Switzerland's army is hardly known for its aggressive stance but this did not stop 170 armed soldiers crossing the border into Liechtenstein at the dead of night, red-faced Swiss military officials said Friday. Army spokesman Daniel Reist said the troop's commander got lost in bad weather during the night-time maneuvres in the Alpine region.
They strayed some two kilometres (one mile) across the unmarked eastern border into Switzerland's tiny and friendly neighbor on Wednesday night, he admitted.
"It was all so dark there," one infantryman told the Swiss tabloid Blick.
Having realized his mistake, the commander immediately gave the order to turn back.
It was not the first time that the Swiss military has accidentally invaded the principality.
In December 1985, a winter storm interfered with an artillery exercise and blew Swiss army rockets into Liechtenstein's protected Bannwald forest, setting it on fire.
Switzerland had to pay millions of francs in compensation, and the incident led to a lengthy dispute between the Swiss defence ministry and the principality, Blick said.
