Another little-known facet. "Two of the bloodiest battles of World War One, Verdun and the Somme, are being marked 100 years on, but in Switzerland, centenary commemorations are taking place for a far less known wartime event. The first contingent of wounded British soldiers arrived on 30 May 1916 for internment in the tiny village of Chateau d'Oex. Between 1916 and 1918, Switzerland accepted 68,000 sick and injured soldiers: French and German as well as British. Under the agreement of the warring parties, and with the help of the Red Cross, they were transferred to Swiss mountain villages to recover, and to sit out the war. It was, says Swiss historian Cedric Cottier, a pragmatic solution welcomed by all sides. "A lot of the prisoners needed medical care, but there weren't enough doctors in the POW camps, they were all at the front taking care of their own soldiers."" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36391241
