Every story and comment from the Hacker News API, in a layout borrowed from 2001.
A comment on Switzerland Is Prepared for Civilizational Collapse – Marginal REVOLUTION. Parent comment
However the reality is that luck has more to do with it. The large scale European balance of power and geography made this possible.
Switzerland is bad for going North to South and if you move East to West its better to stick with the North European plain.
Comparing Belgium and Switzerland before WW1 shows this. Both were ready to defend their borders, and you couldn't just walk in.
However it just so happens that Germany was fighting France and Russia.
In the Napoleonic wars some action was happening in Switzerland (Russian armies in Switzerland) but even then it was limited.
There are no comments on this comment yet.
However the reality is that luck has more to do with it. The large scale European balance of power and geography made this possible.
Switzerland is bad for going North to South and if you move East to West its better to stick with the North European plain.
Comparing Belgium and Switzerland before WW1 shows this. Both were ready to defend their borders, and you couldn't just walk in.
However it just so happens that Germany was fighting France and Russia.
In the Napoleonic wars some action was happening in Switzerland (Russian armies in Switzerland) but even then it was limited.