Tannenbaum operation

The Opération Tannenbaum (in French operation Fir tree) was a German plan during the Second world war preparing the invasion of the Suisse.

Preparation of the German plan

After the victory over the France in 1940, the Germans prepared three plans of invasion of Switzerland. The Tannenbaum Operation was the third and was submitted by the 12th army on September 6th, 1940 to the group of army C.

Switzerland had always posted its neutrality in this conflict but the Nazi Germany marked her indifference with that. Hitler called Swiss “the most wretched and miserable enemies of the News Germany ”, and proclaimed that it would liquidate “ this waste of small nations ” and as it would be “ the butcher of Swiss the ”.

During several air incidents, the Swiss ones, which employed 10 Messerschmitt Bf-109 D, 80 Messerschmitt Bf-109 E bought to the Germans and some others Morane-Saulnier MS-406 built under license in Switzerland, had descended 11 planes from the Luftwaffe between the May 10th 1940 and on June 17th 1940. Germany had intervened diplomatically on these businesses on June 5th, 1940 then once again the June 19th 1940, in manner this time, much more threatening. June 20th, 1940, the Swiss Air force accepted the order not to intercept the planes more violating their airspace. Nevertheless, the anti-aircraft units on the ground continued to function. A little later, Hitler sent, without success, of the saboteurs to destroy the Swiss airfields.

The Tannenbaum operation was the third plan established by the Grand German General headquarter after the fall of France but Hitler never gave the tripping order, perhaps because Switzerland had a quality of defense that no other country had. Each Swiss hearth had been equipped with rifle and the very mountainous ground of the the Swiss Alps gave a tactical advantage to the Swiss general Henri Guisan and to his army which then accounted for 1/5 of the total population of this country. Nevertheless imposing the Wehrmacht could undoubtedly have overcome these defenses by conducting a campaign of Blitzkrieg as it had done in France.

Reasons of the inexecution of the plan

There are several possibilities to explain why the Germans did not put in execution this plan of invasion:

Switzerland was not seen like threatens for Germany. Hitler was more worried to conclude the Bataille of England (few divisions German of mountain operational had been assigned on the Opération Seelöwe) and he also thought of the invasion of the Soviet Union (Opération Barbarossa). Already as of August and September 1940, of great quantities of troops had been moved in the east to avoid the Russian threat on the Bessarabia.
the greatest appropriateness an effective military action against Switzerland was the period between the fall of France in June 40, and November 1940 October. After this time, the changes of climate with the alpine winter would not have allowed an effective action of the German troops. But after the winter 1940-1941, Hitler was occupied preparing it (invasion of the Greece) with the Opération Marita.

The Swiss government had a very decentralized policy: thus its federal president was relatively without statutory authorities and did not have the means of declaring the rendering of the country. Indeed, the Swiss citizens had been informed that they were not to in no case to listen to the orders of rendering because that could be an enemy lie and that they were to thus resist until the end.

Although the Wehrmacht simulated movements towards Switzerland in its offensives, it forever tried to invade it. After the D-day, the Tannenbaum operation was put at the wall cupboard and Switzerland remained neutral for the duration of the war. In fact the Germans were probably in the incapacity to assign the number of divisions requested for Tannenbaum after the beginning of the invasion of the Soviet Union.

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