# Swiss Accidentally Invade Liechtenstein **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 2, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336 "2007-03-02T19:14:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/41 "2007-03-04T02:34:01Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] When did \*\*Liechtenstein \*\* get the Bomb? Jim [/QUOTE] The Wikipedia article indicates that Prince Hans-Adam owns vineyards. If we find out that they sent a trade delegation to the U.S. to protest vintage _marque_ infringement during the early years of the Cold War, and it arrived during an air raid drill, Leonard Wibberley has a lot of questions to answer! šŸ˜ƒ (But it would explain why Lichtenstein was carefully left alone by giant expansionist powers :eek: ) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/42 "2007-03-04T03:12:32Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] When did \*\*Liechtenstein \*\* get the Bomb? Jim [/QUOTE] Thereā€™s a documentary about it: ā€œThe Mouse that Roared.ā€ Happened sometime back in the 50s or 60s. Quite the international hubbub, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![frog\_princess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6bbea6/32.png) [@frog\_princess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frog_princess)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/43 "2007-03-04T03:53:50Z")
Am I the only one who canā€™t get this out of my head? > [@](#): > > Heā€™s blond, heā€™s pissed, heā€™ll see you in the lists, Lichtenstein! Heā€™s blond, heā€™s tanned, he comes from Gelderland, he comes from Gelderland! Gelderland, Gelderland, Gelderlandā€¦ Gelderland, Gelderland, Gelderlandā€¦ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/) A Knightā€™s Tale (2001) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/44 "2007-03-04T03:56:28Z")
[QUOTE=29car] Was France able to take their surrender back? [/QUOTE] Hey, stop picking on those Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys. [QUOTE=Evil Captor] Thereā€™s a documentary about it: ā€œThe Mouse that Roared.ā€ Happened sometime back in the 50s or 60s. Quite the international hubbub, I believe. [/QUOTE] šŸ˜ƒ I love that book. Jim ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/45 "2007-03-04T03:58:21Z")
[QUOTE=frog princess] Am I the only one who canā€™t get this out of my head? > [@](#): > > Heā€™s blond, heā€™s pissed, heā€™ll see you in the lists, Lichtenstein! Heā€™s blond, heā€™s tanned, he comes from Gelderland, he comes from Gelderland! Gelderland, Gelderland, Gelderlandā€¦ Gelderland, Gelderland, Gelderlandā€¦ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/) A Knightā€™s Tale (2001) [/QUOTE] lol As much as I personaly love Lichtenstein and all it stands for, this is so much a non-incident, itā€™s freakinā€™ hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/46 "2007-03-04T05:50:22Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] Do the Japanese have Godzilla as part of their arsenal? I think thatā€™s a crucial factor. [/QUOTE] Also: Do they have any of those dudes who use swords, but are so fast that they can, like, beat dudes who use guns? I saw a documentary about themā€¦ youā€™d think theyā€™d have some footage of them, but it was all animated. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/47 "2007-03-04T07:43:13Z")
Iā€™d just like to have been the fliege on the wall when this company commander had to explain his little invasion to his commanders. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/48 "2007-03-05T20:58:23Z")
> [@](#): > > by **levdrakon** > Well, thatā€™s a catchy headline I just had to click on when I saw it this morning. > > Hereā€™s the NYT article. When I read the thread title I chuckled. Then I followed **levdrakon** ā€™s link to read the article. It had an ad for Capital One Bank. (you know, the ones with the barbarian hordes) That was even funnier. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/49 "2007-03-05T21:24:28Z")
From what I understand, if you have enough cash you can rent the entire country of Liechtenstein for a private event. Maybe these guys were a crack team of party planners scoping out the venue. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/50 "2007-03-05T21:58:55Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] From what I understand, if you have enough cash you can rent the entire country of Liechtenstein for a private event. Maybe these guys were a crack team of party planners scoping out the venue. [/QUOTE] Perhaps they were Finlandia Swissā€¦? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/51 "2007-03-06T05:08:38Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] From what I understand, if you have enough cash you can rent the entire country of Liechtenstein for a private event. Maybe these guys were a crack team of party planners scoping out the venue. [/QUOTE] I heard itā€™s so small, theyā€™re gonna have the whole country carpeted. (An old joke from the Dudley Moore movie _Arthur_) ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/52 "2007-03-06T05:53:39Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] The Swiss have an army? Who knew. [/QUOTE] John McPhee, for one. He wrote a whole book about it: [La Place de la Concorde Suisse](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374519323/ref=dp_proddesc_1/002-3066864-2550445?ie=UTF8&n=283155). Iā€™m assuming **alphaboi867** was quoting McPhee quoting one of the people he interviewed for the book, who said ā€œSwitzerland does not have an army . . . Switzerland _is_ an army.ā€ Itā€™s really a fun read ā€“ there are times when the reality of Swiss Army training manoeuvres is just about as surreal as it sounds. But in military circles, the Swiss Army is very highly regarded; supposedly, the Israeli Army modeled itself on the Swiss. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/53 "2007-03-06T06:13:52Z")
[QUOTE=Regallag\_The\_Axe] Also: Do they have any of those dudes who use swords, but are so fast that they can, like, beat dudes who use guns? I saw a documentary about themā€¦ youā€™d think theyā€™d have some footage of them, but it was all animated. [/QUOTE] [Sword vs. Gun (non animated)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f182pQ51BlE) They donā€™t have to be fast, just accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/54 "2007-03-08T01:02:43Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] I did. [here](http://www.swissnavy.ch/Fotobuch/G8/InFormation/information.html) are some [pictures](http://www.swissnavy.ch/wk2000/Touristenfahrten/touristenfahrten.html) of the boys at [work](http://www.swissnavy.ch/wk2000/Zeitungsartikel/zeitungsartikel.html). [/QUOTE] ā€œTouristenfahrtenā€! (Number 2) It smells fishy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/55 "2007-03-08T10:02:36Z")
In related Swiss military matters, the army has suffered a crushing defeat [within its own borders](http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2232423.html) > [@](#): > > A tank came off worse when it collided with a tractor in Switzerland. > > The tractor was only slightly damaged in the collision, near the town of Siselen, northwest of the capital Bern. But the tank was a write off after it lost its tracks, crashed off the narrow road and turned over. The road was closed for two hours while the tank wreck was recovered. The tractor was able to continue on its journey after the driver gave a statement to local police ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/56 "2007-03-08T11:57:03Z")
The Swiss are not to be scoffed at, aside from the bridges and tunnels pre-armed to be blown up in the case of an invasion there are apparantly F-18s ready to spring forth from hidden tunnels, propelled by steam catapults. Really, the Swiss are bigger nuts than the Prussians/Germans. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/57 "2007-03-08T12:21:40Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] The Swiss are not to be scoffed at, aside from the bridges and tunnels pre-armed to be blown up in the case of an invasion there are apparantly F-18s ready to spring forth from hidden tunnels, propelled by steam catapults. Really, the Swiss are bigger nuts than the Prussians/Germans. [/QUOTE] I read an article in a _National Geographic_ magazine from the early 1960s that covered some of the Swiss preparedness for an invasion (presumably by Ze Germans or The Russians). Besides bunkers in the mountains full of tanks and guns, the road tunnels and bridges were rigged with explosives, every male in the country over 17 had an Assault Rifle and ammunition in the wardrobe, and there were disguised pillboxes and gun emplacements all over the show, including automated Sentry Guns concealed in tree stumps! The whole country sounded a lot like a Survivalistā€™s Wet Dream in that regard, actuallyā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/58 "2007-03-08T12:29:12Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] The Swiss are not to be scoffed at, aside from the bridges and tunnels pre-armed to be blown up in the case of an invasion there are apparantly F-18s ready to spring forth from hidden tunnels, propelled by steam catapults. Really, the Swiss are bigger nuts than the Prussians/Germans. [/QUOTE] Well, my German colleagues complaints about our Swiss colleagues apparently are summed up by the line ā€œtheyā€™re more German than we are!ā€ Iā€™m too afraid to ask what is that supposed to mean. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/59 "2007-03-08T12:51:38Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] The whole country sounded a lot like a Survivalistā€™s Wet Dream in that regard, actuallyā€¦ [/QUOTE] Or a giant virtual reality shoot 'em up perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336/60 "2007-03-08T17:55:05Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] The Swiss are not to be scoffed at, aside from the bridges and tunnels pre-armed to be blown up in the case of an invasion there are apparantly F-18s ready to spring forth from hidden tunnels, propelled by steam catapults. Really, the Swiss are bigger nuts than the Prussians/Germans. [/QUOTE] F-18ā€™s in tunnels? Where would they land? From discussion with a friend of mine who was in the Swiss army, I gather that the comic-opera Swiss army wouldnā€™t last 15 minutes against a real army. The real problem is thereā€™s no reason anymore to take national defense seriously, and consequently no one does. I personally think they should drop the pretense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-accidentally-invade-liechtenstein/394336.md?page=4)