Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In its first military deployment since 1815, Switzerland deployed 31 soldiers to Afghanistan in 2003, and two Swiss officers had worked with German troops. Swiss forces were withdrawn in February 2008. [49] Switzerland is part of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC), which was created to monitor the armistice between North and ...
The military history of Switzerland comprises centuries of armed actions, and the role of the Swiss military in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide. Despite maintaining neutrality since its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499, [1] Switzerland has been involved in military operations dating back to the hiring of Swiss mercenaries by foreign nations, including the Papal States.
The aqueduct was destroyed, but all the commandoes were captured. Deane-Drummond escaped in December 1941, but was caught. On his second attempt the following June, he managed to reach Switzerland. Returning to England, he later participated in Operation Market Garden in September 1944. With the British force surrounded in the region of Arnhem ...
Military service is not mandatory for women, but they may volunteer for any position. [2] In 2016, an expert commission that the Swiss government charged with reviewing the country's conscription system recommended that women be included in the military draft in order to meet its annual demand of 18,000 new soldiers a year. [9]
Following the organization 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. [3] Both European alliance-systems took the size of the Swiss military into account in the years prior to 1914, especially in the Schlieffen Plan.
Switzerland is offering a cash prize for solutions to remove munitions from its lakes. The ammo was dumped in lakes between 1918 and 1964 as the Swiss military believed it to be safe.
In 1971, Swiss Air Rescue formed a base at the airfield named Wilderswil. Initially based in the military buildings, in 1982 the air rescue moved to a new heliport in Gsteigwiler. However, in 2008 they returned to Interlaken airfield retaining the Wilderswil base name. [5] In 2003, military use ceased and the airfield was sold. [6]
The Swiss Air Force (German: Schweizer Luftwaffe; French: Forces aériennes suisses; Italian: Forze aeree svizzere; Romansh: Aviatica militara svizra) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914, three days after the outbreak of World War I, as a part of the army and in October 1936 as an independent service.