Les soldats français arrivent en Suisse. 1798 : Libération ou occupation ? La perspective française.
Authors:   , Engelberts Derck Christiaan Engelbert 
Published: August 2024

This work is largely based on the voluminous documentation of General Schauenburg (1748-1831), Commander-in-chief of the « French army in Helvetia » from March 28 to December 12, 1798. Introduction : a general and his archives confronted to the historiography Born as a baron, his career began in 1759. When he was a young lieutenant he experienced his baptism of fire in Corsica between 1768 and 1772. He was a battalion-commander at the start of the Revolution, brigadier-general in Kellerman's staff in Valmy (1792) and a major-general commanding the « Moselle army » (March 1793). Indicted by the Convention in Ocotber 1793, imprisoned in the « Temple » prison, sentenced to death, the 9 thermidor an II coup saved him from the guillotine. Reintegrated in the French army as an inspector-general of the infantry, his real vocation was solely interrupted by his mission in Switzerland. Retired in 1814, he died totally blind in 1831, as an imperial baron, a Grand-Officier of the Légion d'honneur and a Commandeur de Saint-Louis. His enormous documentary fund covers the French infantry history from the Ancien Regime to the Grande Armée. A small part of these papers (1733 messages were sent and 520 received as well as 258 « orders of the day ») represent the documentary base of this current research on the French vision of the first year of the exsitence of the « One and Undivided Helvetic Republic ». Documents of the French Army Archives (in Vincennes) and National Archives complement the study. This introduction also presents a critical survey of the historiography of the Helvetic Republic and the armies of the Directoire from the end of the 19th century to present days. Part 1 : Events of the 1798 « Helvetic Campaign » These 6 chapters present the events from the French perspective, making it easier to understand the facts as they really happened. For two centuries they have only been partially and superficially described in the Swiss military history, almost in a fanciful way. We follow the rather delayed set up of the offensive force (end of January 1798) as well as the campaign against Berne (February to March 5) led by Brune (from the south) and his subordinate Schauenburg (from the north). Brune moved to Italy (on March 28), so Schauenburg took over the command. The proclamation of the Helvetic Republic on April 12 introduced the new regime. As a consequence, the now former cantons of central Switzerland rejected the new regime and revolted against it. So did also the German speaking part of Wallis, refusing to be integrated in the Helvetic republic. Two military operations had to be led by the French troops, in central Switzerland (from April 27 to May 2) and in Wallis (May, 15-17). These events are now presented in their reality. The precise indications of the French losses, based on the official personnel registers provide a serious comparison with the previous historiography overestimating the real numbers. In the summer 1798 : the new regime stabilises and becomes gradually accepted. Nevertheless, some repressive actions had to be taken against a few « rebellious » communities. The decree from the Legislative Corps (on July, 12) providing that it is obligatory to swear a « patriotic oath » on the Constitution sparked off new conflicts, particularly in the catholic communities of central and eastern Switzerland. The « Treaty of offensive and defensive alliance » between the French and Helvetic Rapublics (on August 19) brought an end to the conflict, transferring the costs of the French troops back to France. However, the anti oath insurgency persisted in Nidwald. The complex military operations against Stans and the horrifying « Schreckenstag » (on September 9) are brought up in order to identify the causes and responsibilities of the atrocities committed on September 9 as precisely as possible. Thoroughly documented with maps, all the military operations taking place from April 12 to September 9 were carried out by the French troops on behalf of the Swiss authorities. At the same time, the French troops deployed in Switzerland had to prepare a forward defensive position against Austria and the Second Coalition set up at the end of 1798. From that moment on, the troops had to occupy eastern Switzerland, from Schaffhausen to the Landquart river (border to the free State of Graubünden). Troops were also sent to the new cantons of Bellinzona and Lugano, on the southern flank of the Saint-Gothard. Regional constraints imposed by the rugged terrain, the climate and structural poverty, especially severe lack of food, complicated their movements severely. Tensions increased seriously after the entry of the Austrian troops in Graubünden (on October 18). Coordination with the French army deployed in Italy became necessary but was seriously complicated by a dithering Government in Paris. These increasing international tensions form the context in wich Masséna succedes to Schauenburg in the high command of the French troops in Switzerland (on December 12). Part 2 : the French Army in Switzerland : the troops and their officers This is a very detailed presentation of the French army under the leadership of Schauenburg in Switzerland. The analysis takes principally into account the 15 line an 5 light infantry half-brigades as well as the 12 mounted regiments : hussars (3), chasseurs (2), heavy cavalry (3) and dragoons (4). At first the history of the « amalgames » in the infantery is studied, completed with detailed overview tables in the appendices. This is followed by the study of the officer corps (1482 individuals) for all the troops, taking into account their career and, as far as possible, their qualifications. The troops have been sampled on the base of what binds them (2370 privates and non-commissioned officers) to the year 1798 in Switzerland (promotion, desertion, death, judgment etc.). The age structures of all the personnel (troops and officers) at their military incorporation but also in 1798 are analysed and synthesized in a series of overview tables in the appendices. The study of each corps finishes with the presentation of their actions and movements throughout 1798 in Switzerland. The general staff and officer corps are analysed more precisely, as well as the administrations, with a special focus on logistics organisation as it is the main challenge for the troops deployed in Switzerland. Only a small chapter addresses the question of the feminine presencein that context, revealing scarcity of information about the presence of women in the correspondence. The study of the (partly basic) military training and evaluation of the troops is the core of the last chapter. It considers the organisational and operational effects on a campaign army of the proclamation in France of the Jourdan-Debrel law on military conscription (on September, 5). Part 3 : the relations between the different actors : troops, authorities, population As a result of the preceding parts, this third part underlines the evolution of the relations between the different players intervening in these events, highlighting their interactions, their daily routine and their later interpretation. Questions are addressed such as the behaviour of the soldiers with their command and the army in general, but also their attitude towards the civilians they mixed with daily. This approach is completed by the study of the relations between the corpses and the French military and political administrations, as well as the different levels of the civilian Swiss administrations : municipal, cantonal and national which were, in the Helvetic accepted terminology : Municipalities, Administrative chambers, Prefects and Executive Directorate. The first of the five sections of this part studies the relations between the troops, their own hierarchy and the population. The heart of the matter is about how to maintain discipline and how to stengthen its respect, taking into consideration direct criticism as well as reviews published in the press. The second section brings out the relations between the armed forces and their French and Swiss commanding authorities. Supreme commander and inspector general Schauenburg was the key player in these interactions. He had to conciliate the direct needs of his troops with those of the civilians. Meanwhile he had to adapt his military action to the strategic demands of Paris and to the the security needs of the Swiss government he also served on the other hand. His role evolved Throughout the year, taking a more formal and stable turn through the alliance treaty (from August 19) between the two nations. The issue forms a complex tangle of relations, including politically and militarily sensitive contradictory requirements. The financial and logistical aspects of the campaign are the core of the third section. These considerations left the deepest impact in historiography, giving a durably negative image of the period. The considerable burden inposed by the presence and the management of the French troops on its soil for Switzerland has been confirmed. This approach eyamines the mechanisms, failures and specificities of the various departments involved (subsistence, fodder, clothing, hospitals, finances). It turns out that a part of the invested money, taken from the treasury of the former cantons, has been injected in the interior Swiss market. The real and precise financial consequences will have to be the subject of further studies, Which are bound to be complex due to the dissemination of data. Another aspect revealed through the study of the events, which has been rarely identified and scarcely studied previously concerns the consequences of the passage of French troops Through Swiss territory at different times of the year. Numerous half-brigades and many smaller detachments of mounted troops and artillery (6 half-brigades and 2 hussar regiments in May and June, 10 artillery companies in July, 8 half-brigades in September and October). These movements had harmful effects among the population due to shortcomings in the logistics department in May and June. The same citizens suffered in the autumn because the chosen route, identical to the previous one, was then formally contrary to the alliance treaty. The granted transit routes (from west to east) had either to follow the Rhine leading to the Cisalpine Republic through Graubünden, or Geneva Lake and the Rhône to the Simplon pass. However, the chosen route followed a north-south axis, entering via Basel or Nidau and exiting via the Great Saint-Bernard pass, through the Bern, Fribourg, Léman and Wallis cantons. The detailed study of these movements reveals that most of the problems came from isolated soldiers or small groups who weren't able to keep pace with the troops or from deserters returning to France. Added to this, from mid-November onwards, were passages of conscript detachments joining their corps in Switzerland, forming small, often insufficiently conducted and undisciplined groups. The former, presented in the third and fourth sections, leads to the fifth section studying measures undertaken by the army high command to punish the abuses and crimes committed by soldiers of all ranks. The instrument was the French military justice whose principles and functioning are explained theoretically before takeng a closer look at how it was applied by the Conseil de guerre (Courts martial) acting in Switzerland. More than 435 judgements have been analysed. A third of them had to deal with crimes against civilians. The whole casuistry is presented in detail taking into account the 395 accused, the judgements, the revision trials, the execution of the sanctions or pronounced releases. Tables in the appendices synthesize the results. General conclusions Each above mentioned chapter is folowed by intermediate conclusions with specific assessments. The final general conclusion highlights several general points regarding that first year of the French military occupation of the Helvetic Republic. First, the central role of the Commander-in-Chief, both in terms of the position he occupies and his personality. He meant to intervene as vigorously as possible but with as much restraint as necessary. He had to conciliate the requirements of both the French and Swiss authorities with the control and command over his troops, from the closest senior executives of his staff to the soldier stationed in the most remote locations. Secondly, numerous problems stemmed from the logistics. The better this service works, the less friction there is with the civilian population. A comparative analysis of the situation both in Switzerland and in neighbouring regions reveals that the issues were more about the relations between civilians and military than between the Swiss and the French. The discrepancy between the reality on the ground and its understanding by the Parisian authorities emerges also clearly from this study. This misperception led to harsh tensions in both the French system itself and the bilateral relations between the two sister Republics. On the balance shee, the arrival of French troops in Switzerland was a war of aggression waged against a neighbouring country and not a « liberation » as stated in the official speeches of the time. However, contradicting the great majority of Swiss historiography devoted to that period, the behaviour of the troops was the one of soldiers acting « like at home », so no more or less respectfull of civilians than in France. As for brief but sometimes (too) violent, military operations carried out in April, May and September are concerned, the action is always and solely based on purely Swiss decisions (e.g. rallying to the Constitution, or taking the patirotic oath). The French troops turned out to be the only repressive apparatus at the disposal of the new government. This leads us to consider the operations against the « Small Cantons », the insurgents from the German speaking part of Wallis and those from Stans as sequences of civil war rather than interstate war. Paris had no any direct involvment in these actions and was informed only after the events. To conclude, the study reveals that the heart of the matter is the relationship between a military world living its own dynamic and a civil society that doesn't understand its needs. Consequently, i is more a question of political regime than a Franco-Swiss issue. Appendices As mentioned earlier, an extensive appendix completes the study. The numerous tables have been cited above, synthesizing the amalgams of the infantry half-brigades, presenting mutations and age structures, careers and qualifications of officers, for the vast majority of army corps. It also includes plans for relieving infantry and mounted troops, decadal trends in army personnel number, and tables of military justice charges and judgments. It also full transcriptions of 120 of the more than 2'700 documents consulted and a series of biographical notes on French, Swiss and foreign nationals (mainly Austrians) : senior (31+10) and general officers (26+3+4) as well as civil and political figures (13+20+6).