248 Chapter 3
prisoners taken after the unsuccessful coup, while the king of Prussia renounced his
rights to administer Neuchatel, keeping only his princely title.
MID#1686
Dispute Number: 1686
Date(s): August 29, 1939 to February 29, 1940
Participants: 225 Switzerland/255 Germany
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Switzerland mobilized its armed forces in response to German belligerency.
Coding changes: End Date changed from Missing.
MID#1783
Dispute Number: 1783
Date(s): April 1, 1940 to June 8, 1940
Participants: 225 Switzerland/255 Germany
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Several days after the German invasion of Norway and Denmark, Swit-
zerland called 60,000 more men to join its guard and put the entire country on alert on
April 18. In this announcement, the government went over plans to mobilize the entire
country if invaded. Several incidents occurred in May when German planes carried
out operations in Swiss airspace and even dropped bombs on Switzerland territory.
Swiss antiaircraft gunners responded by firing on the German planes, on one occasion
shooting a German plane down. On August 1, the Swiss renewed their warning to any
invader that Switzerland would defend itself aggressively.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from April 18, 1940. End Date changed from
August 1, 1940.
MID#1788
Dispute Number: 1788
Date(s): September 12, 1943 to September 17, 1943
Participants: 225 Switzerland/255 Germany
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Germany was having difficulty putting down uprisings in Italy, particu-
larly Salerno, during World War II and needed a safe route to move reserves into
Italy to assist in the fighting. Thus, German soldiers arrived outside the entrance to
the railway at the Simplon Tunnel, in Switzerland, on September 12, 1943. Hitler
demanded access to the tunnel and threatened the Swiss. The Swiss government
refused and stated that they would blow both the Simplon and St. Gotthard tunnels if
the Nazis persisted.