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Operation Tannenbaum ("Fir Tree"), known earlier as Operation Grün ("Green"), was a planned invasion of Switzerland and Liechtenstein by the Axis Powers during World War II. Background Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Adolf Hitler made repeated assurances that Germany would respect Swiss neutrality in the event of a conflict in Europe. In February 1937, he assured the Swiss Federal Councillor Edmund Schulthess that "at all times, whatever happens, we will respect the inviolability and neutrality of Switzerland", reiterating this promise shortly before the German invasion of Poland. These were, however, purely political maneuvers intended to guarantee Switzerland's passivity. Nazi Germany planned to end Switzerland's independence after it had defeated its enemies on the continent. Nazi attitudes towards Switzerland In a meeting held with Fascist Italy's leader, Benito Mussolini, and foreign minister, Galeazzo Ciano, in June 1941, Hitler stated his opinion on Switzerland quite plainly: "Switzerland possesses the most disgusting and miserable people and political system. The Swiss are the mortal enemies of the new Germany." In a later discussion, the German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop directly alluded to the possibility of dividing Switzerland between the two Axis powers: "On the Duce's query whether Switzerland, as a true anachronism, had any future, the Foreign Minister smiled and told the Duce that he would have to discuss this with the Führer." In August 1942, Hitler further described Switzerland as "a pimple on the face of Europe" and as a state that no longer had a right to exist, denouncing the Swiss people as "a misbegotten branch of our Volk." From a Nazi viewpoint, Switzerland, as a small, multilingual, decentralized democracy where German-speakers felt more of an affinity with their French-speaking fellow Swiss citizens than towards the German speaking people living across the border, was the antithesis of the racially homogeneous and collectivised "Führer State". Hitler also believed that the independent Swiss state had come into existence at a time of temporary weakness of the Holy Roman Empire, and now that German power had been re-established after the National Socialist takeover, the independent country of Switzerland had become obsolete. Although Hitler despised the democratically minded German Swiss as the "wayward branch of the German people", he still acknowledged their status as Germans. Furthermore, the openly pan-German political aims of the Nazi party called for the unification of all Germans into a Greater Germany, which included the Swiss people. The first goal of the 25-point National Socialist Program stated that "We [the National Socialist Party] demand the unification of all Germans in the Greater Germany on the basis of the people's right to self-determination." In their maps of Greater Germany, German textbooks included the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Bohemia-Moravia, the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, and western Poland from Danzig (Gdańsk in Polish) to Krakau (Kraków). Ignoring Switzerland's status as a sovereign state, these maps frequently showed its territory as a German Gau. The author of one of these textbooks, Ewald Banse, explained "Quite naturally we count you Swiss as offshoots of the German nation, along with the Dutch, the Flemings, the Lorrainers, the Alsatians, the Austrians and the Bohemians ... One day we will group ourselves around a single banner, and whosoever shall wish to separate us, we will exterminate!" Various Nazis were vocal about the German intent to "expand Germany's boundaries to the farthest limits of the old Holy Roman Empire, and even beyond." Although the geopolitician Karl Haushofer was not politically aligned with the Nazis, his ideas offered them ideological support. In his work, he advocated for the partition of Switzerland among its surrounding countries, such that the Romandy (Welschland) would be awarded to Vichy France, Ticino to Italy, and Northern, Central, and Eastern Switzerland to Germany. Nazi attitudes toward Liechtenstein In March 1939, Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein along with Josef Hoop and his government paid an official visit to Berlin where they met Hitler and Ribbentrop to discuss safeguarding Liechtenstein's independence and ensuring good relations. Franz Joseph later reminisced on the visit and stated that Hitler showed little interest in them and that it only took place in order to "flatter Hitler's ego". However, in the same month the German National Movement in Liechtenstein (VDBL), a Nazi organisation in Liechtenstein staged a coup attempt in which it was planned for VBDL members to march on Vaduz and seize control of the government, which was hoped to cause clashes between them and the government. German troops from Feldkirch would then move into Liechtenstein after a call for help and incorporate the country into Germany. However, this plan failed as the marchers were stopped by opposing parties before they could reach Vaduz and Hitler blocked any invasion into Liechtenstein following intervention by Alois Vogt. Despite this, the coup was only prevented by Hitler due to his desire to avoid provoking a war with Switzerland, as the Switzerland and Liechtenstein had been in a customs union since 1924. Liechtenstein was intended to be invaded alongside Switzerland and be included in the partitioning, where Liechtenstein would be annexed into Germany. Military preparations The Swiss government approved an increase in defence spending, with a first instalment of 15 million Swiss francs (out of a total multi-year budget of 100 million francs) to go toward modernisation of the armed forces. With Hitler's renunciation of the Treaty of Versailles in 1935, this spending jumped to 90 million francs. The K31 became the standard-issue infantry rifle in 1933, and was superior to the German Kar98 in ease of use, accuracy, and weight. By the end of World War II, nearly 350,000 would be produced. Switzerland has a unique form of generalship. In peacetime, there is no officer with a rank higher than that of Korpskommandant (3-star-general). However, in times of war and in 'need', the Bundesversammlung elects a General to command the army and air force. On 30 August 1939, Henri Guisan was elected General, with 204 votes out of 227 cast. He immediately began preparations for war. When, two days after his election, the Wehrmacht invaded Poland and World War II began, Guisan called for a general mobilisation and issued Operationsbefehl Nr. 1, the first of what was to become a series of evolving defensive plans. This first plan assigned the existing three army corps to the east, north, and west of Switzerland, with reserves in the centre and south of the country. Guisan reported to the Federal Council on September 7 that by the time Britain declared war on Germany, "our entire army had been in its operational positions for ten minutes." He also .... Discover the K D Halbrook popular books. Find the top 100 most popular K D Halbrook books.