Concept
The Swiss National Redoubt (Schweizer Reduit; Réduit national; Ridotto nazionale; Reduit nazional) is a defensive plan developed by the Swiss government beginning in the 1880s to respond to foreign invasion. In the opening years of the Second World War the plan was expanded and refined to deal with a potential German invasion. The term "National Redoubt" primarily refers to the fortifications begun in the 1880s that secured the mountainous central part of Switzerland, providing a defended refuge for a retreating Swiss Army. The National Redoubt encompassed a widely distributed set of fortifications on a general east–west line through the Alps, centering around the major fortress complexes of St. Maurice, St. Gotthard, and Sargans. These fortresses primarily defended the alpine crossings between Germany and Italy and were outside the industrialized and populated regions of Switzerland. These regions were defended by the "Border Line", and the "Army Position" somewhat farther back. While not intended as an impassable barrier, these lines contained significant fortifications, but the National Redoubt was planned as a nearly impregnable complex of fortifications that would deny an aggressor passage over or through the Alps by controlling the major mountain passes and railway tunnels running north-to-south through the region. This strategy was intended to deter an invasion altogether by denying Switzerland's crucial transportation infrastructure to an aggressor. The National Redoubt has been the subject of debate in Swiss society, with many fortifications decommissioned by the early 21st century. Military history of Switzerland The concept of "réduit" is a recurring theme in Swiss defence theory. Having stayed neutral during World War II, Switzerland retained the concept for its plans of resistance against a putative Soviet invasion during the Cold War, when it became a strong influence on the Swiss concept of neutrality. Fortification of the Swiss alpine region began in the 1880s, shortly after the opening of the Gotthard railway.
