1.
Swiss Guards
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See Pontifical Swiss Guard for the Swiss Guard stationed at the Vatican. Swiss Guards are the Swiss soldiers who have served as guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century, Foreign military service was outlawed by the revised Swiss Constitution of 1874, with the only exception being the Pontifical Swiss Guard stationed at the Vatican. The modern Papal Swiss Guard serves as both a unit and a bodyguard. Established in 1506, it is one of the oldest military units in the world, the earliest Swiss guard unit to be established on a permanent basis was the Hundred Swiss, which served at the French court from 1490 to 1817. This small force was complemented in 1567 by a Swiss Guards regiment, in the 18th and early 19th centuries several other Swiss Guard units existed for periods in various European courts. In addition to household and palace units, Swiss mercenary regiments have served as regular line troops in various armies, notably those of France, Spain. They were considered the most effective mercenaries of the 15th century, at the Battle of Marignano, the Landsknecht in French service defeated the Swiss pikemen. In addition the Gardes Suisses served in the field as a regiment in times of war. King Francis I of France used some 120,000 Swiss mercenaries in the Italian Wars, the Hundred Swiss were created in 1480 when Louis XI retained a Swiss company for his personal guard. By 1496 they comprised one hundred guardsmen plus about twenty-seven officers and their main role was the protection of the King within the palace as the garde du dedans du Louvre, but in the earlier part of their history they accompanied the King to war. In the Battle of Pavia the Hundred Swiss of King Francis I were slain before Francis was captured by the Spanish, the Hundred Swiss shared the indoor guard with the Kings Bodyguards, who were Frenchmen. The Hundred Swiss were armed with halberds, the blade of which carried the Royal arms in gold and their ceremonial dress as worn until 1789 comprised an elaborate 16th century Swiss costume covered with braiding and livery lace. A less ornate dark blue and red uniform with bearskin headdress was worn for ordinary duties, the Cent Suisses company was disbanded after Louis XVI left Versailles in October 1789. It was however refounded on 15 July 1814 with an establishment of 136 guardsmen, the Hundred Swiss accompanied Louis XVIII into exile in Belgium the following year and returned with him to Paris following the Battle of Waterloo. The unit then resumed its role of palace guards at the Tuileries. In 1616, King Louis XIII gave a regiment of Swiss infantry the name of Gardes suisses, the new regiment had the primary role of protecting the doors, gates and outer perimeters of the various royal palaces. In its early years this unit was officially a regiment of the line, during the 17th and 18th centuries the Swiss Guards maintained a reputation for discipline and steadiness in both peacetime service and foreign campaigning. Their officers were all Swiss and their rate of pay substantially higher than that of the regular French soldiers, internal discipline was maintained according to Swiss codes which were significantly harsher than those of the regular French Army
2.
Swiss Army knife
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The Swiss Army knife is a pocketknife or multi-tool manufactured by Victorinox AG. The term Swiss Army knife was coined by American soldiers after World War II due to the difficulty they had in pronouncing Offiziersmesser, the German name. The Swiss Army knife generally has a main spearpoint blade, as well as tools, such as screwdrivers, a can opener. These attachments are stowed inside the handle of the knife through a pivot point mechanism, the handle is usually red, and features a Victorinox or Wenger cross logo or, for Swiss military issue knives, the coat of arms of Switzerland. A cultural icon of Switzerland, the design of the knife, during the late 1880s, the Swiss Army decided to purchase a new folding pocket knife for their soldiers. This knife was to be suitable for use by the army in opening canned food and disassembling the Swiss service rifle, the Schmidt–Rubin, in January 1891, the knife received the official designation Modell 1890. The knife had a blade, reamer, can-opener, screwdriver, at that time no Swiss company had the necessary production capacity, so the initial order for 15,000 knives was placed with the German knife manufacturer Wester & Co. from Solingen, Germany. These knives were delivered in October 1891, in 1891, Karl Elsener, then owner of a company that made surgical equipment, set out to manufacture the knives in Switzerland itself. At the end of 1891 Elsener began production of the Modell 1890 knives, Elsener then wanted to make a pocketknife more suitable to an Officer. In 1896, Elsener succeeded in attaching tools on both sides of the using a special spring mechanism, this allowed him to use the same spring to hold them in place. This allowed Elsener to put twice as many features on the knife, Karl Elsener used the cross and shield to identify his knives, the symbol still used today on Victorinox-branded versions. When his mother died in 1909, Elsener decided to name his company Victoria in her memory, in 1921 the company started using stainless steel to make the Swiss Army Knife. Stainless steel is known as inox, short for the French term acier inoxydable. Victoria and inox were then combined to create the company name Victorinox, Victorinoxs headquarters and show room are located in the Swiss town of Ibach. This company was acquired by its then General Manager, Théodore Wenger. By mutual agreement, Wenger has advertised as the Genuine Swiss Army Knife and Victorinox used the slogan, on April 26,2005, Victorinox acquired Wenger, once again becoming the sole supplier of knives to the Military of Switzerland. Victorinox had kept both consumer brands intact, but on January 30,2013, Wenger and Victorinox announced that the separate knife brands were going to be merged into one brand, Wengers watch and licensing business will continue as a separate brand. Up to 2008 Victorinox AG and Wenger SA supplied about 50,000 knives to the military of Switzerland each year, on January 30,2013, Wenger and Victorinox announced that the separate knife brands were going to be merged into one brand, Victorinox
3.
Swiss Air Force
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The Swiss Air Force is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914 as part of the army and in October 1936 an independent service. In peacetime, Dübendorf is the air force headquarters. The Swiss Air Force operates from fixed bases but its personnel are also trained to carry out air operations from temporary highway airstrips. In case of crisis or war, several stretches of road are specially prepared for this option, the first military aviation in Switzerland took the form of balloon transport, pioneered by Swiss balloonist Eduard Spelterini, but by 1914 there was still little official support for an air corps. The outbreak of World War I changed opinions drastically and cavalry officer Theodor Real was charged with forming a flying corps, Switzerland remained neutral and isolated during the conflict, and the air corps confined its activities to training and exercises, reconnaissance and patrol. The Swiss Air Force as a military service was created in October 1936. Later in the war, the Allied bomber offensive sometimes took US or British bombers into Swiss airspace, Swiss aircraft would attempt to intercept individual aircraft and force them to land, interning the crews. Only one further Swiss pilot was killed during the war, shot down by a US fighter in September 1944, from September red and white neutrality bands were added to the wings of aircraft to stop accidental attacks on Swiss aircraft by Allied aircraft. On 1 October 1943 the first American bomber was shot near Bad Ragaz, the officers were interned in Davos, airmen in Adelboden. The representative of the U. S. military in Bern, U. S. military attaché Barnwell R. Legge, legation to coordinate their escape attempts, but the majority of the soldiers thought it was a diplomatic ruse or did not receive the instruction directly. Soldiers who were caught after their escape from the internment camp, were detained in the Wauwilermoos internment camp near Luzern. Official Swiss records identify 6,501 airspace violations during the course of the war, after World War II the service was renamed the Swiss Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Command and in 1966 became a separate service independent from the Army, under its present name Schweizer Luftwaffe. The Venoms served until 1983, while Vampires and Hunters continued in service until 1990 and 1994 respectively. Switzerland was among those European countries that purchased the North American P-51 Mustang from US surplus stocks post World War 2, however the inability to field an air force of sufficient capability to carry out such missions led to a return of traditional protection of own territory doctrine. Meanwhile, the Air Force also began to ad hoc airbases in the mountains, with sections of highway strengthened to act as runways. After the prototypes EFW N-20 and FFA P-16, Switzerland did not invest in development of its own combat aircraft, in 1964 the procurement of the Dassault Mirage III fighters caused a scandal due to severe budget overruns. The Patrouille Suisse display team was founded in 1964, the 50th anniversary year of the Swiss Air Force, in 1969, Air Force logistics and air defence were reassigned into brigades. The Armed Forces Meteo Group and Avalanche Rescue Service came under air force and air defence command, the 1970s were the years of historic major manoeuvres with over 22,000 participants
4.
Chief of the Armed Forces
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The position was established in 2004. Until the end of 2003, the highest level of command in the Swiss Armed forces was held by the General Staff, together with other reforms of the Armed Forces, the position of Chief of the Armed Forces was introduced. Christophe Keckeis became the first Chief of the Armed Forces, having served as Chief of the General Staff since January 2003. The Chief of the Armed Forces is elected by the Federal Council and he leads the Swiss Armed Forces in time of peace. Only in time of war, a Commander-in-chief of the rank of General is elected by the Federal Assembly, chef der Armee at the official Swiss government website
5.
Swiss franc
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The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione dItalia. The Swiss National Bank issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins, the smaller denomination, a hundredth of a franc, is a Rappen in German, centime in French, centesimo in Italian, and rap in Romansh. The ISO code of the used by banks and financial institutions is CHF, although Fr. is used by most businesses and advertisers. Given the different languages used in Switzerland, Latin is used for inscriptions on the coins. In 1798, the Helvetic Republic introduced a currency based on the Berne thaler, the Swiss franc was equal to 6 3⁄4 grams of pure silver or 1 1⁄2 French francs. This franc was issued until the end of the Helvetic Republic in 1803, in order to solve this problem, the new Swiss Federal Constitution of 1848 specified that the federal government would be the only entity allowed to make money in Switzerland. This was followed two years later by the first Federal Coinage Act, passed by the Federal Assembly on 7 May 1850, the franc was introduced at par with the French franc. It replaced the different currencies of the Swiss cantons, some of which had been using a franc which was worth 1 1⁄2 French francs. In 1865, France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland formed the Latin Monetary Union, the currency was devalued by 30% following the devaluations of the British pound, U. S. dollar and French franc. In 1945, Switzerland joined the Bretton Woods system and pegged the franc to the U. S. dollar at a rate of $1 =4.30521 francs and this was changed to $1 =4.375 francs in 1949. The Swiss franc has historically considered a safe-haven currency with virtually zero inflation. However, this link to gold, which dates from the 1920s, was terminated on 1 May 2000 following a referendum. By March 2005, following a gold selling program, the Swiss National Bank held 1,290 tonnes of gold in reserves which equated to 20% of its assets. In November 2014, the referendum on the Swiss Gold Initiative which proposed a restoration of 20% gold backing for the Swiss franc was voted down, in March 2011 the franc climbed past the US$1.10 mark. In June 2011 the franc climbed past US$1.20 as investors sought safety amidst the continuation of the Greek sovereign-debt crisis, demand for francs and franc-denominated assets was so strong that nominal short-term Swiss interest rates became negative. In response to the announcement the franc fell against the euro, to 1.22 francs from 1.12 francs, the intervention stunned currency traders since the franc had long been regarded as a safe haven. The franc fell 8. 8% against the euro,9. 5% against the dollar and it was the largest plunge of the franc ever against the euro. The SNB had previously set an exchange rate target in 1978 against the Deutsche mark and maintained it, although at the cost of high inflation
6.
Military ranks of the Swiss Armed Forces
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The military ranks of the Swiss Armed Forces have changed little over the centuries, except for the introduction, in 2001, of a new set of warrant officers. The rank insignia for all personnel are worn on shoulder boards with the background colour. The exception is that, in all services, rank insignia is not worn by recruits, designations are given here in German, French, Italian and Romansh, with an English translation which is used during overseas missions. Higher staff officers wear black lampasses on the seam of dress uniform trousers. Generals were appointed during the Neuchâtel Crisis, Franco-Prussian War, First World War, the general remains subordinate to the Federal Council. Swiss Armed Forces rank insignia as of 1st Jan 2006 Rank insignia, insignia of the Swiss Armed Forces. IPhone Tool to look-up and study Swiss Military Grades and Function Insignias Media related to Military rank insignia of Switzerland at Wikimedia Commons
7.
Soldier
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A soldier is one who fights as part of an organised, land-based armed force. A soldier can be a person, a non-commissioned officer. The word soldier derives from the Middle English word soudeour, from Old French soudeer or soudeour, meaning mercenary, from soudee, meaning shillings worth or wage, from sou or soud, the word is also related to the Medieval Latin soldarius, meaning soldier. These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word solidus, referring to an Ancient Roman coin used in the Byzantine Empire. In most armed forces use of the soldier has taken on a more general meaning due to the increasing specialization of military occupations that require different areas of knowledge. In many countries soldiers serving in specific occupations are referred to by other than their occupational name. For example, military personnel in the British Army are known as red caps because of the colour of their caps. Infantry are sometimes called grunts or squaddies, while US Army artillery crews, or gunners, are referred to as redlegs. U. S. soldiers are often called G. I. s, members of the Marine Corps are typically referred to as marines rather than soldiers. In the United States, the term warfighter is often used to refer collectively to all whose job it is to do the actual fighting, the army has not completely phased out this terminology and still uses warfighter in various contexts such as the Project Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical. French Marine Infantry are called marsouins because of their amphibious role, Military units in most armies have nicknames of this type, arising either from items of distinctive uniform, some historical connotation or rivalry between branches or regiments. Some soldiers, such as conscripts or draftees, serve a limited term. Others choose to serve until retirement, then receive a pension. In the United States, military members can retire after 20 years, in other countries, the term of service is 30 years, hence the term 30-year man. Airman Marine Military use of children Seaman Media related to Soldier at Wikimedia Commons
8.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
9.
Neutral country
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A neutral country in a particular war is a sovereign state which officially declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral, the rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907. A permanently neutral power is a state which is bound by international treaty to be neutral towards the belligerents of all future wars. An example of a neutral power is Switzerland. The concept of neutrality in war is defined and puts specific constraints on the neutral party in return for the internationally recognised right to remain neutral. Neutralism or a neutralist policy is a policy position wherein a state intends to remain neutral in future wars. A sovereign state that reserves the right to become a belligerent if attacked by a party to the war is in a condition of armed neutrality, belligerents may not invade neutral territory, and a neutral powers resisting any such attempt does not compromise its neutrality. A neutral power must intern belligerent troops who reach its territory, belligerent armies may not recruit neutral citizens, but they may go abroad to enlist. Belligerent armies personnel and material may not be transported across neutral territory, a neutral power may supply communication facilities to belligerents, but not war material, although it need not prevent export of such material. Belligerent naval vessels may use neutral ports for a maximum of 24 hours, exceptions are to make repairs—only the minimum necessary to put back to sea—or if an opposing belligerents vessel is already in port, in which case it must have a 24-hour head start. A prize ship captured by a belligerent in the waters of a neutral power must be surrendered by the belligerent to the neutral. Note, Whether a state that is a member of the European Union may be considered neutral is a point of debate and this is discussed in the section below. The neutrality of countries now in the European Union is under dispute, especially as the EU now operates a Common Foreign. This view was supported by the Finnish Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, on 5 July 2006, while speaking to the European Parliament as Council President, I must correct him on that, Finland is a member of the EU. We were at one time a neutral country, during the time of the Iron Curtain. Now we are a member of the Union, part of community of values, which has a common policy and, moreover. Sweden has traditionally described itself as Alliance-free with the intention of being neutral in any conflict, since joining the European Union, Sweden has changed its stance and is now making strong hints that it will support other European Union members in case of a conflict in its vicinity. Later, the solidarity clause in the Lisbon Treaty was deemed sufficient to replace the Western European Union military alliances mutual defence clause, as a result, the WEU was closed down with its mutual defence role having been absorbed by the European Union
10.
Peacekeeping
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Peacekeeping refers to activities intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths and reduces the risk of renewed warfare, such assistance may come in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. Accordingly, the UN peacekeepers can include soldiers, police officers, the United Nations is not the only organization to implement peacekeeping missions. Non-UN peacekeeping forces include the NATO mission in Kosovo and the Multinational Force, the Nonviolent Peaceforce is one NGO widely considered to have expertise in general peacemaking by non-governmental volunteers or activists. There are a range of types of operations encompassed in peacekeeping. In Page Fortna’s book Does Peacekeeping Work, for instance, she distinguishes four different types of peacekeeping operations, importantly, these types of missions and how they are conducted are heavily influenced by the mandate in which they are authorized. Three of Fortna’s four types are consent-based missions, i. e. Chapter VI missions, Chapter VI missions are consent based, therefore they require the consent of the belligerent factions involved in order to operate. Should they lose that consent, Peacekeepers would be compelled to withdraw, Chapter VII missions, by contrast, do not require consent, though they may have it. If consent is lost at any point, Chapter VII missions would not be required to withdraw, observation Missions which consist of small contingents of military or civilian observers tasked with monitoring cease-fires, troop withdrawals, or other conditions outlined in a ceasefire agreement. They are typically unarmed and are tasked with observing and reporting on what is taking place. Thus, they do not possess the capability or mandate to intervene should either side renege on the agreement, examples of observation missions include UNAVEM II in Angola in 1991 and MINURSO in the Western Sahara. Thus, they serve as a zone between the two sides and can monitor and report on the compliance of either side with regard to parameters established in a given ceasefire agreement. Examples include UNAVEM III in Angola in 1994, and MINUGUA in Guatemala in 1996, multidimensional missions are carried out by military and police personnel in which they attempt to implement robust and comprehensive settlements. Examples include UNTAG in Namibia, ONUSAL in El Salvador, Peace enforcement Missions are Chapter VII missions and unlike the previous Chapter VI missions, they do not require the consent of the belligerent parties. These are multidimensional operations comprising both civilian and military personnel, the military force is substantial in size and fairly well-equipped by UN Peacekeeping standards. They are mandated to use force for purposes beyond just self-defense, examples include ECOMOG and UNAMSIL in West Africa and Sierra Leone in 1999, as well as the NATO operations in Bosnia—IFOR and SFOR. During the Cold War, peacekeeping was primarily interpositional in nature—thus being referred to as traditional peacekeeping, Missions were consent-based, and more often than not observers were unarmed—such was the case with UNTSO in the Middle East and UNCIP in India and Pakistan. Others were armed—such as UNEF-I, established during the Suez Crisis and they were largely successful in this role
11.
Partnership for Peace
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The Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union,22 states are members. On April 26,1995 Malta became a member of PfP, on March 20,2008 Malta decided to reactivate their PfP membership, this was accepted by NATO at the summit in Bucharest on April 3,2008. During the NATO summit in Riga on November 29,2006, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia were invited to join PfP, Cyprus is the only European Union member state that is neither a NATO member state nor a member of the PfP program. Turkey, a member of NATO, is likely to veto any attempt by Cyprus to engage with NATO until the dispute is resolved. Christofias successor, Nicos Anastasiades, has publicly supported PfP membership for Cyprus, kosovo has described PfP membership as a strategic objective of the government. Kosovo submitted an application to join the PfP program in July 2012, however, four NATO member states, Greece, Romania, Spain and Slovakia, do not recognize Kosovos independence and have threatened to block their participation in the program. To be eligible to join, the Kosovan Armed Forces must be established
12.
Conscription in Switzerland
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Switzerland has mandatory military service in the Swiss Army for all able-bodied male citizens, who are conscripted when they reach the age of majority, though women may volunteer for any position. Almost 20% of all conscripts were unfit for military or civilian service in 2008. Swiss citizens living abroad are generally exempted from conscription in time of peace, on September 22,2013, a referendum was held that aimed to abolish conscription in Switzerland. However, the referendum failed with over 73% of the electorate voting against it, after the first written communications, all the male conscripts and female volunteers are convoked for an information day, usually taking place near the municipality of residence of the attendants. During this day they are given a presentation of the army, the protection, Switzerlands security policy. On this occasion conscripts are issued a Service Record book, used to attest the fulfillment of military obligations and it is possible to postpone service up to 4 years given adequate reasons. Any further delaying of service could incur fines, conscripts are advised to either carry out their service in a single long stretch or to fraction their time by undergoing recruit training first and serving in a later phase. Recruitment itself takes place over a period of two or three days in one of the six Recruitment Centres spread across Switzerland, recruits are assigned different positions according to their physical fitness, intellectual capabilities and aptitude. Boot camp lasts 18 or 21 weeks, in the first seven weeks recruits receive the general basic instructions, after this period, some recruits leave boot camp as they are presented with an opportunity to advance to cadet school. The second phase of six weeks is devoted to function-specific basic instructions, in the third phase, called instruction in formation, battlegroups and battalions are formed. Conscripts who are unwilling to carry a weapon on moral grounds may apply for weaponless service, the age when military obligations end also varies with rank, ranging from 34 for enlisted men and NCOs to 50 for staff officers. Professional officers retire between 58 and 65, conscripts choosing long service fulfill their entire military obligations in a continuous 300-day service, after which they are incorporated in the reserve for the following ten years. A maximum of 15% of conscripts of any age class has the possibility to choose this path, all personnel are paid a basic compensation ranging from 4 Swiss francs a day for a recruit to 30 for a Lieutenant General. This is further supplemented by an additional compensation ranging from 23 to 80 Swiss francs for non-commissioned officers or officers undergoing training, during military service, military personnel are further paid an income-loss insurance. This EO is financed with social contributions levied on salaries, for employees, the EO consists in a compensation of 80% of their regular salary. Most employers, however, continue to pay the full salary during military service, in this case, the compensation is paid to the employer. This EO can be improved to a maximum CHF174 if one has children. Since 1996, conscripts who are found to be fit for regular military service
13.
Recruit training
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Recruit training, more commonly known as basic training and colloquially called boot camp, is the initial instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer. After completion of training, new recruits undergo Advanced Individual Training. Officer trainees undergo more detailed programs that may precede or follow the common recruit training in an officer training academy or in special classes at a civilian university. During recruit training, drill instructors do everything possible to push a recruit to his or her physical and mental limits, Recruit training varies by nation according to the national requirement and can be voluntary or mandatory. Approximately 100 nations, including the United Kingdom and United States, have a military service. In voluntary service an individual chooses to join and thereby agrees to be subjected to the process of building an organization in each life depends on the next person. The voluntary status has changed the culture of military service, Recruit training is oriented to the particular service. Navy and Coast Guard training usually focuses on water training, physical fitness, basic seamanship, and such skills as shipboard firefighting, basic engineering. Air force training usually includes physical training, military and classroom instructions. In all training, standard uniforms are issued and recruits typically have their hair cut or shaved in order to meet grooming standards, Recruits are generally given a service number. Recruit training must merge divergent trainees often from different levels of culture, a national basic training will include provision for the basic needs of the recruit and they will meet certain unit standards and unit requirements, such as mobility for an infantry unit. A recruit therefore will be issued basic provisions or equipment according to the requirements of the unit, Recruit training has changed over the years as tactics of war have changed. Infantry units no longer attack in formations, however, to move units around a base, formations are useful. A combat soldier on the ground who may call in artillery air strikes must be more intelligent. Recruits are typically instructed in drill, to stand, march, historically, drills are derived from 18th-century military tactics, soldiers in a fire line performed precise and coordinated movements to load and fire muskets. Although the particular tactics are now obsolete, drilling trains the recruit to act unhesitatingly in the face of real combat situations. Modern militaries have learned that a member often must make critical decisions on behalf of team. Drill serves a role in leadership training, Combat situations include commands to engage and put ones life in danger but also commands to disengage when military necessity so demands
14.
Military history of Switzerland
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The military history of Switzerland comprises centuries of armed actions, and the role of the Swiss military in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide. Formed with the Federal Charter of 1291, an alliance of three cantons was formed for defense, chiefly against the Habsburgs. A succession of interventions by the Habsburgs produced the battles of Morgarten and Sempach, by 1353 the original three cantons had been joined by two additional cantons and three city states. Late in the century, soldiers drawn from the cantons of Switzerland gained a military reputation throughout Europe. This reputation was earned as a result of their defense against the Austrian Habsburg overlords, by the fifteenth century the Swiss had become particularly valued as soldiers-for-hire. Swiss soldiers were noted for their skill and ferocious attacks in the Phalanx, or deep column formation using pike. They had a monopoly on pike mercenary service up until 1490. By 1490 German mercenaries became proficient in Swiss military tactics and were available for hire at a lower cost, in 1515 the Swiss pledged themselves to neutrality, and they only continued to fight in the service of the Royal French army. They became bitter rivals with the German mercenaries and the two would fight on the battlefields of Europe during the next few decades. Following the Battle of Marignano in 1515, however, the Swiss style of fighting went into steady decline, to be replaced by the arquebusiers, artillery. During the Battle of Bicocca in 1522 the Swiss mercenaries saw a defeat with heavy casualties. Nonetheless Swiss continued to serve as mercenaries during the two centuries, adopting the musket to replace the pike. The Swiss Guard has its origins in 1506 when Pope Julius II hired them as bodyguards and this is appropriate, seeing as the Papal States took up one-third of Italy at the time, requiring extensive protection. The pope enlisted them, seeing as he believed they were best at the time, currently, it is illegal for Swiss citizens to join another countrys armed forces except as members of the Swiss Guard protecting the Vatican is the sole exception. Military service abroad of dual nationals is permitted under certain circumstances, the Swiss peasant war of 1653 was a popular revolt by the rural populations of several cantons. The rebellion was suppressed, but it led to a series of reforms, in 1656, tensions between Protestants and Catholics re-emerged and led to the outbreak of the First War of Villmergen. A new conflict in 1712 caused the Second War of Villmergen, the religious conflicts were renewed in 1847, resulting in the Sonderbund War and leading to the formation of Switzerland as a federal state. In 1798 the French army overran Switzerland and proclaimed the Helvetic Republic, internal resistance and economic problems destabilized the state and additional French troops were deployed to restore order
15.
Battle of Sempach
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The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold, the victory helped turn the loosely allied Swiss Confederation into a more unified nation and is seen as a turning point in the growth of Switzerland. During 1383 and 1384, the expansion of the Old Swiss Confederacy collided with Austrian interests, the interests of Austria were further undermined in the Pact of Constance, a union of Zürich, Zug, Solothurn and 51 cities of Swabia. This move was the cause of war. A local Austrian force defeated the garrison at Meienberg. On 14 January, Lucerne called the confederaces for assistance, an armistice was called on 21 February, and negotiations were held in Zürich. But neither side had any real interest in ending the conflict at this point, and as the armistice ended, in the course of a few weeks, no less than 167 noblemen, both secular and of the church, declared war on the Swiss. These declarations were sent to the Swiss diet in 20 packets, on 24 June, a messenger from Württemberg brought 15 declarations of war. Before all letters had been read, the messenger from Pfirt delivered another eight, another eight messengers arrived on the following day. The gathering of Austrian forces at Brugg suggested an attack on Zürich. But Leopold marched south, to Zofingen and on to Willisau, apparently with the intention of ravaging the Lucerne countryside, the Austrian army had a troop of mowers with them with the purpose of cutting down the corn and destroying the harvests along their route. The town of Willisau was plundered and burned, and the army moved on to Sursee on Lake Sempach, Leopolds men taunted those behind the walls of the town, and a knight waved a noose at them and promised them he would use it on their leaders. Another mockingly pointed to the soldiers setting fire to the fields of grain. From behind the walls, there was a retort, Lucerne. Confederate troops of Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden had marched back from Zürich once it became clear that this was not Leopolds target, the forces of Zürich had remained behind defending their own city, while those of Bern had not heeded the confederate call for assistance. The Confederation army had assembled at the bridge over the Reuss River at Gisikon. It marched from there, hoping to catch Leopold still at Sempach where he could be pressed against the lake, around noon, the two armies made contact about 2 km outside of Sempach. This was to the surprise of both armies, which were both on the move and not in battle order
16.
Old Swiss Confederacy
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The Old Swiss Confederacy was a precursor of the modern state of Switzerland. It was a confederation of independent small states which formed during the 14th century. From a nucleus in what is now Central Switzerland, the confederacy expanded to include the cities of Zurich and this formed a rare union of rural and urban communes, all of which enjoyed imperial immediacy in the Holy Roman Empire. Its success resulted in the addition of more confederates, increasing the number of cantons to thirteen by 1513, the confederacy pledged neutrality in 1515 and 1647, although many Swiss served privately as mercenaries in the Italian Wars and during the Early Modern period. After the Swabian War of 1499 the confederacy was a de facto independent state throughout the modern period. The Swiss Confederacy fell to invasion by the French Revolutionary Army in 1798, the adjective “old” was introduced after the Napoleonic era with Ancien Régime, retronyms distinguishing the pre-Napoleonic from the restored confederation. During its existence the confederacy was known as Eidgenossenschaft or Eydtgnoschafft, in reference to treaties among cantons, territories of the confederacy came to be known collectively as Schweiz or Schweizerland, with the English Switzerland beginning during the mid-16th century. From that time the Confederacy was seen as a single state, the foundation of the Confederacy is marked by the Rütlischwur or the 1315 Pact of Brunnen. Since 1889, the Federal Charter of 1291 among the communes of Uri, Schwyz. The initial pact was augmented by pacts with the cities of Lucerne, Zürich, in several battles with Habsburg armies, the Swiss were victorious, they conquered the rural areas of Glarus and Zug, which became members of the confederacy. From 1353 to 1481, the federation of eight cantons—known in German as the Acht Orte —consolidated its position, the members enlarged their territory at the expense of local counts—primarily by buying judicial rights, but sometimes by force. The Eidgenossenschaft, as a whole, expanded through military conquest, the Aargau was conquered in 1415, in both cases, the Swiss profited from weakness in the Habsburg dukes. In the south, Uri led a military territorial expansion that would by 1515 lead to the conquest of the Ticino, none of these territories became members of the confederacy, they had the status of condominiums. At this time, the eight cantons gradually increased their influence on neighbouring cities, individual cantons concluded pacts with Fribourg, Appenzell, Schaffhausen, the abbot and the city of St. Gallen, Biel, Rottweil, Mulhouse and others. These allies became closely associated with the confederacy, but were not accepted as full members, the Burgundy Wars prompted a further enlargement of the confederacy, Fribourg and Solothurn were accepted in 1481. In the Swabian War against Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, the Swiss were victorious, the associated cities of Basel and Schaffhausen joined the confederacy as a result of that conflict, and Appenzell followed suit in 1513 as the thirteenth member. The federation of thirteen cantons constituted the Old Swiss Confederacy until its demise in 1798, the expansion of the confederacy was stopped by the Swiss defeat in the 1515 Battle of Marignano. Only Berne and Fribourg were still able to conquer the Vaud in 1536, the Reformation in Switzerland led to doctrinal division amongst the cantons
17.
Tagsatzung
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The Diet was a meeting of delegates from the individual cantons. Though it was the most wide-reaching political institution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, its power was very limited, organised as a Diet since 1500, the seat of the Swiss legislature was called the Federal Diet. This was not the source of authority in the loosely joined country. Though a representative body, it differed from modern constitutional assemblies as its member were drawn almost exclusively from the picked interest of the landed, the presiding canton of the Federal Diet was known as the Vorort and was usually the canton which had called the Diet. The Diet was held in varying locations, with Zurich becoming increasingly important following the 16th century, the last three presiding cantons before the French invasion were Bern, Lucerne, and Zürich. Following the invasion and victory of the French Republican forces, the Old Swiss Confederation was disbanded and replaced by the Helvetic Republic and this was a more centralized form of government than the previous and it was widely opposed as revoking the traditional liberties of local powers. Opposition was particularly fierce among the Catholic population, for whom the French imposed government was associated with the radical anti-clericalism of the French Revolution and this opposition eventually lead to the Stecklikrieg, which pitted a Swiss rebellion against the forces of the Helvetic Republic. The opposition was successful in forcing the Helvetic Republic to accepting the French negotiated Acts of Mediation in 1803 and these acts secured the federal, decentralized nature of Switzerland. Switzerland was organized according to the terms of the Acts of Mediation under the defeat of the French Empire in 1815. The Long Diet had been in session for over a year until 1815, the Swiss government maintained it federal structure, though no longer under the forms of the Acts of Mediation and coordinated by a re-named Federal Assembly. This is the system which would govern the Swiss for over three decades, seeing the addition of new, French-speaking cantons, the system showed its weaknesses in 1845, when a league of Catholic cantons joined together in opposition to Federal authority and formed the Sonderbund League in 1845. This was the beginnings of a war, which lasted through 1848. Following their victory, a new constitution was adopted and the Federal Assembly of Switzerland was created in its modern form, Bern was chosen as the federal city, or Bundesstadt, in a deliberate avoidance of the term capital city, or Hauptstadt. In its modern form, the Federal Assembly is a representative body which elects its members according to the votes of the citizens of each canton. List of Presidents of the Swiss Diet Landammann Landsgemeinde Tagsatzung in German, French, Vorort in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
18.
Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland
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The periods of Restoration and Regeneration in Swiss history last from 1814 to 1847. Regeneration refers to the period of 1830 to 1848, when in the wake of the July Revolution the restored Ancien Régime was countered by the liberal movement, in the Protestant cantons, the rural population enforced liberal cantonal constitutions, partly in armed marches on the cities. This resulted in a backlash in the Catholic cantons in the 1830s. When Napoleons fall appeared imminent, the Act of Mediation was suspended in late December 1813, the Tagsatzung which took place between 6 April 1814 and 31 August 1815, the so-called Long Diet, met at Zurich to replace the constitution. The Diet remained dead-locked until 12 September when Valais, Neuchatel and this increased the number of cantons to 22. The Diet, however, made little progress until the Congress of Vienna, Swiss troops under General Niklaus Franz von Bachmann advanced to the Franche-Comté without orders from the diet, but were ordered back. The French fort at Hüningen near Basel was placed under siege by Austrian and Swiss troops, the Swiss were particularly eager to lay siege to this fortress after its commander General Joseph Barbanègre opened fire on the city of Basel. The Treaty of Paris of 20 November included a financial compensation for Switzerland besides the acquisition of a territorial gain. Most significantly, the Treaty included the recognition of permanent Swiss neutrality by all European powers, cantonal constitutions were worked out independently from 1814, in general restoring the late feudal conditions of the 17th and 18th century. The Tagsatzung was re-organized by the Federal Treaty of 7 August 1815, the Tagsatzung reintroduced the old flag consisting of a white cross on a red field, using it for the coat of arms and the flag of the confederation. Following the French July Revolution in 1830, a number of large assemblies were held calling for new cantonal constitutions, as each canton had its own constitution, the assemblies in each canton addressed different specifics, but they all had two main issues. First, they called for peacefully adjusting the constitutions by adjusting the way seats in local legislatures, in particular they objected to what they saw as the over-representation of the cantonal capital in the government. Secondly, they sought a way to amend the constitution, very few cantons even had a way to amend or modify the constitutions, and none of them allowed citizens initiatives to be added. The first assembly was held near Weinfelden in Thurgau in October and November 1830, followed in November by meetings in Wohlenschwil, Aargau then Sursee, Lucerne and finally the Ustertag near Uster in Zurich. In December there were three assemblies in the Canton of St. Gallen in Wattwil, Altstätten and St. Gallenkappel as well as in Balsthal in Solothurn, the final assembly was held in Münsingen in Bern in January 1831. The speeches and articles reporting on the assemblies were widely distributed, the crowds were generally well behaved and orderly. For example, in Wohlenschwil it was reported that they met in unexpectedly quiet attitude with decency, even in Aargau and St. Gallen, where the crowd marched through the streets of Aarau and St. Gallen, the protest march was peaceful. Following the assemblies and marches, cantonal governments quickly gave into the demands of the assemblies, in Basel, the conflict resulted in the split of Basel-City and Basel-Country in 1833
19.
Swiss Federal Constitution
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The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a republic of 26 cantons. The document contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights, delineates the responsibilities of the cantons, the Constitution was adopted by popular vote on 18 April 1999. It replaced the federal constitution of 1874, which it was intended to bring up to date without changing it in substance. This constitution provided for the sovereignty, as long as this did not impinge on the Federal Constitution. This constitution was created in response to a 27-day civil war in Switzerland, the Constitution of 1848 was partly revised in 1866, and wholly revised in 1874. This latter constitutional change introduced the referendum at the federal level and this mechanism is called federal popular initiative. Thus, partial revisions of the constitution could be any time. The Federal Constitution was wholly revised for the time in the 1990s. It came into force on 1 January 2000, the 2000 Constitution of Switzerland consists of Preambule and 6 Parts, which together make up 196 Articles. It provides a provision for nine fundamental rights, which up until then had only been discussed and debated in the Federal Court. It also provides for greater details in tax laws, most notable to an outside observer was the abatement of the restriction on the Swiss neutrality, which allowed the country to become a full member of the United Nations in 2002. Owing to constitutional initiatives and counterproposals, the Swiss Constitution is subject to continual changes, the preamble and the first title of the Constitution determine the general outlines of Switzerland as a democratic federal republic of 26 cantons governed by the rule of law. The preamble opens with an invocation of God in continuance of Swiss constitutional tradition. The latter provision about the present a drastic contrast with the previous Swiss constitutions which were mostly oriented toward the internal isolationism. The new preamble also provides a provision about responsibility before and the rights of the generations of the people of Switzerland. The general provisions contained in Title 1 define the characteristic traits of the Swiss state on all of its three levels of authority, federal, cantonal and municipal. They contain an enumeration of the constituent cantons, affirm cantonal sovereignty within the bounds of the Constitution and list the national languages – German, French, Italian, Title 2 contains the Constitutions bill of rights and consists of 35 articles
20.
Swiss Armed Forces
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The Swiss Armed Forces operates on land, in the air, and in international waters. Under the countrys system, professional soldiers constitute about 5 percent of the military. Because of Switzerlands long history of neutrality, the armed forces do not take part in conflicts in other countries, Switzerland is part of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme. The structure of the Swiss militia system stipulates that the soldiers keep their own equipment, including all personally assigned weapons. Compulsory military service applies to all male Swiss citizens, with women serving voluntarily, males usually receive initial orders at the age of 18 for military conscription eligibility screening. About two-thirds of young Swiss men are found suitable for service, annually, approximately 20,000 persons are trained in basic training for a duration from 18 to 21 weeks. The reform Army XXI was adopted by vote in 2003. The land component of the Swiss Armed Forces originated from the troops of the Old Swiss Confederacy. The cantonal armies were converted into the army with the constitution of 1848. From this time, it was illegal for the cantons to declare war or to sign capitulations or peace agreements. Paragraph 13 explicitly prohibited the federation from sustaining a standing army, the first complete mobilization, under the command of Hans Herzog, was triggered by the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. In 1875, the army was called in to crush a strike of workers at the Gotthard tunnel, four workers were killed and 13 were severely wounded.5 million, the second largest armed force per capita after the Israeli Defence Forces. Wille was subsequently put in command of the complete mobilization in 1914. Wille also ordered the suppression of the 1918 general strike with military force, three workers were killed, and a rather larger number of soldiers died of the Spanish flu during mobilization. In 1932, the army was called to suppress an anti-fascist demonstration in Geneva, the troops shot dead 13 demonstrators, wounding another 65. This incident long damaged the reputation, leading to persistent calls for its abolition among left-wing politicians. The third complete mobilization of the army took place during World War II under the command of Henri Guisan, the Patrouille des Glaciers race, created to test the abilities of soldiers, was created during the war. In the 1960s and 1970s, the forces were organised according to the Armee 61 structure
21.
Mobilization
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Mobilization, in military terminology, is the act of assembling and readying troops and supplies for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed since then. The opposite of mobilization is demobilization, mobilization became an issue with the introduction of conscription, and the introduction of the railways in the 19th Century. Mobilization institutionalized the mass levy of forces that was first introduced during the French Revolution, a number of technological and societal changes promoted the move towards a more organized way of assembling armies. The Confederate States of America is estimated to have mobilized about 11% of its population in American Civil War. Kingdom of Prussia mobilized about 6-7% of its population in the years 1760 and 1813. Armies in the seventeenth century possessed an average of 20,000 men, a military force of this size requires around 40,000 pounds of food per day, shelter, as well as all the necessary munitions, transportation, tools, and representative garments. Without efficient transportation, mobilizing these average-sized forces was extremely costly, time-consuming, soldiers could traverse the terrain to get to war fronts, but they had to carry their supplies. Many armies decided to forage for food— however, foraging restricted movement because it is based on the presumption that the land the army moves over possesses significant agricultural production. However, due to new policies, greater populations, and greater nation wealth, for example, in 1812 Bonaparte led an army of 600,000 hyped young drafts to Moscow while feeding off plentiful agricultural products introduced by the turn of the century, such as potatoes. Despite the advantages of mass armies, mobilizing forces of this took much more time than it had in the past. Italian unification illustrated all of the problems in modern army mobilization for Prussia and it was not until Italian Unification that Prussia began to realize the future of mobilizing mass armies when Napoleon III transported 130,000 soldiers to Italy by use of the railroad. French caravans that carried the supplies for the French and Piedmontese armies were incredibly slow and these armies were in luck, however, in that their Austrian adversaries experienced similar problems with sluggish supply caravans. Not only did Prussia take note of the problems in transporting supplies to armies, austria’s army was primarily composed of Slavs but it contained many other ethnicities as well. Austrian military instruction during peacetime utilized nine different languages, accustoming Austrian soldiers to taking orders only in the language they natively know. Conversely, in an effort to augment the efficacy of the new “precision rifle” developed by the monarchy, officers were forced to only speak German when giving orders to their men. Even one Austrian officer commented at Solferino that his troops could not even comprehend the command, in 1914, the United Kingdom was the only European Great Power without conscription. The other Great Powers all relied on military service to supply each of their armies with the millions of men they believed they would need to win a major war
22.
Hans Herzog
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Hans Herzog was a Swiss army officer, and was elected Switzerlands General during the Franco-Prussian War. Born in Aarau, he became a lieutenant in 1840. In 1847 he saw his first active service in the short Swiss Sonderbund war, in 1860 he abandoned mercantile pursuits for a purely military career, becoming colonel and inspector-general of the Swiss artillery. In 1875 he became the commander-in-chief of the Swiss artillery, which he did much to reorganize and he died in 1894 in his native town of Aarau. General Hans Herzog by Hermann Haller, equestrian relief above portal, Aarau Herzogstrasse in Bern, General Herzog-Strasse in Lenzburg, General-Herzog-Haus in Aarau and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed. Hans Senn, Herzog, Hans in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
23.
Franco-Prussian War
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The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and French fears of the shift in the European balance of power that would result if the Prussians succeeded. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia, the German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the French and rapidly invaded northeastern France. The German forces were superior in numbers, had training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railroads. The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I, the Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, the causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the unification of Germany. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia had annexed numerous territories and this new power destabilized the European balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. France was strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states, in Prussia, some officials considered a war against France both inevitable and necessary to arouse German nationalism in those states that would allow the unification of a great German empire. Bismarck also knew that France should be the aggressor in the conflict to bring the southern German states to side with Prussia, many Germans also viewed the French as the traditional destabilizer of Europe, and sought to weaken France to prevent further breaches of the peace. The immediate cause of the war resided in the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, France feared encirclement by an alliance between Prussia and Spain. The Hohenzollern princes candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, releasing the Ems Dispatch to the public, Bismarck made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a demeaning fashion, which inflamed public opinion in France. They also argue that he wanted a war to resolve growing domestic political problems, other historians, notably French historian Pierre Milza, dispute this. According to Milza, the Emperor had no need for a war to increase his popularity, the Ems telegram had exactly the effect on French public opinion that Bismarck had intended. This text produced the effect of a red flag on the Gallic bull, gramont, the French foreign minister, declared that he felt he had just received a slap. Napoleons new prime minister, Emile Ollivier, declared that France had done all that it could humanly and honorably do to prevent the war, a crowd of 15–20,000 people, carrying flags and patriotic banners, marched through the streets of Paris, demanding war. On 19 July 1870 a declaration of war was sent to the Prussian government, the southern German states immediately sided with Prussia. The French Army consisted in peacetime of approximately 400,000 soldiers, some of them were veterans of previous French campaigns in the Crimean War, Algeria, the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Mexican campaign. Under Marshal Adolphe Niel, urgent reforms were made, universal conscription and a shorter period of service gave increased numbers of reservists, who would swell the army to a planned strength of 800,000 on mobilisation. Those who for any reason were not conscripted were to be enrolled in the Garde Mobile, however, the Franco-Prussian War broke out before these reforms could be completely implemented
24.
Gotthard Tunnel
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The Gotthard Tunnel is a 15. 003-kilometre-long railway tunnel and forms the summit of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. It connects Göschenen with Airolo and was the first tunnel through the Saint-Gotthard Massif in order to bypass the St Gotthard Pass and it is built as one double-track, standard gauge tunnel. When opened in 1882, the Gotthard Tunnel was the longest tunnel in the world, the tunnel rises from the northern portal at Göschenen and the highest point is reached after approximately 8 kilometres. After two more kilometers, the border between the cantons of Uri and Ticino is passed, after another 5 kilometres, the ends at the southern portal near to Airolo. The trip takes about seven to eight minutes by train, services are operated by the Swiss Federal Railways. In 1871 under the stewardship of the Swiss industrialist Alfred Escher, who had created the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt in 1856, because of his low bid, and the extra costs during construction, Favre increasingly found himself at odds with Swiss politicians and investors alike. The tunnel was built from 1871 to 1881 and marked the first large-scale use of dynamite which had been patented in 1867, construction was supervised by the Swiss engineer Louis Favre, who suffered a fatal heart attack inside the tunnel in 1879. There were also serious health issues caused by an epidemic of hookworm infection, medical investigations led to major advances in parasitology, by way of research into the aetiology, epidemiology and treatment of ancylostomiasis. A strike of the workers in 1875 was crushed by the Swiss Army, killing four, the tunnel was opened for traffic in 1882, operated by the private railway company Gotthardbahn, which ran from Lucerne to Chiasso at the Italian border. The Gotthardbahn was integrated into the Swiss Federal Railways in 1909, in 1920, the first electric trains were run through the Gotthard Tunnel. Initially the voltage had to be reduced from the desired 15 kilovolts to 7.5 kV, however, in May the next year, steam was replaced entirely by electric traction, and the problem of soot and grime was eliminated. Until the opening of the Gotthard Road Tunnel in 1980, the Swiss Federal Railways offered piggyback services for cars, today, that service exists as the rolling highway from the German to the Italian border and aims to reduce truck traffic on Swiss expressways. An improvisational piggyback service from Göschenen to Airolo was offered during the closure of the Gotthard Road Tunnel in 2001. The adjacent ramps include several turn tunnels, the nearby Gotthard Road Tunnel was opened in 1980. A second railway tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, much longer and at a lower elevation than the Gotthard Tunnel, Saint-Gotthard Massif St Gotthard Pass Gotthard Base Tunnel Gotthard Road Tunnel AlpTransit Gotthard Tunnel
25.
Israeli Defence Forces
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The Israel Defense Forces, commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal, are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the forces, air force, and navy. It is the military wing of the Israeli security forces. The IDF is headed by its Chief of General Staff, the Ramatkal, subordinate to the Defense Minister of Israel, Lieutenant general Gadi Eizenkot has served as Chief of Staff since 2015. The number of wars and border conflicts in which the IDF has been involved in its history makes it one of the most battle-trained armed forces in the world. The Israel Defense Forces differs from most armed forces in the world in many ways, differences include the mandatory conscription of women and its structure, which emphasizes close relations between the army, navy, and air force. Since its founding, the IDF has been designed to match Israels unique security situation. The IDF is one of Israeli societys most prominent institutions, influencing the economy, culture. In 1965, the Israel Defense Forces was awarded the Israel Prize for its contribution to education, the Uzi submachine gun was invented in Israel and used by the IDF until December 2003, ending a service that began in 1954. The Israeli cabinet ratified the name Israel Defense Forces, Tzva HaHagana LeYisrael, literally army for the defense of Israel, the other main contender was Tzva Yisrael. The name was chosen because it conveyed the idea that the role was defense, and because it incorporated the name Haganah. Among the primary opponents of the name were Minister Haim-Moshe Shapira, the IDF traces its roots to Jewish paramilitary organizations in the New Yishuv, starting with the Second Aliyah. The first such organization was Bar-Giora, founded in September 1907 and it was converted to Hashomer in April 1909, which operated until the British Mandate of Palestine came into being in 1920. Hashomer was an elitist organization with narrow scope, and was created to protect against criminal gangs seeking to steal property. During World War I, the forerunners of the Haganah/IDF were the Zion Mule Corps, after the Arab riots against Jews in April 1920, the Yishuvs leadership saw the need to create a nationwide underground defense organization, and the Haganah was founded in June of the same year. The Haganah became a defense force after the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine with an organized structure. During World War II the successor to the Jewish Legion of World War I was the Jewish Brigade, the IDF was founded following the establishment of the State of Israel, after Defense Minister and Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion issued an order on 26 May 1948. The order called for the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces, although Ben-Gurion had no legal authority to issue such an order, the order was made legal by the cabinet on 31 May
26.
Military exercise
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A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the readiness of garrisoned or deployable forces prior to deployment from home base / home station. Exercises in the 20th and 21st centuries have often identified by a unique codename in the same manner as military contingency operations. The more typically thought of exercise is the exercise, or the full-scale rehearsal of military maneuvers as practice for warfare. In a field exercise or fleet exercise, the two sides in the battle are typically called red and blue, to avoid naming a particular adversary. This naming convention originates with the inventors of the table-top war-game, a Command Post Exercise typically focuses on the battle readiness of staffs such as a particular Unified Combatant Command or one of its components at any level. It may run in parallel with an FTX or its equivalent, other types of exercise include the TEWT, also known as a sand table, map or cloth model exercise. This type of exercise allows commanders to manipulate models through possible scenarios in military planning and this is also called warfare simulation, or in some instances a virtual battlefield and in the past has been described as wargames. Said forces may be different branches of the forces from one country or may be armed forces from different countries. These latter events incorporating multiple nations have often referred to as NATO exercises, Coalition exercises, Bilateral exercises, Multilateral exercises. The modern use of military exercises grew out of the military need to study warfare, during the age of Kabinettskriege, Frederick the Great, King of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, put together his armies as a well-oiled clockwork mechanism whose components were robot-like warriors. No individual initiative was allowed to Fredericks soldiers, their role was to cooperate in the creation of walls of projectiles through synchronized firepower. This was in the pursuit of an effective army. Disciplined troops should respond predictably, allowing study to be confined to maneuvers and these first wargames were played with dice which represented friction, or the intrusion of less than ideal circumstances during a real war. 21st century militaries still use wargames to simulate future wars and model their reaction, according to Manuel de Landa, after World War II the Command, Control and Communications was transferred from the military staff to the RAND Corporation, the first think tank. Von Neumann was employed by the RAND Corporation, and his theory was used in wargames to model nuclear dissuasion during the Cold War. Thus, the US nuclear strategy was defined using wargames, SAM representing the US, early game theory included only zero-sum games, which means that when one player won, the other automatically lost. Thus, betrayal was considered as the most rational thing to do and this modelization gave the basis for the massive retaliation nuclear doctrine
27.
Ulrich Wille
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Conrad Ulrich Sigmund Wille was the General of the Swiss Army during the First World War. At the dawn of the First World War, Switzerland confirmed its will to remain neutral, however, Switzerland was divided between the German-speaking Swiss who favored the Central Powers, and the French and Italian-speaking Swiss whose opinions tended to support the Allied Powers. As a Germanophile, close to Kaiser Wilhelm II, Wille benefitted from the current and the disparity within the Swiss Federal Council. In 1914, at the outbreak of warfare, a mobilization of all military forces was issued. Wille, then a Colonel, was named General of Switzerland by the Federal Parliament on August 8,1914 with 122 votes, against 63 votes for the other candidate, Theophil Sprecher von Bernegg. Von Bernegg would soon assume the rank of Chief of the General Staff, the opponents of the general described him as militarist whereas his partisans saw in him a chief ready to manage an army in mobilization thanks to his pedagogical talents. Wille decided to concentrate the bulk of his forces close to the borders, particularly in Ajoie, the mandate of Wille was rife with political problems. Wille caused a scandal in French-speaking Switzerland by proposing to the Federal council on July 20,1915 to enter the war on the side of the Central Powers, thereafter, the Colonels Affair in 1916 also had a great repercussion. Two Swiss colonels had given German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats specimens of the Staff Gazette, a confidential journal, the affair risked Swiss neutrality since it implied relations with one of the belligerents. Wille decided to condemn the two colonels to 20 days detention, a sentence in the eyes of the pro-Allied party. The confrontation between French-speaking Switzerland and German-speaking Switzerland widened, the Germanic newspapers supported the German actions in Belgium, whereas the French ones highlighted the resistance of the Allied troops. The economic situation was poor and many strikes occurred, reaching their apogee with the Swiss General Strike from November 11 to November 14,1918, in order to combat the spread of the epidemic, enlistment of new recruits was delayed. Wille was married to Clara Gräfin von Bismarck, the daughter of Frederick Wilhelm, Graf of Bismarck and his eldest son, also named Ulrich Wille followed his fathers footsteps in the military, ultimately becoming a Corps Commander. Wille Jr. also managed to keep his fathers pro-German tendencies throughout his career and this would contribute to his tensions with the next Swiss General, Henri Guisan. His granddaughter was the renowned author Annemarie Schwarzenbach, a friend of Erika and Klaus Mann
28.
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
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Wilhelm II or William II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was the eldest grandchild of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and his leading generals, Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, dictated policy during the First World War with little regard for the civilian government. An ineffective war-time leader, he lost the support of the army, abdicated in November 1918, and fled to exile in the Netherlands. Wilhelm was born on 27 January 1859 at the Crown Princes Palace, Berlin to Prince Frederick William of Prussia and his wife, Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of Britains Queen Victoria. At the time of his birth, his great-uncle Frederick William IV was king of Prussia, a traumatic breech birth left him with a withered left arm due to Erbs palsy, which he tried with some success to conceal. His left arm was about 6 inches shorter than his right arm, historians have suggested that this disability affected his emotional development. In 1863, Wilhelm was taken to England to be present at the wedding of his Uncle Bertie, William attended the ceremony in a Highland costume, complete with a small toy dirk. During the ceremony the four-year-old became restless and his eighteen-year-old uncle Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, charged with keeping an eye on him, told him to be quiet, but Wilhelm drew his dirk and threatened Alfred. When Alfred attempted to subdue him by force, Wilhelm bit him on the leg and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, missed seeing the fracas, to her Wilhelm remained a clever, dear, good little child, the great favourite of my beloved Vicky. His mother, Vicky, was obsessed with his damaged arm and she blamed herself for the childs handicap and insisted that he become a good rider. The thought that he, as heir to the throne, should not be able to ride was intolerable to her, riding lessons began when Wilhelm was eight and were a matter of endurance for Wilhelm. Over and over, the prince was set on his horse. He fell off time after time but despite his tears was set on its back again, after weeks of this he finally got it right and was able to maintain his balance. Wilhelm, from six years of age, was tutored and heavily influenced by the 39-year-old teacher Georg Hinzpeter, Hinzpeter, he later wrote, was really a good fellow. Whether he was the tutor for me, I dare not decide. The torments inflicted on me, in this riding, must be attributed to my mother. As a teenager he was educated at Kassel at the Friedrichsgymnasium, in January 1877, Wilhelm finished high school and on his eighteenth birthday received as a present from his grandmother, Queen Victoria, the Order of the Garter. After Kassel he spent four terms at the University of Bonn, studying law and he became a member of the exclusive Corps Borussia Bonn
29.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
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1918 flu pandemic
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The 1918 flu pandemic was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus. Disease had already greatly limited life expectancy in the early 20th century, a considerable spike occurred at the time of the pandemic, specifically the year 1918. Life expectancy in the United States alone dropped by about 12 years, most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile, elderly, or already weakened patients, in contrast, the 1918 pandemic predominantly killed previously healthy young adults. There are several explanations for the high mortality of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Some research suggests that the variant of the virus had an unusually aggressive nature. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin. It was implicated in the outbreak of encephalitis lethargica in the 1920s, in Spain, a different nickname was adopted, the Naples Soldier, which came from a musical operetta titled La canción del olvido, which premiered in Madrid during the first epidemic wave. Federico Romero, one of the librettists, quipped that the plays most popular musical number, the site of the very first confirmed outbreak was at Camp Funston, within Fort Riley in Kansas, USA at a military training facility preparing American troops for involvement in World War I. The first victim diagnosed with the new strain of flu on Monday, historian Alfred W. Crosby recorded that the flu originated in Kansas and popular writer John Barry echoed Crosby in describing Haskell County, Kansas, as the point of origin. These researchers postulated that a significant precursor virus, harbored in birds, earlier hypotheses of the epidemics origin have varied. Some hypothesized the flu originated in East Asia and he considered several other hypotheses of origin, such as Spain, Kansas, and Brest, as being possible, but not likely. Political scientist Andrew Price-Smith published data from the Austrian archives suggesting the influenza had earlier origins, in fact, it found evidence that the virus had been circulating in the European armies for months and potentially years before the 1918 pandemic. When an infected person sneezes or coughs, more than half a million virus particles can be spread to those close by, some speculate the soldiers immune systems were weakened by malnourishment, as well as the stresses of combat and chemical attacks, increasing their susceptibility. A large factor in the occurrence of this flu was increased travel. Modern transportation systems made it easier for soldiers, sailors, in the United States, the disease was first observed in Haskell County, Kansas, in January 1918, prompting local doctor Loring Miner to warn the U. S. On 4 March 1918, company cook Albert Gitchell reported sick at Fort Riley, by noon on 11 March 1918, over 100 soldiers were in the hospital. Within days,522 men at the camp had reported sick, by 11 March 1918, the virus had reached Queens, New York. Failure to take measures in March/April was later criticised
31.
Bernese Highlands
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The Berner Oberland, is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton, and one of the cantons five administrative regions. The mountain range in the Berner Oberland south of the Aare, the flag of the Berner Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field over two fields in the cantonal colours of red and black. The Swiss German dialects spoken in the Berner Oberland are Highest Alemannic German, contrasting with the High Alemannic Bernese German spoken in Bern, in the short-lived Helvetic Republic, the Berner Oberland had been a separate canton. Prehistorically the Berner Oberland was crossed by hunters or traders, the Romans settled along the river and the lakes. They used a number of alpine passes including, the Brünig, Susten, Grimsel, Lötschen, Gemmi, Rawil, Sanetsch, during the High Middle Ages, a number of Berner Oberland villages grew around valley parish churches which were religious and cultural centers within each surrounding valley. During Middle Ages, the Berner Oberland first belonged to the Kingdom of Burgundy followed by the Dukes of Zähringen, after the extinction of the Zähringen line, the Berner Oberland was ruled by a number of local Barons. For a time, some of the Walser barons ruled portions of the Berner Oberland, the Saanen valley was ruled by the Counts of Gruyères. Portions of the passes were held, until the 19th century. The expansionist policy of the city of Bern led them into the Berner Oberland, through conquest, purchase, mortgage or marriage politics Bern was able to acquire the majority of the Berner Oberland from the indebted local barons between 1323 and 1400. Under Bernese control, the five valleys enjoyed extensive rights and far-reaching autonomy in the Bäuerten and Talverbänden, throughout the Late Middle Ages, the Berner Oberland, as a whole or in part, revolted several times against Bernese authority. During the Middle Ages, the settlement pattern in the Berner Oberland was somewhat consistent, a main settlement grew on the valley floor below an elevation near 1,100 m. This main settlement had a market and often a castle or other fortifications and this market town was surrounded by scattered villages, hamlets and individual farm houses to an elevation of 1,600 m. During the 14th-16th centuries, the Berner Oberland villages began extensive trading with the Bernese grain producing towns in the lowlands. This allowed the villages to renounce self-sufficiency in grain and focus on raising cattle in the high alpine pastures. They then exported cattle over the passes into Italy and into the Bernese lowlands, around 1500, in addition to the seven medieval markets, eleven new cattle markets opened to allow the Berner Oberland villagers to sell their cattle. After the Napoleonic invasion of Switzerland in 1798, the old Bernese order was fractured, within this new canton, historic borders and traditional rights were not considered. As there had no previous separatist feeling amongst the conservative population. In 1729, Albrecht von Haller published the poem Die Alpen about his travels through the alpine regions and this combined with other reports and alpine paintings started the tourism industry in the Berner Oberland
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World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
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Henri Guisan
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Henri Guisan was a Swiss army officer who held the office of the General of the Swiss Armed Forces during the Second World War. He was the fourth and the most recent man to be appointed to the rarely used Swiss rank of General and he is best remembered for effectively mobilizing the Swiss Armed Forces and Swiss people in order to prepare resistance against a possible invasion by Nazi Germany in 1940. Henri Guisan was born in 1874 in Mézières, in the canton of Vaud and he attended school in Lausanne, and initially studied agricultural medicine. Upon entering the Swiss military in 1894, he was assigned to an artillery unit in Bière as a Lieutenant. He was promoted several times, reaching the rank of Colonel in 1920, on 28 August 1939, a Federal Assembly called a United Federal Assembly to elect a General, a unique rank chosen only in time of war or national emergency. On 30 August 1939, Guisan was elected as General, by 204 votes to 21 for Jules Borel and he was given the directive to safeguard the independence of the country and to maintain the integrity of the Swiss territory. In 1939 the Swiss military could muster 430,000 men, at one point, up to 850,000 Swiss soldiers were mobilized. However, Swiss military equipment was not on a par with that of the German military, Guisans appointment came despite his membership in the Fédération patriotique suisse, a largely pro-Nazi organisation. However, his command was dominated by conflict with the government, with the politicians continually airing German, whereas the government preferred an understated and politically riskless neutrality, Guisan, charged with actually preventing invasion, opted to call for determined resistance. After the Battle of France, Germany found documents proving that Guisan had been secretly making military preparations with France, the Swiss military would have been remiss in not pursuing contacts with the French based on their perception of a German threat. Guisan became a symbol of resistance to Nazism that was widespread amongst the Swiss public and he made it very clear that Switzerland would resist any Nazi invasion. If they ran out of bullets they were to resort to the bayonet and he said that Switzerland would defend itself against any invader and would never surrender. The Swiss government had a structure, so even the Federal President was a relatively powerless official with no authority to surrender the country. Indeed, Swiss citizens had been instructed to regard any surrender broadcast as enemy lies, however, Guisans and Switzerlands main strategy was deterrence rather than fighting, and Germany never risked invasion. On 20 August 1945, General Guisan left his command, considering his mission to be fulfilled, having become a national hero by successfully avoiding war, Guisan died in Pully on 7 April 1960. He was buried on 12 April 1960 in the cemetery of Pully and his grave is a work by Edouard-Marcel Sandoz. Guisans former home Verte Rive in Pully is now used as Centre Général Guisan and his office, living room and dining room are preserved as a museum. There is a quai du Général-Guisan on Lake Geneva in Geneva, General-Guisan-Quai on Lake Lucerne in Lucerne and Stansstad, a military march titled General-Guisan-Marsch was composed in 1939 by Stephan Jaeggi
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Switzerland during the World Wars
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During both World War I and World War II, Switzerland managed to keep a stance of armed neutrality, and was not involved militarily. However, precisely because of its status, Switzerland was of considerable interest to all parties involved, as the scene for diplomacy, espionage, commerce. Switzerland maintained a state of armed neutrality during the First World War, however, with two of the Central Powers and two of the Entente Powers all sharing borders and populations with Switzerland, neutrality proved difficult. From December 1914 until the spring of 1918 Swiss troops were deployed in the Jura along the French border over concern that the war might spill into Switzerland. Of lesser concern was the Italian border, but troops were stationed in the Unterengadin region of Graubünden. However, the managed to keep out of the war. During the war Switzerland was blockaded by the Allies and therefore suffered some difficulties, however, because Switzerland was centrally located, neutral, and generally undamaged, the war allowed the growth of the Swiss banking industry. For the same reasons, Switzerland became a haven for refugees and revolutionaries, following the organisation of the army in 1907 and military expansion in 1911, the Swiss Army consisted of about 250,000 men with an additional 200,000 in supporting roles. Both European alliance-systems took the size of the Swiss military into account in the prior to 1914. Following the declarations of war in late July 1914, on August 1,1914 Switzerland mobilized its army, by August 11 Wille had deployed much of the army along the Jura border with France, with smaller units deployed along the eastern and southern borders. This remained unchanged until May 1915 when Italy entered the war on the Entente side, at which point troops were deployed to the Unterengadin valley, Val Müstair and along the southern border. Once it became clear that the Allies and the Central Powers would respect Swiss neutrality, after September 1914, some soldiers were released to return to their farms and to vital industries. By November 1916 the Swiss had only 38,000 men in the army and this number increased during the winter of 1916–17 to over 100,000 as a result of a proposed French attack that would have crossed Switzerland. When this attack failed to occur the army began to shrink again, because of widespread workers strikes, at the end of the war the Swiss army had shrunk to only 12,500 men. During the war belligerents crossed the Swiss borders about 1,000 times, Switzerland had an outpost and a hotel on the peak. During the war, fierce battles were fought in the ice and snow of the area, the three nations made an agreement not to fire over Swiss territory which jutted out between Austria and Italy. Instead they could fire down the pass, as Swiss territory was around the peak, during the fighting, Switzerland became a haven for many politicians, artists, pacifists, and thinkers. Bern, Zürich, and Geneva became centers of debate and discussion, in Zürich two very different anti-war groups would bring lasting changes to the world, the Bolsheviks and the Dadaists
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Patrouille des Glaciers
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The Patrouille des Glaciers is a ski mountaineering race organised every two years by the Swiss Armed Forces, in which military and civilian teams compete. It takes place every two years at the end of April, in the south part of the canton of Valais below the summits of the Pennine Alps. The Patrouille des Glaciers is a stage of La Grande Course that includes the most important ski mountaineering competitions of the season, there are two different races, a normal and a short one, Zermatt – Arolla – Verbier,53 kilometres, altitude difference +3994m and – 4090m. This is equivalent to 110 km without altitude difference, Arolla – Verbier,27 kilometres, altitude difference +1881m and – 2341m. This is equivalent to 53 km without altitude difference, the Patrouille des Glaciers has military origins. During the Second World War, the Swiss army organised a race to test the abilities of its soldiers, the first military patrol edition was held in April 1943 thanks to the work of two captains of Mountain Brigade 10. That year,18 patrols, each consisting of three members, travelled 63 kilometres to reach Verbier, in 1944,44 teams participated, but for a few years, no races were organized because of World War II. On April 10,1949, the race was organised once again, as a result of that accident the organisation of the race was prohibited by the Federal Military Department until 1984. The competition was revived by Rene Martin and Camille Bournissen and it remains under the control of the army which ensures its smooth running. The race is now held two years and is also open to civilians. In 1986, bad weather forced organizers to interrupt the race, in 2002, the same mishap occurred. In 2004, a team won the race for the first time. The same year, the race was competed by 2934 participants, with 984 for the normal race, in 2006, organisers were forced to refuse a thousand entries. That year a race was organized from Zermatt for the first time. The media have recently raised the problem of doping, patrols are not subject to any controls which causes rumours about the performance of the participants. On April 18,2007, memorials donated by the Swiss army were unveiled in Zermatt, Arolla and in Verbier in honour of the communities connected with, benefactors of, and friends of, the PDG. A doping case came to light at the end of the 2008 edition in which ten competitors were checked. Record times are measured on the course only The record time is 5 hours 52 minutes 20.7 seconds and is held by a Swiss team winning the 2010 race
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Cavalry
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Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
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Bicycle infantry
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Bicycle infantry are infantry soldiers who maneuver on battlefields using military bicycles. The term dates from the late 19th century, when the safety bicycle became popular in Europe, historically, bicycles lessened the need for horses, fuel and vehicle maintenance. Though their use has waned over the years in many armies, the development of pneumatic tires coupled with shorter, sturdier frames in the late 19th century led military establishments to investigate their applicability. To some extent, bicyclists took over the functions of dragoons, especially as messengers and scouts, Bicycle units or detachments were in existence by the end of the 19th century in most armies. The United Kingdom employed bicycle troops in militia or territorial units, in 1887 the first of a series of cyclist maneuvers involving British volunteer units was held. In France, several units were created, starting in 1886. They developed folding bicycles, that could be collapsed and carried slung across the backs of their riders, by 1900 each French line infantry and chasseur battalion had a cyclist detachment, intended for skirmishing, scouting and dispatch carrying. The Dutch and Belgian armies, with flat terrain within their national boundaries. The Italian Bersaglieri expanded their role as fast-moving light infantry through the extensive use of bicycles from the 1890s onwards. Even the Swiss Army found bicycles to be a means of mobility in rough terrain where horse cavalry could not be used. The Imperial Russian Gendarmerie used bicycles with wheels, to mount patrols along the Siberian Railway before. In World War I, the terrain in Belgian was well used by military cyclists. Each of the four Belgian carabinier battalions included a company of cyclists, equipped with a brand of folding, a regimental cyclist school gave training in map reading, reconnaissance, reporting and the carrying of verbal messages. Attention was paid to the maintenance and repair of the machine itself, in the United States, the most extensive experimentation on bicycle units was carried out by 1st Lieutenant Moss, of the 25th United States Infantry. Using a variety of models, Moss and his troops carried out extensive bicycle journeys covering between 800 and 1,900 miles. Late in the 19th century, the United States Army tested the suitability for cross-country troop transport. Buffalo Soldiers stationed in Montana rode bicycles across roadless landscapes for hundreds of miles at high speed, the wheelmen traveled the 1,900 Miles to St. Louis Missouri in 34 days with an average speed of over 6 mph. The first known use of the bicycle in combat occurred during the Jameson Raid, in the Second Boer War, military cyclists were used primarily as scouts and messengers
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September 11 attacks
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The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
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Initiative
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In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote. The initiative may take the form of an initiative or an indirect initiative. In a direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a vote after being submitted by a petition, in an indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then put to a popular vote only if not enacted by the legislature. It is a form of direct democracy, the Canadian province of British Columbia has a citizen initiative law known as the Recall and Initiative Act. The original proposal was put to voters in a referendum held in October 1991 and was supported by over 83% of voters and it was subsequently put into force by the incoming NDP government. The first referendum was held under this legislation on September 2011 on the subject of repealing the Harmonized Sales Tax, details of its use in BC are available on the Elections BC website. The rejected Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe included an indirect initiative right. The precise mechanism had not been agreed upon, critics underlined the weakness of this right of initiative, which did not ultimately entail any vote or referendum. A similar scheme under the name, European Citizens Initiative, has been put forward in the now ratified European Lisbon Treaty. It follows very similar rules to the ones outlined in the European Constitution and these citizens would thereby obtain the same right to request the Commission to submit a legislative proposal as the Council has had since the establishment of the European Communities in 1957. This, however, does require that the signatures come from a significant number of Member States and it is suggested that this significant number will need to be around a quarter of member states, with at least 1/500 of the citizens in those member states supporting the initiative. With the variety of languages within the European Union, this creates a significant hurdle for people to navigate. In 2013 the subjects of ongoing open initiatives of the European Citizens Initiative are e. g. about water and sanitation as a human right, unconditional Basic Income, or to End Ecocide in Europe. It remains to be if the ECI evolves into a full initiative or remains in its present state of a de facto petition. Since March 1,2012, groups of at least 50,000 Finnish citizens with suffrage have had the right to send a citizens initiative to the Parliament of Finland. A limited, indirect form of initiative was added to the French Constitution on 28 March 2003 as part of decentralization reforms. However, the only power these local referendum initiatives confer on citizens is the ability to add propositions to their local assemblys meeting agenda, the decision as to whether to submit citizen propositions to a popular vote rests with the local assembly. All German states have the right to initiative, however, there is no constitutional citizens initiative in Germany at a federal level
40.
Federal Assembly (Switzerland)
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The Federal Assembly, is Switzerlands federal legislature. It meets in Bern in the Federal Palace, the Federal Assembly is bicameral, being composed of the 200-seat National Council and the 46-seat Council of States. Both are elected in full every four years, with the last election being held in 2015. The Federal Assembly possesses the federal legislative power, along with the separate constitutional right of citizens initiative. For a law to pass, it must be passed by both houses, the Federal Assembly may come together as a United Federal Assembly in certain circumstances such as to elect the Federal Council, the Federal Chancellor, the federal judges or a General. The Federal Assembly is made up of two chambers, the National Council, with 200 seats the Council of States, with 46 councillors, seats in the National Council are allocated to the cantons proportionally, based on population. In the Council of States, every canton has two seats, on occasions the two houses sit jointly as the United Federal Assembly. The Federal Assembly also confirms the appointment of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner, Parties can cooperate in groups, allowing smaller parties access to rights as part of a caucus. These groups must have at least five members and must be maintained across both chambers, being a member of a formal group gives members the right to sit on committees, and those that arent members cant speak in most debates. Each group receives an allowance of CHF112,000, whilst each member of a group also receives an additional CHF20,800 a year each. Since March 2009, there have been six groups in the Federal Assembly, the latest group to form was the Conservative Democratic Party which split off the Swiss Peoples Party in 2008. The Christian Democrats/EPP/glp Group was formed after the 2007 elections, out of the former Christian Democratic and EPP groups. The current FTP/Liberal group was formed in 2003 out of the former FDP and Liberal groups, since the 2009 fusion of the Free Democrati and Liberal Parties, RL is once again a single-party group. In 2011, the CEg was disbanded, the Green Liberals formed their own faction and the three Christian parties formed the Christian-Evangelical Group
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Aarau
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Aarau is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The town is also the capital of the district of Aarau and it is German-speaking and predominantly Protestant. The municipality borders directly on the canton of Solothurn to the west and it is the second-largest town in Aargau after Wettingen. At the beginning of 2010 Rohr became a suburb of Aarau, the official language of Aarau is Swiss Standard German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. The old city of Aarau is situated on an outcrop at a narrowing of the Aare river valley. Newer districts of the city lie to the south and east of the outcrop, as well as higher up the mountain, and in the valley on both sides of the Aare. The neighboring municipalities are Küttigen to the north, Rohr and Buchs to the east, Suhr to the south-east, Unterentfelden to the south, Aarau and the nearby neighboring municipalities have grown together and now form an interconnected agglomeration. The only exception is Unterentfelden whose settlements are divided from Aarau by the forests of Gönhard. Approximately nine-tenths of the city is south of the Aar, and it has an area, as of 2006, of 8.9 km2. Of this area,6. 3% is used for agricultural purposes, of the rest of the land,55. 2% is settled and the remainder is non-productive. The lowest elevation,365 meters, is found at the banks of the Aar, a few artifacts from the Neolithic period were found in Aarau. Near the location of the present train station, the ruins of a settlement from the Bronze Age have been excavated, the Roman road between Salodurum and Vindonissa passed through the area, along the route now covered by the Bahnhofstrasse. In 1976 divers in the Aare found part of a wide wooden bridge from the late Roman times. Aarau was founded around AD1240 by the counts of Kyburg, Aarau is first mentioned in 1248 as Arowe. Around 1250 it was mentioned as Arowa, however the first mention of a city sized settlement was in 1256. The town was ruled from the Rore tower, which has incorporated into the modern city hall. In 1273 the counts of Kyburg died out, agnes of Kyburg, who had no male relations, sold the familys lands to King Rudolf I von Habsburg. He granted Aarau its city rights in 1283, in the 14th century the city was expanded in two stages, and a second defensive wall was constructed
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Winterthur
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Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zürich in northern Switzerland. It has the sixth largest population, estimated at over 108,000 people. The official language of Winterthur is German, but the spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, Winterthur is usually abbreviated as Winti, Winterthur is connected to Germany by direct trains and enjoys links to Zürich Airport. There are also leading to other places such as Turbenthal. The railway station Bahnhof Winterthur is one of the busiest railway stations in Switzerland, vitudurum was a vicus in what is now Oberwinterthur during the Roman era, fortified into a castrum at the end of the 3rd century, apparently in reaction to the incipient Alamannic invasion. An Alamannic settlement was present at the site in the 7th century, in a battle near Winterthur in 919, Burchard II of Swabia asserted his control over the Thurgau within the Duchy of Swabia against the claims of Rudolph II of Burgundy. The counts of Winterthur, a branch of the counts of Bregenz. With the extinction of the counts of Winterthur in 1053, the passed to the counts of Dillingen. Winterthur as a city was founded by Hartmann III of Dillingen in 1180, from 1180 to 1263, Winterthur was ruled by the cadet line of the House of Kyburg. From 1415 until 1442 Winterthur became reichsfrei or subject only to the Holy Roman Emperor, however, in the Old Zürich War they lost this freedom and came back under the control of the Austrian Habsburgs. Needing money, in 1467, the Habsburgs sold Winterthur to the city of Zürich, in the time under the leadership of Zürich, Winterthurs economic freedom was restricted. It lost many of their rights and the right to trade in some goods. This ended in 1798, when Napoleonic troops liberated the town, because Winterthur lies near Zürich and at the junction of seven cross-roads, the army that held the town held the access to most of Switzerland and points crossing the Rhine into southern Germany. This led to the French defeat a few days later, in the 19th century, Winterthur became an industrial town when companies, like Sulzer, Rieter and SLM, built large industrial plants. Winterthur suffered severely from its investments in and guarantee of loans to the National Railway of Switzerland, the Great Depression, in the 1930s, hit Winterthur extremely hard. 60% of the employees in town worked in the machine industry. Jobs became extremely hard to find, however, with the outbreak of World War II, industry grew again in the city
