More than 100 old army fortresses are hidden across Switzerland. But why is the military interested in resurrecting these relics of a long-ago wartime era?
Once considered Switzerland’s ‘secret weapon’, the bunkers are almost impossible to spot — which was the idea for building them during World War II.
The original purpose of these fortresses was to hide the artillery and soldiers inside, both of whom would be mobilised into action if Germans invaded Switzerland.
Later on, during the Cold War, it was thought the bunkers could be useful to fight the Russians.
Thankfully, neither scenario had ever become a reality, so why does Army Chief Thomas Süssli now want to bring them back to life?
Bunker mentality
In an interview with SRF public broadcaster, Süssli pointed to purely practical reasons behind this proposed move.
From a military perspective, reactivating some of these installations would make sense because the fortress mortars are the only military installations in certain areas, Süssli explained.
“A very large number are still in very good condition and could be repaired in a short time with parliamentary approval,” he said.
They could then be used “if the security situation deteriorates,” Süssli added.
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Outdated skills
While some politicians, like Priska Seiler Graf, chair person of the National Council’s Security Policy Committee, believe that fortress mortars are nothing more than “retro nostalgia,” others agree with Süssli.
MP Werner Salzmann from the Swiss People’s Party, for instance, noted that if the the war in Ukraine were to spread to Switzerland, “it would involve trench warfare like that in World War I.”
If that were to happen, “we would probably be happy to have these fortresses, mortars, and weapon systems,” he said.
There is, however, a major stumbling block in this proposal: Switzerland no longer has troops able to undertake fortress duty as though it were still 1943 — that is, to operate the mortars in the combat bunkers.
But Süssli is not deterred by the time wrap; instead, he is considering an idea of training soldiers for this task.
“In the infantry or mechanised units, soldiers are trained in the mobile mortar,” he pointed out.” We could also offer training on the stationary mortar again.”
