The National Redoubt and the Wahlen Plan

Rütli, Gotthard

Key figures: Henri Guisan, Friedrich Traugott Wahlen

Further reading: National Redoubt, Friedrich Traugott Wahlen

Surrounded (June 1940). In June 1940 France capitulated and Switzerland found itself surrounded by Germany, Italy and Vichy France. On 25 June the President of the Confederation, Marcel Pilet-Golaz, gave an ambiguous radio speech that called for adapting to the new times and worried many citizens.

The Rütli report (25 July 1940). Guisan answered with a symbolic gesture. He gathered the army commanders on the Rütli meadow, the legendary site of the founding oath, and declared that Switzerland would defend itself, whatever happened.

The National Redoubt (1940–1944). The bulk of the army withdrew into the Alps, around the fortresses of the Gotthard, Saint-Maurice and Sargans, leaving only covering troops on the plateau. The idea was to make an invasion too costly and to threaten to destroy the Gotthard and Simplon routes, vital for the links between Germany and Italy.

The fortifications (1937–1945). From 1937 bunkers, barriers and anti-tank obstacles were built along the borders and on the plateau. In the Jura, near Vallorbe, the Pré-Giroud fort has its entrance disguised as a chalet. Between Bassins and Prangins, in the Canton of Vaud, the «Toblerone line» lines up 2,700 concrete blocks over about 10 kilometres. On the Alpine passes works were dug into the rock, such as the Maloja barrier, built in 1939, with its main work next to the Hotel Maloja Kulm. Their location remained secret until the 1990s. With the «Army 95» reform many works were decommissioned, and some, such as Sasso da Pigna on the Gotthard, Pré-Giroud and Maloja, are museums today.

The battle for cultivation (1940–1945). The agronomist Friedrich Traugott Wahlen, later a Federal Councillor, launched a plan to make the country self-sufficient. The cultivated area almost doubled: potatoes and wheat were sown even in city parks, such as the Sechseläutenplatz in Zurich, while food was rationed.