of the area designated as Fortress Saint-Maurice is not clearly defined, but according to the Association Fort de Litroz, the Saint-Maurice sector comprises the Rhône narrows from just north of Saint-Maurice to Martigny, excluding Chillon and Champillon, as well as the fortifications of the lateral valleys.[33] However, the effective control of the Saint-Maurice positions extended from Lac Léman to the Great Saint Bernard Pass.[6]

Fortress SargansEdit

Fortress Sargans comprises six major fortifications centered around the town of Sargans in St. Gallen canton.

First Rhine Barrier Forts
Fort Shollberg

Fort Anstein

Major Forts
Fort Magletsch is as of 2012 still in use by the Swiss military.

Fort Kastels is as of 2012 still in use by the Swiss military.

Fort Furkels

Fort Passatiwand

Southern Forts
Fort Molinära

Fort Haselboden

Second Rhine Barrier Forts
Fort Tschingel

Fort Nusslock

Fort Tamina Ragaz

[34]

[35]

ModernizationEdit

The Redoubt positions and others in Switzerland were augmented by the Bison project, which involved the installation of anti-tank guns in new bunkers at key locations to provide a modernized pre-positioned force capable of defeating modern armor. A project to install automatic 120mm mortars was completed in 2003.[36]

1995 army closures
In 1995 the Swiss army was reduced from 750,000 troops to 400,000. By 2004 strength was 120,000, with 80,000 proposed by 2020.[36]

Fate
Debate continues over the usefulness of the Redoubt and other Swiss fortifications. Defense Minister Ueli Maurer proposed in October 2010 to close many of the positions after mitigating environmental issues and assuring permanent safety. A decommissioning program was expected to cost as much as a billion francs.[36] In 2011 Maurer estimated costs to close down the system safely at more than $1 billion. Some of the facilities have been leased or sold as digital data repositories.[37]


A Mirage IIIRS in front of the aircraft cavern Y in Buochs
Because the Réduit strategy was essentially one of deterrence, part of it was overt and public, and played a part in the so-called "intellectual defence of the homeland", or Geistige Landesverteidigung attempting to improve the morale and cohesiveness of the nation. The Réduit strategy's use as a deterrence/propaganda tool continued through the cold war. In 1964, the army's pavilion at the Swiss Fair (Landesausstellung) in Lausanne had the shape of a giant hedgehog made of concrete.[citation needed]

The Réduit features at the center of Swiss writer Christian Kracht´s 2008 dystopian novel Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten.[citation needed]

SourcesEdit

This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of January 6, 2011.
NotesEdit

Kauffmann, p. 152
Kauffmann, p. 153
Kauffmann, p. 154
Kauffmann, p.159
National Defense Speeded by Swiss by C.L. Sulzberger in The New York Times, July 24, 1938. page 16.
Andrey, Dominique. "Le " Réduit national "". Évolution de la valeur opérative du secteur alpin suisse (in French). Revue Historique des Armees. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
McPhee, John (1983-11-07). "La Place de la Concorde Suisse-II". The New Yorker. p.55. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
Let's Swallow Switzerland by Klaus Urner (Lexington Books, 2002).
Soutou, Georges-Henri. "L’organisation de la défense helvétique vue par les Français". La IVe République et l’évolution de la politique de neutralité armée de la Suisse à l’époque de la guerre froide (in French). Revue Historique des Armees. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques (2003). Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 2 (in French). Histoire & Collections. p.98. ISBN2-908182-97-1.
"Museo Forte Airolo (Militärhistorisches Museum in Airolo)" (in German). Ospizio San Gottardo. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Kauffmann pp. 157-158
"Das Fort Airolo am St. Gotthard" (in German). Associazione Amici del Forte Airolo.
Schneider, Hans Rudolf. "Artilleriewerk Forte Airolo". festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
"Altre opere del San Gottardo". Monumenti militari nel Cantone Ticino (in Italian). Swiss Ministry of Defense, Public Protection and Sports. p.38. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "Artilleriewerk Forte Airolo" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans Rudolf. "Artilleriewerk Motto Bartola" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
"Sbarramento San Gottardo – Motto Bartola". Monumenti militari nel Cantone Ticino (in Italian). Swiss Ministry of Defense, Public Protction and Sports. p.34. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "Artilleriewerk Motto Bartola" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schenider, Hans Rudolf. "A8370 Artilleriewerk Foppa Grande" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Burkhardt, Hansjakob. "AW San Carlo". Monumenti militari nel Cantone Ticino (in German). Swiss Ministry of Defense, Public Protction and Sports. p.34. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
Schenider, Hans Rudolf. "A8390 Artilleriewerk San Carlo" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Schenider, Hans Rudolf. "A8350 Artilleriewerk Stuei" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
"Sbarramento San Gottardo - entrate gallerie". Monumenti militari nel Cantone Ticino (in Italian). Swiss Ministry of Defense, Public Protection and Sports. p.32. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
"Museo Forte Ospizio San Gottardo" (in German). Ospizio San Gottardo. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Schenider, Hans Rudolf. "A8385 Artilleriewerk Sasso da Pigna" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "A8675 Artilleriewerk Bühl" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "A8665 Infanteriewerk Altkirch" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "Artilleriewerk Stöckli" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "Oberalp UR" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "A8685 Artilleriewerk Gütsch" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "A8630 Artilleriewerk Fuchsegg" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
"Le dispositif fortifie" (in French). Association Fort de Litroz. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
"Swiss Reveal Secret World: Their Defense From Nazis". New York Times. July 25, 1999. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
Herren, Andreas P. "Swiss Fortress Sargans (Festung Sargans) - May 10, 1940". Tannenbaum 1940. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
Stephens, Thomas (October 22, 2010). "Military bunkers face their Waterloo". swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
Solomon, Christopher (January 19, 2011). "Swiss Weigh Future Role of Bunkers in the Alps". New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
ReferencesEdit

Kauffmann, J.E., Jurga, R., Fortress Europe: European Fortifications of World War II, Da Capo Press, USA, 2002, ISBN 0-306-81174-X.
German-language references
Hans-Rudolf Maurer (Hrsg.): Geheime Kommandoposten der Armeeführung im Zweiten Weltkrieg: Projekte, Bauten und der Mobile Kommandoposten. Verlag Merker im Effingerhof, Lenzburg 2001, ISBN 3-85648-120-6
Willi Gautschi: General Henri Guisan: Die schweizerische Armeeführung im Zweiten Weltkrieg. 4. Auflage. Verlag NZZ, Zürich 2001, ISBN 3-85823-516-4
Roberto Bernhard: Das Reduit. Mythen und Fakten; militärischer Notbehelf, Rettungsanker der Nation, Mythos, Gegenmythos. Institut Libertas, Biel/Bienne 2007, ISBN 3-9521464-4-7
Inventar der Kampf- und Führungsbauten. Bern: Eidg. Dep. für Verteidigung, Bevölkerungsschutz und Sport, Bereich Bauten. 11-teiliges Werk, erschienen zwischen 1999 und 2006.
Individual portions are on line at armasuisse.ch, for example the cantons of Glarus, AI/AR and St. Gallen n
Hand Rudolf Fuhrer, Walter Lüem, Jean-Jacques Rapin, Hans Rapold, Hans Senn: Die Geschichte der schweizerischen Landesbefestigung. Zürich: Orell Füssli, 1992. ISBN 978-3-280-01844-6
External linksEdit

www.fort.ch
Festung-Oberland.ch (in German)
links
Fortress Saint-Maurice
Association Saint-Maurice d'Études Militaires (French)
Schweizer-Festungen
Fort Champillon
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[Ctwentysevenj]

The Swiss may have to implement this:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Redoubt_(Switzerland)


National Redoubt (Switzerland)
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Plan of the Defence lines of the Swiss National Redoubt
The Swiss National Redoubt (Schweizer Reduit or Réduit suisse) was a defensive plan developed by the Swiss government beginning in the 1880s to respond to foreign invasion. In the opening years of World War II the plan was expanded and refined to deal with a potential German invasion. The German plan, Operation Tannenbaum, was real, but was never carried out. The National Redoubt primarily refers to the fortifications begun in the 1880s that secured the mountainous central part of Switzerland, providing a defended refuge for a retreating Swiss army.

The National Redoubt encompassed a widely distributed set of fortifications on a general east-west line through the Alps, centering on three major fortress complexes, Fortresses St. Maurice, St. Gotthard and Sargans. These fortresses primarily defended the alpine crossings between Germany and Italy and excluded the industrialized and populated heart of Switzerland. The Swiss heartlands were defended by the Border Line, an advanced line of defenses near the borders, and the Army Position somewhat farther back. While not intended as an impassable barrier, these lines contained some significant fortifications. The National Redoubt, however, was planned as a nearly impregnable complex of fortifications that would deny an aggressor passage over or through the Alps by controlling the major passes and the railway tunnels running north-to-south through the region. This strategy was intended to deter an invasion altogether by denying Switzerland's crucial transportation infrastructure to an aggressor.

By the 21st century, the National Redoubt was the subject of debate in Swiss society, with many fortifications decommissioned.

Contents
Réduit in the Swiss Alps
History
Guisan plan
World War II
Cold War
Comparison with similar projects
Fortress St. Gotthard
Airolo positions
St. Gotthard Pass positions
Göschenen
Andermatt
Urserne Valley North
Oberalp Pass
Furka Pass
Fortress St. Maurice
Fortress Sargans
First Rhine Barrier Forts
Major Forts
Southern Forts
Second Rhine Barrier Forts
Modernization
1995 army closures
Fate
Sources
Notes
References
German-language references
External links
Réduit in the Swiss AlpsEdit

Main article: Military history of Switzerland

Camouflaged cannon at the Lucendro dam in the Gotthard region. It has a 105 mm calibre and fires up to range of 17 km.
In Switzerland, the concept of "réduit" is a recurring theme of the Swiss concept of defence. Having avoided fighting during World War II, Switzerland retained the concept for its plans of resistance against a putative Soviet invasion, thus shaping a part of the national folklore, and a strong influence in the Swiss concept of neutrality.

History
Fortification of the Swiss alpine region began in the 1880s, shortly after the opening of the Gotthard railway. Forts similar to those of Belgian military engineer Henri Alexis Brialmont were built at Airolo, the Oberalp Pass, Furka Pass and Grimsel Pass, all in the central Alps. Additional positions were constructed in the area of Saint-Maurice, using mining and tunneling techniques in the steep mountainsides of the glacial valley.[1]

Following World War I, there was little Swiss interest in further fortifications. However, during the 1930s as France built the Maginot Line from the Swiss border to Belgium, and Czechoslovakia built the Czechoslovak border fortifications: Switzerland re-examined its need for fixed defenses. At the same time, job creation programs became desirable as a result of the worldwide Great Depression.[2] By 1935 design work began, and in 1937 construction began on the expanded Alpine fortifications, the Border Line and the Army line fortifications.[3]

Guisan plan
General Henri Guisan developed a strategy for the defense of Switzerland that recognized Switzerland's limited resources in equipment and manpower compared to its potential adversaries. Guisan proposed a delaying strategy in the broken terrain of the borders to keep an invading force out of the open country in the central plateau for as long as possible, allowing an orderly retreat to the secured Alpine perimeter. Once the retreat to the Alps was complete, the Swiss government could remain in hiding for an extended time. Accordingly, the border fortifications were improved with major programs along the Rhine and at Vallorbe in the Jura. The strategic Alpine nodes of Saint-Maurice, Saint Gotthard and Sargans were identified as the primary points of access to the Alpine redoubt for a potential aggressor. While Saint Gotthard and Saint-Maurice had been previously fortified, the area of Sargans was newly vulnerable, owing to a drainage program of former wetlands along the Rhine that would now provide easy access to the eastern Alpine gateway at Sargans.[2]




Debate continued over the extent of the Redoubt under the Guisan plan. A proposal was developed by officers from German-speaking cantons, advocating a more compact redoubt. This was overcome by a proposal, authored by Guisan's chief of staff, Colonel Samuel Gonard, whose plan ratified the Saint-Maurice - Saint Gotthard - Sargans strategy, prefaced by a defense in depth. Additional impetus was provided by the fall of France in June, 1940. Two days after the French surrender, on 23 June, the border zones were reduced in priority in favor of the "advanced position" or Army Line. The army was shifted to the center of the country, leaving industries and population centers relatively unprotected. The final Guisan plan, adopted on 12 July 1940, defined an organized retreat to the Alps, where supplies would be stocked for an indefinite resistance with no thought of further retreat. On 25 July 1940, the Swiss defensive plan was disseminated, dictating a fallback to the Alps in the event of an Axis attack, focusing in particular on the Gotthard massif and destroying all access points as necessary once inside.[4]

The National Redoubt strategy was emphasized on 24 May 1941. Until this time only about two thirds of the Swiss Army had been mobilized. Following the swift overrunning of the Balkan countries by German forces in April 1941, in which relatively low mountains had proven to be little barrier to the aggressive German forces, the entire Swiss army was mobilized. The Swiss, lacking a significant armored force, drew the conclusion that withdrawal to the Redoubt was the only sound course. Any actions in the Central Plateau would be delaying actions only. This was publicly reported after Switzerland was surrounded by German and Italian forces, Guisan revealed on 25 July 1940 at the so-called Rütlirapport, a meeting of the Swiss army staff at the founding site of the Swiss confederation, that in case of attack the Swiss would only defend the high Alps including the important transalpine roads and rail links. As a last resort, the army would make these routes useless to the Axis by destroying key bridges and tunnels. This plan meant that the populated lowlands - including the economic centres of the country - would be effectively ceded to the Germans. The gold reserves of the Swiss National Bank in Zürich were moved farther away from the German border, to the Gotthard Pass and to Bern.[5]

World War II

Camouflaged infantry fortification in Sufers (machine gun bastion left, antitank gun right, housing and connecting tunnel underground)
The National Redoubt assumed great importance to the Swiss in 1940, when they were entirely surrounded by Axis powers, effectively at the mercy of Hitler and Mussolini. The National Redoubt was a way to preserve at least part of Swiss territory in the event of an invasion. The Redoubt was to be manned by eight infantry divisions and three mountain brigades;[6] the Swiss practiced for war by imitating the battles occurring around them.[7]

Switzerland's Réduit strategy during World War II was essentially one of deterrence. The idea was to make clear to the Third Reich that an invasion would have a high cost. Simultaneously, economic concessions were made to Germany in the hope that the overall cost of a German invasion would be perceived as higher than the potential benefits. Despite this, it is clear that Hitler intended to invade eventually and that the Allied landing at Normandy as well as the difficulties faced in invading Russia were pivotal in merely delaying an invasion.[8] Concessions included a national blackout, and the destruction of a secret German radar system that had accidentally landed in Switzerland in exchange for a dozen aircraft. In their invasion plan, Operation Tannenbaum, Germany planned to capture Geneva and Lucerne while Italy would capture the Alps; the two countries would divide the country.[7]

Cold War
Swiss policy during the Cold War adopted a more aggressive defense of the borders, relying less on a retreat to the mountains. While Switzerland was again surrounded by an alliance, NATO was not considered a threat to Swiss national existence. The Swiss strategy sought to exact a high price from any direct ground attack on Swiss territory. Control of the Alpine crossings remained a cornerstone of the Swiss strategy of neutrality. The dense network of passive and active barriers and large and small fortifications allowed considerable flexibility in the disposition of Swiss forces, and represented an almost optimal scenario of defense in depth.[6]

The strategic importance of the Alpine crossings had only increased since the Second World War, and any incursion by Warsaw Pact forces would require that they either be taken, or that terms for their use would need to be agreed upon to the satisfaction of Switzerland.[6]

In 1953 Swiss policy was formalized to place greater emphasis on the defense of the borders and population centers, and to extend the concept of defense in depth, pioneered in the Redoubt, to the entire Swiss territory. This corresponded to an unspoken reliance on cooperation with NATO to secure the flanks of Swiss territory and to resupply Swiss forces, which already purchased equipment from members of NATO. The Redoubt, with its determinedly neutralist connotations, lost priority.[9]

Many billions of francs have been invested in building the fortifications in the mountains, which are partly still used by the army. The most important buildings of the Réduit were the fortifications of Sargans, St. Maurice and the Gotthard region. The caverns of those time were equipped with the needed infrastructure, beside cannons and howitzers they consisted of dormitories, kitchens, field hospitals, rooms for the sick and bakeries; and they provided space enough to accommodate 100 to 600 soldiers for a timespan of up to several months. Because the tensions between the western countries and the USSR cooled down and bunkers became increasingly obsolete because of newer weapon systems, a great number of the Réduit buildings were closed. Some of them have been reopened as museums and can be visited.

Comparison with similar projectsEdit

The National Redoubt fortifications, when compared to contemporary French, Belgian, German or Czech fortifications, were much more extensive and heavily armed than the Maginot Line, the Belgian border fortifications, the Siegfried Line or the Czechoslovak border fortifications. While the Maginot fortifications were typically armed with short-barreled 75mm fortress howitzers or 120mm mortar/howitzers, the Swiss fortifications were armed with 75mm and 120mm guns, upgraded in the 1950s to 105mm and 150mm guns. The Swiss guns were typically casemate-mounted or turret-mounted long guns, not howitzers, and were more akin to naval guns than fortress guns. Because they were typically mounted on inaccessible cliffs or plateaus with an advantage of enfilade over any possible opposing force, they were not exposed to infantry attack or direct artillery fire and could afford to have exposed gun barrels. The French positions, which could be targeted by anti-tank weapons or infantry, avoided any exposed gun tubes.[10]

Fortress St. GotthardEdit

Airolo positions

Fort Airolo
Fort Airolo 46°31′42.19″N 8°35′21.25″E, also known as Forte di Airolo, was built between 1887 and 1890 at the southern end of the Gotthard Pass overlooking Airolo. The fort was a compact massif similar to a Brialmont fort, with an encircling ditch defended by caponiers and provided with a twin 120mm gun turret and four 53mm gun turrets for close defense, with five 84mm guns in casemates.[11][12] A 1-km tunnel links Fort Airolo to the Gotthard Rail Tunnel. Abandoned by the military in 1947, the fort is maintained as a museum by a preservation group and may be visited.[13][14][15][16]

Battery Motto Bartola 46°32′01.15″N 8°35′17.15″E is located just up the hill from Fort Airolo and mounted an additional four 120mm guns.[12][13] The fort, built between 1888 and 1890, also mounted four 84mm guns, with extensive underground galleries linking the firing positions.[17][18][19]

Battery Foppa Grande mounted one 105mm gun in a camouflaged turret above Motto Bartola, with three 20mm anti-aircraft guns. The position featured a mortar battery, installed in 1953. The position was deactivated in 1997 and classified as potentially historical. The position may be visited by prior arrangement.[20]

Fort San Carlo is an artillery fort [21][22]

Fort Stuei[23]

Saint Gotthard Tunnel South Portal monitored the original south entrance to the Gotthard Rail Tunnel. Portions of the original installation remain, but the tunnel entrance has been extended to the south and the historic portal no longer exists. These positions were built in 1886-87 and represent the first modern fortifications in Switzerland. A gallery links the tunnel positions back to Fort Airolo.[24]

St. Gotthard Pass positions
Redoubt Hospiz 46°33′24.20″N 8°34′06.37″E, also known as Forte Ospizio, was built in 1894 and operated until 1947 near the summit of the Gotthard Pass. The fort mounted two single 120mm gun turrets.[12][25] The fort is now operated as a museum and may be visited by the public.[15]

Fort Sasso da Pigna 46°33′31.68″N 8°33′59.50″E was built during the early part of World War II, becoming operational in 1943, effectively replacing Redoubt Hospiz. The fort consists of an eastern battery overlooking the Leventina valley and a western battery overlooking the Bedretto valley and the main pass. The main entrance is located just to the north of Fort Ospizio, with 2,400 metres (7,900ft) of galleries and four 105mm gun positions. A proposed addition of two more guns in the late 1950s never proceeded. The position was used until 1999. It is being redeveloped as a museum.[26] This place has been opened to the public on 2012 August 25.

Infantry positions: A number of small infantry bunkers exist near the top of the pass, most notably Bunker No. 3. Construction took place in three stages: 1886-87, 1892–1920, and 1946-1973. These works exhibit a high quality of workmanship and integration into the landscape.[16][18]

Göschenen
Andermatt
Urserne Valley North
Fort Bühl[27]

Fortin Altkirch[28]

Fort Bäzberg[28]

Oberalp Pass
Fort Stöckli 46°39′28.99″N 8°37′17.21″E[29]

Oberalp infantry positions[30]

Fort Gütsch[31]

Furka Pass
Fort Galenhütten 46°34′38.24″N 8°23′27.61″E

Fort Fuchsegg[32]

Fortress St. MauriceEdit

Main article: Fortress Saint-Maurice
Fortress Saint-Maurice encompasses the area around Saint-Maurice in the western, French-speaking portion of Switzerland. The Rhône leaves the central Alpine region through a narrow defile, between 4000m mountains to the south and 3000m mountains to the north. The only comparatively easy access to the upper Rhône valley, and thus to the western National Redoubt, is through Saint-Maurice. Fortress Saint-Maurice is a series of fortifications set into the mountains on either side of the valley, dominating the region as far as Lake Geneva with their artillery. The principal fortification is the enormous Fort Dailly, supported by forts Savartan, Scex and Cindey, as well as lesser positions. The extent of the area designated as Fortress Saint-Maurice is not clearly defined, but according to the Association Fort de Litroz, the Saint-Maurice sector comprises the Rhône narrows from just north of Saint-Maurice to Martigny, excluding Chillon and Champillon, as well as the fortifications of the lateral valleys.[33] However, the effective control of the Saint-Maurice positions extended from Lac Léman to the Great Saint Bernard Pass.[6]

Fortress SargansEdit

Fortress Sargans comprises six major fortifications centered around the town of Sargans in St. Gallen canton.

First Rhine Barrier Forts
Fort Shollberg

Fort Anstein

Major Forts
Fort Magletsch is as of 2012 still in use by the Swiss military.

Fort Kastels is as of 2012 still in use by the Swiss military.

Fort Furkels

Fort Passatiwand

Southern Forts
Fort Molinära

Fort Haselboden

Second Rhine Barrier Forts
Fort Tschingel

Fort Nusslock

Fort Tamina Ragaz

[34]

[35]

ModernizationEdit

The Redoubt positions and others in Switzerland were augmented by the Bison project, which involved the installation of anti-tank guns in new bunkers at key locations to provide a modernized pre-positioned force capable of defeating modern armor. A project to install automatic 120mm mortars was completed in 2003.[36]

1995 army closures
In 1995 the Swiss army was reduced from 750,000 troops to 400,000. By 2004 strength was 120,000, with 80,000 proposed by 2020.[36]

Fate
Debate continues over the usefulness of the Redoubt and other Swiss fortifications. Defense Minister Ueli Maurer proposed in October 2010 to close many of the positions after mitigating environmental issues and assuring permanent safety. A decommissioning program was expected to cost as much as a billion francs.[36] In 2011 Maurer estimated costs to close down the system safely at more than $1 billion. Some of the facilities have been leased or sold as digital data repositories.[37]


A Mirage IIIRS in front of the aircraft cavern Y in Buochs
Because the Réduit strategy was essentially one of deterrence, part of it was overt and public, and played a part in the so-called "intellectual defence of the homeland", or Geistige Landesverteidigung attempting to improve the morale and cohesiveness of the nation. The Réduit strategy's use as a deterrence/propaganda tool continued through the cold war. In 1964, the army's pavilion at the Swiss Fair (Landesausstellung) in Lausanne had the shape of a giant hedgehog made of concrete.[citation needed]

The Réduit features at the center of Swiss writer Christian Kracht´s 2008 dystopian novel Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten.[citation needed]

SourcesEdit

This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of January 6, 2011.
NotesEdit

Kauffmann, p. 152
Kauffmann, p. 153
Kauffmann, p. 154
Kauffmann, p.159
National Defense Speeded by Swiss by C.L. Sulzberger in The New York Times, July 24, 1938. page 16.
Andrey, Dominique. "Le " Réduit national "". Évolution de la valeur opérative du secteur alpin suisse (in French). Revue Historique des Armees. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
McPhee, John (1983-11-07). "La Place de la Concorde Suisse-II". The New Yorker. p.55. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
Let's Swallow Switzerland by Klaus Urner (Lexington Books, 2002).
Soutou, Georges-Henri. "L’organisation de la défense helvétique vue par les Français". La IVe République et l’évolution de la politique de neutralité armée de la Suisse à l’époque de la guerre froide (in French). Revue Historique des Armees. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques (2003). Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 2 (in French). Histoire & Collections. p.98. ISBN2-908182-97-1.
"Museo Forte Airolo (Militärhistorisches Museum in Airolo)" (in German). Ospizio San Gottardo. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Kauffmann pp. 157-158
"Das Fort Airolo am St. Gotthard" (in German). Associazione Amici del Forte Airolo.
Schneider, Hans Rudolf. "Artilleriewerk Forte Airolo". festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
"Altre opere del San Gottardo". Monumenti militari nel Cantone Ticino (in Italian). Swiss Ministry of Defense, Public Protection and Sports. p.38. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "Artilleriewerk Forte Airolo" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans Rudolf. "Artilleriewerk Motto Bartola" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
"Sbarramento San Gottardo – Motto Bartola". Monumenti militari nel Cantone Ticino (in Italian). Swiss Ministry of Defense, Public Protction and Sports. p.34. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "Artilleriewerk Motto Bartola" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schenider, Hans Rudolf. "A8370 Artilleriewerk Foppa Grande" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Burkhardt, Hansjakob. "AW San Carlo". Monumenti militari nel Cantone Ticino (in German). Swiss Ministry of Defense, Public Protction and Sports. p.34. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
Schenider, Hans Rudolf. "A8390 Artilleriewerk San Carlo" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Schenider, Hans Rudolf. "A8350 Artilleriewerk Stuei" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
"Sbarramento San Gottardo - entrate gallerie". Monumenti militari nel Cantone Ticino (in Italian). Swiss Ministry of Defense, Public Protection and Sports. p.32. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
"Museo Forte Ospizio San Gottardo" (in German). Ospizio San Gottardo. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Schenider, Hans Rudolf. "A8385 Artilleriewerk Sasso da Pigna" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "A8675 Artilleriewerk Bühl" (in German). festung-oberland.ch. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "A8665 Infanteriewerk Altkirch" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "Artilleriewerk Stöckli" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "Oberalp UR" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "A8685 Artilleriewerk Gütsch" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Schneider, Hans-Rudlf. "A8630 Artilleriewerk Fuchsegg" (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
"Le dispositif fortifie" (in French). Association Fort de Litroz. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
"Swiss Reveal Secret World: Their Defense From Nazis". New York Times. July 25, 1999. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
Herren, Andreas P. "Swiss Fortress Sargans (Festung Sargans) - May 10, 1940". Tannenbaum 1940. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
Stephens, Thomas (October 22, 2010). "Military bunkers face their Waterloo". swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
Solomon, Christopher (January 19, 2011). "Swiss Weigh Future Role of Bunkers in the Alps". New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
ReferencesEdit

Kauffmann, J.E., Jurga, R., Fortress Europe: European Fortifications of World War II, Da Capo Press, USA, 2002, ISBN 0-306-81174-X.
German-language references
Hans-Rudolf Maurer (Hrsg.): Geheime Kommandoposten der Armeeführung im Zweiten Weltkrieg: Projekte, Bauten und der Mobile Kommandoposten. Verlag Merker im Effingerhof, Lenzburg 2001, ISBN 3-85648-120-6
Willi Gautschi: General Henri Guisan: Die schweizerische Armeeführung im Zweiten Weltkrieg. 4. Auflage. Verlag NZZ, Zürich 2001, ISBN 3-85823-516-4
Roberto Bernhard: Das Reduit. Mythen und Fakten; militärischer Notbehelf, Rettungsanker der Nation, Mythos, Gegenmythos. Institut Libertas, Biel/Bienne 2007, ISBN 3-9521464-4-7
Inventar der Kampf- und Führungsbauten. Bern: Eidg. Dep. für Verteidigung, Bevölkerungsschutz und Sport, Bereich Bauten. 11-teiliges Werk, erschienen zwischen 1999 und 2006.
Individual portions are on line at armasuisse.ch, for example the cantons of Glarus, AI/AR and St. Gallen n
Hand Rudolf Fuhrer, Walter Lüem, Jean-Jacques Rapin, Hans Rapold, Hans Senn: Die Geschichte der schweizerischen Landesbefestigung. Zürich: Orell Füssli, 1992. ISBN 978-3-280-01844-6
External linksEdit

www.fort.ch
Festung-Oberland.ch (in German)
links
Fortress Saint-Maurice
Association Saint-Maurice d'Études Militaires (French)
Schweizer-Festungen
Fort Champillon
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