As we all know, Switzerland has a reputation for being neutral during the war.
So it would surprise you to know that it has actually invaded its neighbor Lichtenstein 3 times. But every time it happened, it was by mistake.
Let us first look at where these 2 countries are located.
So as you can see on this map, Lichtenstein is a very small nation located between Switzerland and Austria.
Lichtenstein has a population of only about 37,000 people.It does not have an army of its own as it disbanded it's Army in 1868 and is one of the 22 countries in the world without an armed force.
So the first attack by Switzerland on Liechtenstein was on December 5, 1985. The Swiss Army was organizing a training exercise that involved launching missiles. Unknowingly, the Swiss Army launched the missiles into the heavily forested Liechtenstein causing a massive forest fire.
The Liechtenstein government was very angry and Switzerland had to pay a heavy sum for the environmental damage.
The second attack took place on October 13, 1992. The Swiss Army received orders to set up an observation post in Treisenberg. They followed the orders and marched to Treisenberg. What they didn’t realize was that Treisenberg lies within the territory of Liechtenstein. They marched into Treisenberg with rifles and only later realized that they were in Liechtenstein.
The last attack was on March 1, 2007. A group of Swiss Army infantry soldiers was in training when
the weather took a bad turn. There was heavy rainfall and the soldiers were not carrying any GPS or compass. Eventually, they ended up in Liechtenstein! Switzerland apologized to the Liechtenstein government for the intrusion, yet again.
The recurring pattern of attacks might lead you to think that Switzerland has aggressive ulterior motives of invading Lichtenstein, but it's not true.
The two countries actually enjoy a very friendly relationship, wherein the Swiss army provides military support to Lichtenstein and also represents the tiny nation at various international delegations on their behalf.