History

Deep dives into the National Redoubt, WWII strategy, Cold War policy, and the evolution of Swiss fortifications.

Sonnenberg: Inside the World’s Largest Civilian Bunker

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Fifty-five thousand cars drive through the Sonnenberg Tunnel every day. They pass beneath Mount Sonnenberg in the centre of Lucerne, Switzerland, on a stretch of the A2 motorway that connects Basel to Chiasso. The journey takes less than two minutes. Almost none of the drivers know what surrounds them. Hidden inside the mountain, behind walls … Read more

The National Redoubt: How Switzerland Turned the Alps Into a Weapon

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National Redoubt

The complete story of Switzerland’s Réduit National — how a neutral nation built 20,000 fortifications inside the Alps to deter invasion, from the 1880s to the present day.