Challenge: Swiss Superpower

With any POD before 1900, make Switzerland the world's dominant superpower. It does not have to be a superpower by 2009, but it should be on its way.

Bonus points if Switzerland gets Libya as a colony, and puts down a revolt led by OTL Colonel Gaddafi, provided the butterflies don't get rid of him.

More bonus points if it fights most wars by proxy, and is nominally neutral.

Yeah, this is kind of out there, but as best as I can tell, nobody has done a Swiss-wank before.:rolleyes::p
 
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With any POD before 1900, make Switzerland the world's dominant superpower while retaining its neutrality. Any territorial expansion must be made by unions, diplomacy, purchases, colonies, or treaties after winning a defensive war.

Bonus points if Switzerland gets Libya as a colony, and puts down a revolt led by OTL Colonel Gaddafi, provided the butterflies don't get rid of him.

Yeah, this is kind of out there, but as best as I can tell, nobody has done a Swiss-wank before.:rolleyes::p

Neutrality and dominance as in Britain's "Splendid Isolation" in the post-Crimea period, only fighting factions below its own weight? Presumably four and a half centuries of warfare to get into that position are similarly disregarded.
 
Neutrality and dominance as in Britain's "Splendid Isolation" in the post-Crimea period, only fighting factions below its own weight? Presumably four and a half centuries of warfare to get into that position are similarly disregarded.

More along the lines of not starting a war, but just a series of events (i.e. it repulses and invasion, then goes on the offensive, or something like Lichtenstein joins as a canton). Obviously, it's a unlikely thing, but I do't think it's a completely ASB idea. After all, China was in a civil war only about sixty years ago, and it is arguably becoming a superpower. I'll revise the original post to say after the Napoleonic Wars.
 

skorpion123

Banned
Hmm how about this idea ? Switzerland takes the position that Belgium has today. it's capital is the capital of the EU so one may call it a superpower even if it is not. :D:D:D

Idea number 2 . Change nothing. Switzerland IS a superpower. We just don't know the real power of Switzerland banks.

After all, China was in a civil war only about sixty years ago, and it is arguably becoming a superpower.

But China is China and Switzerland is Switzerland. It was quite natural for China to become a superpower when it got on it's feet. Not the same with Switzerland.


(i.e. it repulses and invasion, then goes on the offensive, or something like Lichtenstein joins as a canton

The whole world will fear the Swiss counter attack Blitzkrieg !

:D
 

wormyguy

Banned
After finishing his conquest of the Habsburg domains, Sultan Dumdim III turned his sights to the small mountain republic of Switzerland. Unfortunately, he failed to foresee the Swiss invention of the repeating-rifled-handgun.
 
Switzerland is a tiny, landlocked country, surrounded by mountains. Before it could become a superpower, it would have to include MUCH more land, resources, and people before it makes the grade. Although then, it probably wouldn't just be Switzerland anymore.
 
Yeah, this is kind of out there, but as best as I can tell, nobody has done a Swiss-wank before.:rolleyes::p
A pity. I would heartily approve of such an idea.

That said, after the Napoleonic wars is more or less impossible. Although if you go further back than that there are plenty of opportunities for expansion(South German Cities League, northern Italian city-states, Voralberg. All are dependent on butterflies however) and more power. Probably not enough for a superpower-level but maybe a medium power in world politics.
 
Yeah, what needs to happen is for expansion at the formation of Switzerland. If we can get Lichtenstein to join, along with Trent, Slazburg? a few Italian cities (Milan?) and a bit of Southern Germany (Baden?).
 
Colonies, like ... France?

More or less. Though not by an offensive war, at least not an apparently offensive war....;)


Yeah, what needs to happen is for expansion at the formation of Switzerland. If we can get Lichtenstein to join, along with Trent, Slazburg? a few Italian cities (Milan?) and a bit of Southern Germany (Baden?).

Again, more or less.

Though I do think I'll change some of the details of the challenge. Keeping Switzerland as neutral as it is now does kind of ruin any fun part of a believable Swiss-wank. :(
 
Don't start fights,

but do finish them = A popular saying from fathers to sons.

http://incontextmultimedia.com/blog/2008/07/dont-start-fights-but-do-finish-them/

From time to time I am reminded of something that my father said to me when I was a young man, working on finding my place in the world:

“Don’t ever start a fight, because you always lose in the end. But if you have to fight, finish it.”

Of course, he was talking about a different kind of finish, but the principle is the same. If you get into a fight, in the long run you both always lose. Sure, you may “beat” the person that you are fighting with, but that falls into the category of winning the battles and losing the war. You can never win a fight on someone else’s blog, forum, or message board. It’s their house, their rules. Never forget, once something is on the internet, it is there forever.

Write your responses for future readers, the people that may discover your conflict via search or a viral discussion.

* Do not write for the attacker.
* Do not put them down.
* Explain your position, and why you maintain it.
* Show that you have principles and values.

You may not be able to make the critic happy, but every future reader will see that you worked toward a positive end.

Back On Topic= That would be a good policy for Switzerland to follow; especially from their very beginning. The OP restrictions make it harder for the Swiss to meet the challenge.
 
The best time to boost Swiss influence are the late Middle Ages,
while Switzerland is still in the Empire.
It has a lot of (potential) allies in the North (Swabian Union) and is a serious
opponent of both Bavaria and Habsburg.
Especially at the time of Emperor Friedrich III., who constituted the great power
status of the Habsburg dynasty, Austria might as well have collapsed completely -
and beside Hungary and Bavaria, Switzerland may have filled the gap.

There is another reason to choose so early a date:
After the reformation, religious discord brought Switzerland to the edge of
paralysis. It is extremely impressing that the union stayed intact and proved
stronger than the various connections against states outside the Confederacy.
 
The best time to boost Swiss influence are the late Middle Ages,
while Switzerland is still in the Empire.
It has a lot of (potential) allies in the North (Swabian Union) and is a serious
opponent of both Bavaria and Habsburg.
Especially at the time of Emperor Friedrich III., who constituted the great power
status of the Habsburg dynasty, Austria might as well have collapsed completely -
and beside Hungary and Bavaria, Switzerland may have filled the gap.

There is another reason to choose so early a date:
After the reformation, religious discord brought Switzerland to the edge of
paralysis. It is extremely impressing that the union stayed intact and proved
stronger than the various connections against states outside the Confederacy.

I guess the more or less consensus is that I've put to stringent details on how to do this. I'll remove most of them.
 
sounds extremely difficult-impossible. What if Switzerland would start annexing small German states 1500-1600s? OR, have it fuse with Austria? or Austria Hungary? Not sure if it helps but... Good luck!
 
What if Switzerland would start annexing small German states 1500-1600s?

Well, Switzerland was a bunch of small German states.
If they would "annex" other territories, the question would arise who of the confederates
would come to rule it (it caused severe trouble in the few cases when exactly that happened).

OR, have it fuse with Austria?

I that time that would be a synonym of being swallowed by Austria.
Which is not completely impossible.
 
i seem to remember something about the use of Swiss mercenaries being a war crime due to their awesomeness...

it strikes me as not impossible for the Swiss to get invaded by someone, utterly shatter their army, kill some significant leaders in the process, and a few butterflies later pick up the fragmented territories surrounding them.

do something like that a couple of times and they could reach a respectable size, and go from there...

but on the other hand, isn't half the reason Switzerland's so hard to defeat due to being mostly mountain? expanding loses them that advantage...

I'll admit, i know little and am just prodding ideas here, but that's what i do :)
 
i seem to remember something about the use of Swiss mercenaries being a war crime due to their awesomeness...

it strikes me as not impossible for the Swiss to get invaded by someone, utterly shatter their army, kill some significant leaders in the process, and a few butterflies later pick up the fragmented territories surrounding them.

do something like that a couple of times and they could reach a respectable size, and go from there...

but on the other hand, isn't half the reason Switzerland's so hard to defeat due to being mostly mountain? expanding loses them that advantage...

I'll admit, i know little and am just prodding ideas here, but that's what i do :)

I suppose, on the mountains anyway, that they would still be able to keep the central core that is Modern Switzerland, and if invaded lose everything else. Win a war of attrition, perhaps.
 
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