Originally Posted by Truth-Bringer

Well I'm certainly not claiming that the geography couldn't be considered a factor, but I still think that the policy is more important.



A successful insurgency doesn't have to be expensive. See: Iraq. The Swiss policy was simply never to surrender. The President told them that any alleged surrender would be Nazi propaganda and should be ignored. If the vast majority of your population is willing to fight to the death, you make it very costly for a foreign power to try and invade you.

Iraq is thwarting the will of the most powerful military on earth with a small minority of its population. Imagine if the majority of its people were participating in the insurgency.

Granted, in comparison to the U.S., the the majority of Nazis were totally ruthless and had no regard for any human life, but still, there are instances where they were beaten by people who were far less well equipped. They could have overrun the Swiss, but they could have never ended the insurgency. And the "victory" would have been incredibly costly. And, no "what ifs" are set in stone. Its possible that the Swiss could have repelled them. The terrain could have aided them just as the climate aided the Russians in their victory.