Field Army Corps 2nd
The Field Army Corps 2 (FAK 2) of the Swiss Army was an army unit made up of several divisions , brigades and directly subordinate corps troops , which was led by a corps commander (before the army 61 supreme corps commander ). The 2nd Army Corps (since 1961 Field Army Corps 2 ) existed from 1891 to 2003. Field Army Corps 2 had its focus due to the origin of the troops in the cantons of Bern, Lucerne, Aargau and Basel.
prehistory
Almost all of Europe's major armies followed the example of Napoleon I and in the 19th century divided their forces into army corps. Since the complete revision of the Federal Constitution in 1874, the Federal Council has been empowered to make military-political decisions over and above the sovereignty of the cantons. In 1891 he divided the Swiss army into four army corps for the first time.
In 1906, the Chief of Staff of the Swiss Army saw Switzerland threatened by France, which could advance with an encircling attack (Plan H = Helvétie) through Switzerland towards the unfortified southern border of Germany. At the beginning of the war, detailed plans were ready for the key areas north (bridgehead Olten with fortification Hauenstein ) and west (blocked position fortification Murten ).
First World War
During the First World War, the Hauenstein fortification had to form a bridgehead to the north in order to protect the Olten railway junction and the bridges in the Olten area (north-south threat) as well as the north corner pillar of the Hauenstein- Napf army position across the Central Plateau (east-west Threat).
In the Ordre de bataille of 1917, the army was divided into 6 divisions:
| division | Brigades | Regiments | Battalions of infantry |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GE VD | 1, 2, 3 | 1 + 2, 3 + 4, 5 + 6 | 1 2 3, S1 S2 S7, 4 5 6, 10 13, 8 9, 11 12 88 |
| 2 FRI NE JU SUN | 4, 5, 6 | 7 + 8, 9 + 10, 11 + 12 | 14 15 16, 18 19 20, 21 22 24, 17 23 90, 49 50 51, S3 S4 S5 |
| 3 BE VS | 7, 8, 9 | 13 + 14, 15 + 16, 17 + 18 | 25 26 27, 28 29 30, 31 32 33, 37 38 39, 34 35 36, 40 89 |
| 4 BS BL AG LU | 10, 11, 12 | 19 + 20, 21 + 22, 23 + 24 | 41 42 43, 44 45 48, 46 52 53, 54 97 99, 55 56 57, 58 59 60 |
| 5 ZH SH NW TI | 13, 14, 15 | 25 + 26, 27 + 28, 29 + 30 | 61 62 98 S6 , 63 64 65, 67 68 69, 66 70 71, 47 72 86, 94 95 96 |
| 6 SG TG AR GR GL | 16, 17, 18 | 31 + 32, 33 + 34, 35 + 36 | 73 74 75, 79 80 85 , 78 81 82, 83 84 S7, 76 77 S8, 91 92 93 |
The 2nd Army Corps was composed of the 4th and 5th Divisions.
According to the Ordre de Bataille of 1917, the war inventory of the 4th and 5th Divisions was: 2037 officers, 51,994 NCOs and soldiers, 13,182 horses, 37,181 rifles, 258 machine guns, 574 sabers, 120 artillery pieces.
Parade of the 4th Division in Muttenz
4th Division Chancellery
Guard house of the 4th Division near Damvant
Army competition 5th Division 1935
Second World War
After the mobilization in the Second World War from 1/2. In September 1939, the army moved into a stand-by position in the Central Plateau, with which one could have made a front in all directions in the event of an attack. Due to the operational order No. 2 of October 4, 1939, the Swiss Army occupied the Limmat position in order to be able to stop an attack from the north and a bypassing of the French Maginot Line through Switzerland.
The 2nd Army Corps had to hold the section to the left of the army position (Limmat position) on the following line (from east to west): Lauffohr / Brugg - Geissberg - Marchwald - Frickberg - Thiersteinerberg / Buschberg - Farnsberg - Gempenplateau . The Bözberg and Hauenstein passes were to be expanded and maintained as bases. The section of the 5th Division / Grenzbrigade 5 extended from Lauffohr / Koblenz to Laufenburg, that of the 3rd Division from Laufenburg to Stein AG and that of the 4th Division / Grenzbrigade 4 von Stein AG to the section boundary of the Gempen Division near Liestal.
After fortresses had been built in the Reduit and supplies for the troops and the local population had been laid out for six months, the remaining divisions 2, 4, 5, which had previously been deployed in the advanced position, were with the operational order No. 13 of May 24, 1941, Relocated to the central area until July / August 1941.
With the troop order of 1938 (TO 38), the border troops were reorganized, 11 border brigades (Gz Br) were newly created and soldiers who lived in the operational area were assigned. During the whole of the Second World War, the border brigades remained in their home region, and the area of operations and subordination were often adjusted. Border Brigades 4 (border section Klösterli / Kleinlützel - Stein AG ) and 5 (border section Stein AG - Kaiserstuhl ) were subordinate to the 2nd Army Corps .
Artillery gun post in Bremgarten
Artillery Rein
Besserstein artillery plant, Geissberg
Challhöchi bunker
Orders and operational rooms of the 2nd Army Corps in the Reduit (Op Bef No. 13)
With operational order No. 13 of May 24, 1941, the 2nd Army Corps under Friedrich Prisi (1936–43, Alfred Gübeli 1943–49) received the order to defend the Reduit with the northern front in the Hohgant area to Bürgenstock and to gain access to the Brünig Pass and that to block the left bank of Lake Lucerne. The 2nd Army Corps, which had taken over most of the northern defense front of the 3rd Army Corps , was subordinated to the remaining Lucerne 8th Division, the 4th and 5th Divisions.
| unit | commander | Troop strength (TO38) | assignment | Operational area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th Division (Geb) "Kampfgruppe Vierwaldstättersee" | Alfred Gübeli | 16,000 | Hohgant to Stillaub (Finsterwald) | |
| 4th division | Emil Scherz | 20,000 | To smash enemy deployments on the northern Lake Lucerne and on the southern edge of Lucerne and Kriens | Stillaub to Stansstad / Bürgenstock |
| 5th division | Eugen Bircher / Rudolf von Erlach | 22,000 | Bürgenstock to Rigi | |
| 2nd Light Brigade | Rage | 10,000 | Deceleration force in the midland | Bernese Mittelland |
Corps section border Lake Lucerne
The line-up of the Swiss Army was continually and temporarily adapted to the course of the war with corresponding operational (Op Bf) and supplementary orders. The orders to the army corps, defense front, section boundaries and troop positions were changed. The key position of the reduced entrance to Lake Lucerne was affected several times:
| Unit / Op Bf no. | 11 July 12, 1940 | 12 July 17th 1940 | 13 May 15, 1941 | Div 19th March 1943 | 13 December 27, 1943 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army Corps (North) | 2 | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th |
| Division (North) | 7th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 5 |
| Corps border | Middle of the lake | Middle of the lake | Rigi | Middle of the lake | |
| Army Corps (South) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Division (South) | 8th | 8th | 5 | 5 | 4th |
The fortresses at the Reduite entrances within sight of Lucerne with the Mühlefluh / Vitznau , Ober- and Unter Nas , Fürigen , Kilchlidossen , Klein-Durren , Mueterschwanderberg (Zingel, Drachenfluh, Blattiberg), Wissiflue and Ursprung factories formed the greatest concentration of artillery works in the Switzerland. They closed the bottle necks of the Reduite entrances between Rigi, Bürgenstock and Pilatus .
Fürigen Fortress, 4th Division
Fürigen: gun post
Seesperre Nas: Artillery plant Ober Nas
Mueterschwanderberg: Howitzer lap 01 Blattiberg Ost
Cold War and Army 61
According to the Hague Agreement, the Swiss Army has an obligation to defend its territory from national borders in accordance with the principle of armed neutrality . Therefore the army corps could be allocated fixed corps rooms for defense.
The corps area of FAK 2 comprised the cantons of Basel, Jura, Solothurn, Bern, Lucerne, Aargau and Zurich or parts thereof. It reached from the Jura (Kleinlützel) to Lake Lucerne and Lake Zurich. The area close to the border has strong, favorable terrain for defense with the Jura, while the area behind it, in addition to the river and lake obstacles, is open and maneuverable.
From 1945 to 1994, border brigades 4 and 5 (as before) were responsible for the border area between Kaiserstuhl and Klösterli (Kleinlützel) and for the associated Jura crossings into the Swiss Plateau.
The Mechanized Division 4 was the movable element of the Army Corps 2 and led to their armored associations (Swiss Panzer 61, Tank 87 Leopard) reprisals. She was transferred to Panzer Brigade 4 with Army 95. The restricted areas in Adliswil, Sihlbrugg, Walterswil / Baar and the Wolhusen East and West infantry units were located in their operational area.
Field Division 5 was equipped with tanks and had to lead the defense in the Limmat-Brugg-Lenzburg-Birmensdorf area with defense and counter-attack and to lock the axes in the Knonau office. Its shape was last adapted in 1982 (TO 82). In addition to the artillery positions Bremgarten and Hausen AG / Eitenberg, 19 blocking points from Baden to Uetliberg were in their area of operation.
Felddivision 8 had blocking points in Aarburg, Däniken, Dicki, Gunzgen, Hägendorf, Langmattrain, Niederbuchsiten, Walterswil and Winznau.
The 5 cyclist regiment in the left Lake Zurich area and the reconnaissance company III / 8 were directly subordinate to the army corps and had to monitor a very large area.
In 1961 the following changes were made due to Troop Order 61 : The 4th Division was converted into Mechanized Division 4, the 5th Division into Field Division 5, and the 8th Division into Field Division 8.
Based on the Zeus basic disposition from 1992, the FAK 2 comprised Mechanized Division 4, Field Divisions 5 and 8, Border Brigades 4, 5 and, as corps troops, Cyclist Regiment 5 and Reconnaissance Company III / 8. The Reform Army 95 led to the dissolution of Border Brigades 4, 5 and Mechanized Division 4
With the Army Reform XXI , all army corps and divisions were dissolved at the end of 2003.
Commemorative plaque for repealed army units, Passwang
Commemorative plaque 5th Division on the Limmatspitz
Soldier memorial of the 5th Division 1940–45, Villigerfeld, Aargau
literature
- Command FAK 2 (Ed.): Defilee FAK 2 1963 in Dübendorf. Publishing house Kdo FAK 2.
- Philipp Wanner: The Field Army Corps 2 in the 100-year history of the Swiss Army. A contribution to the history of the military . Verlag Kommando FAK 2, Lucerne 1975. ISBN 3-85723-078-9 .
- ASMZ 1983: Thoughts and concerns of the commander FAK 2
- Louis Geiger, Franz Felix Betschon : Memories of the Army 61 . Huber, Frauenfeld 2009, ISBN 3-7193-1513-4 .
- Hansjakob Burkhardt: Fortification “Seesperre Nas” and Swiss Navy on Lake Lucerne. Nidwaldner Museum, Stans 2005, ISBN 3907164148
- Gregor Bättig: The defense efforts in the Nidwalden area 1935–1995 . 150 years of Nidwalden Officers' Association, 1857–2007. Aktiv-Verlag, Stans 2007, ISBN 3-909191-36-3
Web links
- Border Brigade 4: Kleinlützelbunker
- Municipality of Magden: Lock point Magden-Enge, Border Brigade 4
- Military Museum Kriens
- Sonnenberg Tunnel, Lucerne: largest civil defense facility in the world
Individual evidence
- ↑ Structure of the 6 divisions of the Swiss Army, “Ordre de Bataille” from 1917
- ↑ DDPS: Geneva Rifle Battalion 14 ( Memento of the original from January 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Old Basel: Basler Fusilier Battalion 97 and 99
- ↑ DDPS: Zürcher Geb S Bat 6 - first and oldest rifle battalion in Switzerland ( memento of the original from January 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Zurich Infantry Battalion 70 (Inf Bat 70)
- ↑ Switzerland 1940: Operation Order No. 4 (Aufmarsch Nord) ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Edgar Bonjour : History of Swiss neutrality. Four centuries of federal foreign policy. Volume 9: Documents. 1939-1946. Helbing and Lichtenhahn, Basel et al. 1976, ISBN 3-7190-0677-8 .
- ↑ Swiss fortresses: Passwang barriers
- ↑ due to Troop Order 38, TO 38
- ↑ Hansjakob Burkhardt: Fortification "Seesperre Nas" and Swiss Navy on Lake Lucerne . Nidwalden Museum, Stans 2005
- ↑ Military monuments in the cantons of Nidwalden, Obwalden and Lucerne ( memento of the original dated September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Agreement on the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in the Event of Land War, concluded in The Hague on October 18, 1907.
- ↑ History of Field Division 5 ( Memento of the original from April 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Commemorative plaques Solothurn 4er Verband: Grenzbrigade 4 (1938–1994), Mechanized Division 4 (1962–1994), Panzerbrigade 4 (1995–2003), Infantry Brigade 4 (2004–2010) ( Memento of December 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
