Point d'argent, point de Suisse
"No pay, no Swiss" (also translated as the
alliterative "No silver, no Swiss"), the eminently practical creed of the Swiss mercenaries.
The Swiss Army is a force that is so well-armed that the country escaped both World Wars because the able-bodied men aged 18 above are conscripted and ready to fight as
La Résistance. Marksmanship is highly prized, with Swiss soldiers tending to practice a
lot and their rifles being designed for better range and accuracy than those of any potential invader, regardless of the increased cost this entails.
Because of its time-honored policy of neutrality, it does not participate in foreign wars since 1815 [after the Napoleonic conflicts], though it does participate in peacetime operations.
The Swiss Military conscripts its male citizens 18 to 50 years old. Females can join voluntarily, though the idea of female conscription for non-combat purposes existed long time ago. Those who are unfit may either join a civilian service [as cooks, medics, paramilitary construction workers, etc.] or pay extra tax.
There had been movements to abolish the army. Both failed, since many Swiss are quite happy to have an army [and keep their guns at home, since the Swiss Army is essentially like the National Guard in the United States].
Responsible for trope
Swiss Army Weapon, the Swiss Army Knife is still used in the military and probably will still be used in the future. The military version, as opposed to the commercial versions, is green camouflage in color and doesn't have a superfluity of blades/tools. Also,
Swiss Army Knives are only produced by two companies: Victorinox and Wenger. Everybody else who makes similar knifes, sells "
Swiss Style Pocket Knives". To claim otherwise is to feel the wrath of a Swiss
Army Of Lawyers, every bit as feared as the Swiss Mercenaries and
probably three times as bloodthirsty.
The Swiss also created the
Cool Gun SIG SG-550, the MOWAG Piranha
Awesome Personnel Carrier, and many other cool weapons. They don't make their own planes though, and have to buy from France [Mirage fighters] and the U.S [F-18 Hornet fighters], with the next generation coming from Sweden [Gripen fighters]. Many Swiss Air Force hangers are carved out of mountainsides, and the nation's highways are reinforced to serve as runways if needed.
One note that might be made is that the Swiss Army wasn't always so, well, respectable. They were once the most ferocious
Private Military Contractors in Europe, their
pikemen contributing to major revolutions in military doctrine, and the cost of their pikemen contributing to several national bankruptcies. Later they were highly valued and formed part of the bodyguard of several European monarchs, including the King of France. In this role they made a
Last Stand defending the King against a Parisian mob. Interestingly, in the Napoleonic Wars they wore red coats which made them easy to confuse with British, against whom they were sometimes arrayed as part of the forces of
Napoleon Bonaparte . The Pope
still uses Swiss troops as guards (the only exception to the eventual Swiss ban on serving as mercenaries) - they may look a bit behind the times, with their sixteenth-century outfits, but underneath the poofy sleeves and wacky colors, they're heavily armed and (reportedly) armored. The Swiss Guard troops not on ceremonial duty stay mostly out of sight wearing
more practical uniforms
◊.
During the World Wars they enforced their country's neutrality well. Several times they shot and forced down planes of both belligerents who were intruding on their airspace, including 11 Luftwaffe planes. Well, Hitler got so annoyed with them in the end, that he attempted to sabotage their airfields, to no avail. When the Allies accidentally bombed Swiss cities, the Swiss captured up to 100 US bombers and their crews meanwhile.
In fiction:
- The Swiss Guard provides the primary forces for an expedition to the Posleen homeworld, in The Tuloriad.
- In Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears, the Swiss Guard provides the soldiers used to help enforce Ryan's Middle East peace plan.
- In Tom Kratman's Caliphate, surrounded by a Europe overtaken by a Muslim Caliphate, They eventually help in the search for Hamilton and co, after being informed that Switzerland was on the Caliphate's target list for the virus that Hamilton was sent to capture and neutralize.
- In an episode of Sliders, the group arrives on a world where America is at war with Switzerland. America is losing.
◊.
During the World Wars they enforced their country's neutrality well. Several times they shot and forced down planes of both belligerents who were intruding on their airspace, including 11 Luftwaffe planes. Well, Hitler got so annoyed with them in the end, that he attempted to sabotage their airfields, to no avail. When the Allies accidentally bombed Swiss cities, the Swiss captured up to 100 US bombers and their crews meanwhile.
