The humorous little country in the Austro-Prussian War sent 80 soldiers to participate in the war, and 81 returned home after the war.
In the history of the world, Europe has always been at war. In addition to Tsarist Russia in Eastern Europe, which is keen on expansion and aggression, Britain, France, and Germany in Western Europe are also warlike. They often fight against each other for territorial or economic interests. The success was overwhelming, and the number of troops invested was often in the millions.
For example, in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, Prussia and Austria invested millions of troops in the war. During this period, Liechtenstein, a small country in the German Federation, chose sides, joined the Austrian camp, and sent 80 troops. The army goes to war.
In the end, the war ended with the defeat of Austria, and the Liechtenstein army returned home. What is strange is that the 80-man army at the time of the expedition turned out to be 81 when they returned home. Not only did they not lose a single soldier. Damn it, I got someone back, what on earth is going on?
Liechtenstein is located in central Europe, neighboring Austria and Switzerland. It has a territory of only 160.5 square kilometers and is the sixth smallest country in the world. It has a population of only more than 30,000, and among them are Swiss, Austrians and Germans accounted for one-third.
Liechtenstein was originally a fiefdom of an Austrian duke. It separated from Austria in 1719, became a formal country, and joined the then German Confederation. For this reason, they also established a small army.
In 1789, after France occupied the Swiss side of the Rhine, Liechtenstein sent 15 infantry and 2 cavalry to the Taoyuan League in southern Germany to participate in the anti-French war. In 1793, Liechtenstein sent eight additional soldiers and required all men between the ages of 18 and 50 to join the militia to guard against a French invasion.
In 1796, France launched a large-scale attack on the Rhine Valley, the Taoyuan League was disbanded, and Liechtenstein also recalled its troops and withdrew from the war. In 1815, Liechtenstein sent 100 troops to join the Allied Forces of the Great Powers of Baden in a crusade against Napoleon.
However, there were unforeseen circumstances. In 1817, a famine broke out in this small country due to weather disasters. It was unable to afford the military expenditures of this 100-man army, and the people demanded a reduction in military expenditures. So the Prince of Liechtenstein reduced the size of the army to 80 men and never increased the number since then.
At that time, Prussia and Austria often clashed over the position of leader of the German Confederation, and the quarrel eventually turned into a war.
In 1866, Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck decided to teach Austria a lesson. To this end, he united Italy and some northern German countries and mobilized nearly 500,000 troops to declare war on Austria. Of course, Austria refused to show weakness and united with its vassal states to organize more than 600,000 troops to actively fight.
Liechtenstein was caught between the two countries. It was originally very conflicted and did not know which camp to join. However, Prussia threatened it that if it did not join its camp, it would send troops to beat it. After hearing this, the Archduke of Liechtenstein, who had a stronger personality, immediately joined his mother country, Austria, and stood on the opposite side of Prussia. He also sent all 80 soldiers to participate in the war to teach Prussia a lesson in arrogance.
Austria was naturally very grateful, but these 80 people could not play any role, so the Austrian commander arranged them on the Italian border. Once the Italian army was found to be attacking, he immediately requested military support.
The Italians have always admired literature and art and hated war, so neither of these two armies, who were also forced to participate in the war, was unwilling to take the initiative to attack. Occasionally, one side would fire a few shots into the air, and the other side would fire a few shots back. In response to the gunfire, the rest of the time was spent huddled in the trenches, eating and drinking as usual. Sometimes the two sides would exchange food and drinks and taste exotic delicacies.
It turned out that the Austrian soldiers were no match for the brave and capable Prussians. The Austro-Prussian War ended seven weeks later, so the Liechtenstein Expeditionary Force returned home unscathed.
When the army returned to Vaduz, the capital of the motherland, people from almost the whole country came to welcome them. The atmosphere was touching with people singing and dancing, surrounded by flowers and applause. It was at this moment that everyone discovered that they had returned There was one more soldier in the team, and the team of 80 people became 81 people when they went out.
It turned out that on their way back home, they met a lost Austrian battlefield liaison officer. When he learned that the war was over, he chose to join the Liechtenstein army and became the 81st member of this happy country. As a soldier, people warmly welcomed his arrival and proudly declared to everyone he met: "We sent 80 people, but 81 came back."
After the death of Liechtenstein’s last soldier in 1939, the last vestiges of the country’s army disappeared. However, they still hold commemorative activities on November 11 every year to commemorate those who served in all past wars. Liechtenstein soldiers who lost their lives for the country, although they were only a handful.