How is it possible for the Swiss Confederation to be expanded by German states after 1815. Bonus for including Italian ones.
Challenge: German States join Confederacy
- Thread starter Baconheimer
- Start date
After the Congress of Vienna, probably not possible because the great powers would uphold the Congress-set borders. However maybe slightly greater gains as a result of the Congress might perhaps be possible?
For a POD, let's stipulate a stronger Reformation, and a feckless, unfocused Counter-Reformation.
Following its depopulation in the Thirty Years' War, Upper Swabia is resettled by various uprooted Protestants, including Huguenots, Waldenses, and Swiss mercenaries. The same happens in Vorarlberg and Lindau. Austria attempts to reassert control, but is repelled with French assistance. In 1803, the Act of Mediation incorporates Upper Swabia, Vorarlberg, and Lindau as Swiss cantons.
Meanwhile, Calvinism has taken hold in the Aosta Valley and the mountainous northern parts of Piedmont and Lombardy. Turin and Milan remain Catholic cities, so the Piedmontese and Lombard Protestants seek security under the Helvetic aegis. During the Napoleonic period, these regions are incorporated into the Helvetic Republic, and are finally admitted as cantons following the Conference of Vienna, joining the Confederation at the same time as Geneva, Neuchatel, Valais, and Liechtenstein.
As a result of these changes, Switzerland winds up with a much larger Italian population, and becomes a popular target for Italian revanchist sentiment. Italy makes various unsuccessful attempts to occupy the Italian-speaking cantons, the most famous of these projects being the interwar Regency of Locarno, led by Gabriele D'Annunzio.
The imminent threat of Italian invasion leads the Swiss government to tread very carefully during the run-up to the Second World War. They grant extensive privileges to Mussolini, allow Swiss fascist organizations to operate without hindrance, and actively abet Axis war operations. This proves crucial during the invasion of France, when German troops are permitted to cross through Swiss territory and skirt French defenses. The Allies blame Switzerland for the fall of France, believing that the Germans could never have successfully invaded without Swiss acquiescence. This opinion is especially strong among the French.
The Allied powers retaliate against Switzerland with strategic bombing. During the spring of 1940, Berne and Basel are largely destroyed. In the aftermath of the bombings, pro-Axis sentiment grows, and the National Front enjoys renewed popularity. The fascist army officer Arthur Fonjallaz seizes power in Lugano, declaring himself "Governor of Italian Cisalpina".
After Hitler's conquests in Poland and France, Mussolini is desperate for a triumph of his own, and diverts some of his forces from Italian-occupied France to enter southern Switzerland in support of Fonjallaz's coup. Hitler is furious, and responds by diverting troops from the zone nord to "protect" the German-speaking cantons. These are organized into Reichsgaue Welschland, Alpenland, and Oberrhein. Hitler's Swiss henchmen include Franz Burri, the gauleiter of Alpenland, and the American-born Ernst Leonhardt, who becomes Goebbels' man in Zurich. Leonhardt is instrumental in the 1942 remake of Wilhelm Tell, in which the Swiss hero does battle with Jewish burghers.
Switzerland becomes a hotbed of resistance activity, culminating in the assassination of Ernst Kaltenbrunner during a visit to Lucerne. The Italian zone is in even worse shape, due to the heavy-handed and immensely unpopular administration of Arthur Fonjallaz. In 1943 he is replaced by Ettore Bastico, formerly commander of Italy's troops in Libya.
After the Kingdom of Italy leaves the Axis, Germany occupies the entire Swiss territory, though the Italian-speaking south is officially a part of the Italian Social Republic. It is the scene of intense partisan activity and bloody repression by the likes of Pietro Koch, who is captured and killed by Swiss partisans in St Moritz in January 1945. Mussolini meets a similar fate in April when he attempts to flee north through the pass at Montespluga. Captured alive by Swiss partisans, he is lashed to a fir tree and pelted with snowballs, then left to freeze to death overnight. Grisly photographs of the "Schweizer Baumschmuck" harden Hitler's resolve not to be captured alive.
By the end of 1945, most of the Italian-speaking cantons have been liberated by the American Fifth Army, which enters Lugano on April 29. But the German and French cantons remain in Nazi hands until the very end of the war. A few pockets of resistance are not mopped up until June, owing to poor communication in the mountains.
The Allied leaders agree that a strong, unified Switzerland will be a stabilizing influence in Europe, a means of blunting both Italian and German nationalism. They propose to extend Switzerland's southern border to the Po River, and southeast to the Adige. As a demographic counterbalance, its northern border is to be extended to include South Baden, Swabia, and Alsace, so as to encompass the entire Alemannic-speaking region. A series of plebiscites are held in these regions. With the exception of Alsace, the Alemannic corridor votes to join the reconstituted Helvetic Confederation; in the south the vote is split, with Turin voting narrowly to join Switzerland and Milan voting narrowly to remain in Italy. This process of enlargement is acrimonious and protracted. The last of the new cantons, Turin, is not formally admitted until 1959.
After its post-war enlargement, Switzerland covers an area of approximately 90,000 square kilometers, more than double the size of the Old Swiss Confederacy. By the year 2000, its population has reached sixteen million, with German-speakers accounting for 50%, Italian-speakers 40%, and French-speakers 10%.
Following its depopulation in the Thirty Years' War, Upper Swabia is resettled by various uprooted Protestants, including Huguenots, Waldenses, and Swiss mercenaries. The same happens in Vorarlberg and Lindau. Austria attempts to reassert control, but is repelled with French assistance. In 1803, the Act of Mediation incorporates Upper Swabia, Vorarlberg, and Lindau as Swiss cantons.
Meanwhile, Calvinism has taken hold in the Aosta Valley and the mountainous northern parts of Piedmont and Lombardy. Turin and Milan remain Catholic cities, so the Piedmontese and Lombard Protestants seek security under the Helvetic aegis. During the Napoleonic period, these regions are incorporated into the Helvetic Republic, and are finally admitted as cantons following the Conference of Vienna, joining the Confederation at the same time as Geneva, Neuchatel, Valais, and Liechtenstein.
As a result of these changes, Switzerland winds up with a much larger Italian population, and becomes a popular target for Italian revanchist sentiment. Italy makes various unsuccessful attempts to occupy the Italian-speaking cantons, the most famous of these projects being the interwar Regency of Locarno, led by Gabriele D'Annunzio.
The imminent threat of Italian invasion leads the Swiss government to tread very carefully during the run-up to the Second World War. They grant extensive privileges to Mussolini, allow Swiss fascist organizations to operate without hindrance, and actively abet Axis war operations. This proves crucial during the invasion of France, when German troops are permitted to cross through Swiss territory and skirt French defenses. The Allies blame Switzerland for the fall of France, believing that the Germans could never have successfully invaded without Swiss acquiescence. This opinion is especially strong among the French.
The Allied powers retaliate against Switzerland with strategic bombing. During the spring of 1940, Berne and Basel are largely destroyed. In the aftermath of the bombings, pro-Axis sentiment grows, and the National Front enjoys renewed popularity. The fascist army officer Arthur Fonjallaz seizes power in Lugano, declaring himself "Governor of Italian Cisalpina".
After Hitler's conquests in Poland and France, Mussolini is desperate for a triumph of his own, and diverts some of his forces from Italian-occupied France to enter southern Switzerland in support of Fonjallaz's coup. Hitler is furious, and responds by diverting troops from the zone nord to "protect" the German-speaking cantons. These are organized into Reichsgaue Welschland, Alpenland, and Oberrhein. Hitler's Swiss henchmen include Franz Burri, the gauleiter of Alpenland, and the American-born Ernst Leonhardt, who becomes Goebbels' man in Zurich. Leonhardt is instrumental in the 1942 remake of Wilhelm Tell, in which the Swiss hero does battle with Jewish burghers.
Switzerland becomes a hotbed of resistance activity, culminating in the assassination of Ernst Kaltenbrunner during a visit to Lucerne. The Italian zone is in even worse shape, due to the heavy-handed and immensely unpopular administration of Arthur Fonjallaz. In 1943 he is replaced by Ettore Bastico, formerly commander of Italy's troops in Libya.
After the Kingdom of Italy leaves the Axis, Germany occupies the entire Swiss territory, though the Italian-speaking south is officially a part of the Italian Social Republic. It is the scene of intense partisan activity and bloody repression by the likes of Pietro Koch, who is captured and killed by Swiss partisans in St Moritz in January 1945. Mussolini meets a similar fate in April when he attempts to flee north through the pass at Montespluga. Captured alive by Swiss partisans, he is lashed to a fir tree and pelted with snowballs, then left to freeze to death overnight. Grisly photographs of the "Schweizer Baumschmuck" harden Hitler's resolve not to be captured alive.
By the end of 1945, most of the Italian-speaking cantons have been liberated by the American Fifth Army, which enters Lugano on April 29. But the German and French cantons remain in Nazi hands until the very end of the war. A few pockets of resistance are not mopped up until June, owing to poor communication in the mountains.
The Allied leaders agree that a strong, unified Switzerland will be a stabilizing influence in Europe, a means of blunting both Italian and German nationalism. They propose to extend Switzerland's southern border to the Po River, and southeast to the Adige. As a demographic counterbalance, its northern border is to be extended to include South Baden, Swabia, and Alsace, so as to encompass the entire Alemannic-speaking region. A series of plebiscites are held in these regions. With the exception of Alsace, the Alemannic corridor votes to join the reconstituted Helvetic Confederation; in the south the vote is split, with Turin voting narrowly to join Switzerland and Milan voting narrowly to remain in Italy. This process of enlargement is acrimonious and protracted. The last of the new cantons, Turin, is not formally admitted until 1959.
After its post-war enlargement, Switzerland covers an area of approximately 90,000 square kilometers, more than double the size of the Old Swiss Confederacy. By the year 2000, its population has reached sixteen million, with German-speakers accounting for 50%, Italian-speakers 40%, and French-speakers 10%.
Yeah, you're right. I guess you could forget everything before the 20th century, and have the POD occur within interwar Italian culture. The Futurists and Fascists develop a romantic hankering for the Alps, and the redemption of Italian Switzerland becomes a plank in the Fascist program. Whether or not it is a serious plan, it leads the Swiss government to be excessively deferential to the Axis, culminating in their granting Germany permission to use Swiss territory as a staging area for the invasion of France. This invites disproportionate and cruel Allied retaliation, which pushes Switzerland to abandon neutrality in favor of the Axis. The rest happens much as I wrote above. The point is just to get Switzerland annexed, partitioned between Italy and Germany, and subsequently reconstituted with different borders, a la Poland.
not the only one.I clicked on this thread thinking you meant this Confederacy.
Time travel.So WWII still happens FOUR CENTURIES after the freaking POD?
That is the Confederate battle flag.I clicked on this thread thinking you meant this Confederacy.
This is the flag of the CSA.
If Alemannic separatism somehow succeeded in separating South Baden and Swabia from Germany, what are the chances that Switzerland would welcome these regions into the Confederation? If I recall correctly, in OTL the last territorial expansion of Switzerland occurred in 1815.
No, when talking about Germany ...
... with the Iron Chancellor ...
... and the Iron Cross ...
... you mean certainly the Iron Confederacy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Confederacy
Yes, that.
ObAHC: Extent the influence of the Iron Confederacy that its territory encompasses the city of Bismarck, ND.
... with the Iron Chancellor ...
... and the Iron Cross ...
... you mean certainly the Iron Confederacy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Confederacy
Yes, that.
ObAHC: Extent the influence of the Iron Confederacy that its territory encompasses the city of Bismarck, ND.
katchen
Banned
I found this on Wikipedia:
Following World War I there was a desire by many in Vorarlberg ( Westernmost Austrian Province --west of Tirol) to join Switzerland.[3] In a referendum held in Vorarlberg on 11 May 1919, over 80% of those voting supported a proposal for the state to join the Swiss Confederation. However this was prevented by the opposition of the Austrian government, the Allies, Swiss liberals, the Swiss-Italians and the Swiss-French.[2][4]
Mulhouse (Mulhausen) was part of the Swiss Confederation for two centuries"The city joined the Swiss Confederation as an associate in 1515 and was therefore not annexed by France in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 like the rest of the Sundgau. An enclave in Alsace, it was a free and independent calvinist republic, known as Stadtrepublik Mülhausen, associated with the Swiss Confederation until, after a vote by its citizens on 4 January 1798, it became a part of France in the Treaty of Mulhouse signed on 28 January 1798, during the Directory period of the French Revolution.
Following World War I there was a desire by many in Vorarlberg ( Westernmost Austrian Province --west of Tirol) to join Switzerland.[3] In a referendum held in Vorarlberg on 11 May 1919, over 80% of those voting supported a proposal for the state to join the Swiss Confederation. However this was prevented by the opposition of the Austrian government, the Allies, Swiss liberals, the Swiss-Italians and the Swiss-French.[2][4]
Mulhouse (Mulhausen) was part of the Swiss Confederation for two centuries"The city joined the Swiss Confederation as an associate in 1515 and was therefore not annexed by France in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 like the rest of the Sundgau. An enclave in Alsace, it was a free and independent calvinist republic, known as Stadtrepublik Mülhausen, associated with the Swiss Confederation until, after a vote by its citizens on 4 January 1798, it became a part of France in the Treaty of Mulhouse signed on 28 January 1798, during the Directory period of the French Revolution.
At some point after WW1, Liechtenstein?
The latest map that I posted for that TL (showing it as of 1913) doesn't show those details, but the replacement I have almost ready does do so... and already did so before this thread was started.
In the TL that I started a bit over a year ago but haven't yet got very far with, Mulhausen (with enough of the Sundgau to form a viable hinterland and a land connection to "old" Switzerland") was added to the Confederacy by the conference that ended their equivalent of the Napoleonic Wars. Also, for that matter, they gained Konstanz then as well. On the other hand, though they lost the "lower" part of Valais to a stronger 'Savoy'-ruled kingdom in northern Italy.
The latest map that I posted for that TL (showing it as of 1913) doesn't show those details, but the replacement I have almost ready does do so... and already did so before this thread was started.