French invasion of Switzerland
French invasion of Switzerland | |||||||
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Part of the dragoons on the river Sense | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France | Switzerland | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Guillaume Brune Balthazar Alexis Henri Schauenburg Philippe Romain Ménard | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
At least 35,000[1] |
20,000 (Bern) 10,000 (Schwyz, Nidwalden and Uri)[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | 700 (Bern) |
The French invasion of Switzerland (
Background
Before 1798, the modern
In late 1797, French general
On 10 October 1797,
The first event of what would become known as the Helvetic Revolution happened with a patriot uprising in Liestal in the canton of Basel on 17 January 1798. The rebels demanded equality before the law, erected a liberty tree and burnt down three Vogtei castles by 23 January.[4] On 24 January, the urban elite of Vaud proclaimed the Lemanic Republic (République lémanique)[5] in Lausanne, which became its seat of government.[6] Next, citizens and subjects in countless Swiss cities, cantons and their dependencies rebelled, and after the example of Vaud, more than 40 other short-lived republics were proclaimed in February, March and April throughout the country.[2]
Invasion
At the invitation of the Lemanic Republic, 12,000 French troops under General
Fighting began on 1 March, and the next day there were battles around Lengnau, Grenchen and in the Ruhsel forest between Alfermée and Twann, which ended with the surrender of the canton of Solothurn.[1] On 4 March, Bern's government resigned, nevertheless its troops continued to resist the French advance.[1] The next day, the Bernese were defeated at Fraubrunnen and the French attained a decisive victory at the Battle of Grauholz, confirming Vaud's secession.[1] Schauenburg then received the capitulation signed the day before by Karl Albrecht von Frisching, leader of the pro-French Reform Party, who was appointed head of a new provisional government.[1] Erlach, who intended to continue resistance after retreating from Grauholz, was murdered near Wichtrach by his own soldiers who mistook him for a traitor.[8] A Bernese victory at Neuenegg on 5 March, which stopped a French advance from the south through Murten and Freiburg, had no effect in the outcome of the war.[1] Bern suffered 700 killed in the fighting, while French losses are unknown.[1]
The surrender of Bern led to even more dependencies across Switzerland declaring themselves independent republics. However, the Directory desired a single central republican state at France's eastern border, not dozens of small ones, and steered towards (re)establishment of national unity, though this time with equality for all its subdivisions. A new Constitution had already been written in Paris by Peter Ochs and approved by the Directory. Many Swiss rebels detested it, and the National Convention in Basel passed a modified version, which was then adopted by many other entities, but the French government insisted on the original. A proposal by Brune on 16 and 19 March to divide Switzerland into three republics (Tellgovie, Hélvetie and Rhodanie) was also overruled.[4]
On 12 April 1798, 121 cantonal deputies proclaimed the Helvetic Republic, a
The last event of the French invasion was an initially successful revolt of the
Aftermath
The invasion strained the recently concluded
Battles
Date | Battle | Site | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2 March 1798 | Battle of Lengnau | Lengnau | France vs. Bern |
2 March 1798 | Battle of Twann | Twann | France vs. Bern |
2 March 1798 | Battles of Grenchen and Bellach | Grenchen, Bellach | France defeats Solothurn |
3 March 1798 | Battle of Col de la Croix | Col de la Croix (Jura) | France vs. Bern |
5 March 1798 | Battle of Col de la Croix [11] | Col de la Croix (Vaud) | France defeats Bern |
5 March 1798 | Battle of St. Niklaus | Merzligen | France vs. Bern |
5 March 1798 | Battle of Fraubrunnen | Fraubrunnen | France defeats Bern |
5 March 1798 | Battle of Grauholz | Schönbühl |
France defeats Bern |
5 March 1798 | Battle of Neuenegg | Neuenegg | Bern defeats France |
26 April 1798 | Battle of Hägglingen | Hägglingen | France defeats Zug |
30 April 1798 | Battle of Wollerau | Wollerau | France defeats Schwyz |
1 May 1798 | Battle of Stucketen-Chäppeli | Beinwil | France vs. Solothurn |
2 May 1798 | Battle of Schindellegi | Feusisberg | France defeats Schwyz |
2/3 May 1798 | Battle of Rothenthurm | Rothenthurm | Schwyz defeats France |
17 May 1798 | 1st Battle of Pfyn | Sion | France defeats Upper Valais |
7–9 September 1798 | Nidwalden uprising | Nidwalden | France defeats Nidwalden |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Martin Illi: French invasion in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ ISBN 9783905252453. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ a b c Andreas Fankhauser: Helvetic Republic §1.1. The political upheavel in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ a b c Andreas Fankhauser: Helvetic Revolution in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ The word lémanique referred to the French name of Lake Geneva, Lac Léman. This followed the practice of Revolutionary France to erase the traditional toponymy of the Ancien Régime, and replace it with natural units such as rivers.
- ISBN 9781465597243. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ Emmanuel Abetel: Thierrens in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ a b Barbara Braun-Bucher: Karl Ludwig von Erlach in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ Andreas Fankhauser: Guillaume Brune in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ Karin Schleifer-Stöckli: Nidwald §4.1.1. From the Helvetic Republic to the Federal state (1798-1848) in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ "Le Monument Forneret".
External links
- Media related to French invasion of Switzerland at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Treaty of Campo Formio |
French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns French invasion of Switzerland |
Succeeded by French campaign in Egypt and Syria |