The Swiss have long prided themselves on their fighting ability. Over the centuries they have held off much larger invading armies from France, Italy, Germany and Austria by swooping down from mountain hideouts high up in the hills and attacking the invaders in the valleys. Their only defeat in recent years was to Napoleon and since then they have vigorously guarded their independence, freedom and neutrality.

Many people think that the secret of Switzerland’s defence over the years has been its high mountains. They clearly played their part, but even more important than just having mountains was the fact that Switzerland has a proud military tradition that produces some of the world’s toughest fighters. Centuries ago their fighting ability was recognized when the Swiss were asked to provide a guard for the Vatican and Pope in Rome. And during the Second World War, when Germany threatened again and again to invade, it was put off by the thought of hundreds of thousands of highly trained Swiss marksmen shooting at their invading columns. Their legendary toughness comes from a tradition of training hard, practicing sharpshooting at every opportunity and being in peak fitness to move over the mountains while their enemies are stuck in the valleys.

In recent years they had added one of the world’s toughest competitions to their arsenal of training. The Swiss Commando Raid takes teams of four and puts them through a gruelling set of simulated military exercises such as a deep raid behind enemy lines. Think of it as a sort of triathlon or adventure race, just tougher because it involved running, cycling and swimming as well as military activities. Over the years it has been recognized as one of the world’s toughest military competitions. In honour of this tough competition Wenger, the legendary maker of Swiss army knives and Swiss Military Watches has produced the Swiss Raid Commando Watch, a watch that is every bit as tough as the competition it is named after.

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