Field Division 2
The Field Division 2 ( French Division de campagne 2) of the 1st Army Corps was a traditional Western Swiss militia association with the main body was of troops from the French-speaking Switzerland .
It was one of the oldest divisions and was mentioned as early as 1803. In 1874 it was re-established due to the troop order and dissolved in 2003.
prehistory
After the French invasion and the defeat of the cantonal militia against the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte , attempts were made from 1803 to standardize the military structures in Switzerland based on the model of the French army. The cantonal contingents, however, remained different and were only combined into federal brigades and divisions when mobilizations were made.
A 2nd division was deployed as federal troops in 1805 to secure the Rhine border and in 1813 during the Sixth Coalition War between Aare and Basel. During the rule of the Hundred Days , a 2nd division took part in the invasion of the Free County of Burgundy . During the partial mobilization from 1830-1831, the 2nd Division under Colonel Ziegler was transferred to the north-western border. Under Colonel Ludwig Guerry of Lausanne, the 2nd Division took part in the pacification of both Basels as a federal force on the occasion of the separation of the cantons. In 1845 it was used during the free marches against the Catholic cantons between Bern and Lucerne. During the Sonderbund War of 1847, both sides had a 2nd division. In the Neuchâtel trade , the 2nd Division was not called up because it also included Neuchâtel. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, the 2nd Division under Colonel Jakob von Salis von Jenins had to occupy the border area in the northern Jura on the orders of General Hans Herzog .
With the Federal Constitution of 1848, the cantonal troops began to be combined into a national army. With the partial revision of the Federal Constitution of 1874, the legal basis for the construction, equipment, training and leadership of a unified army as well as the Army classes Excerpt (20 to 32 years of age) and Landwehr (33 to 44) were created, with a repeat course every two years had to afford.
Shortly before the military organization in 1874, Field Division 2 comprised three infantry brigades (troops from the cantons of Neuchâtel, Friborg, Vaud, Geneva, Bern, Solothurn), an artillery brigade, a cavalry regiment, and engineering and medical formations. With the troop order of 1911, the previous eight divisions were reduced to six.
First World War
During the First World War , the 2nd Division was deployed in the Bernese, Neuchâtel and Basler Jura and in Ticino. The closest to the war was the Swiss border at Largin, the protruding edge of the border northeast of Bonfol in the Pruntrut , where the German and French troops faced each other in the trenches. In 1916 the 2nd Division was in service for seven months. The border occupation was severely restricted in 1918 by the Spanish flu .
According to the "Ordre de Bataille" of 1917, the 2nd division included infantry brigades 4 (infantry regiments 7 and 8), 5 (Inf Rgt 9 and 10) and 6 (Inf Rgt 11, Schützen Rgt 12) with the following battalions:
- Inf Rgt 7: Bat 14 FR, 15 FR, 16 FR
- Inf Rgt 8: Bat 18 NE, 19 NE, 20 NE
- Inf Rgt 9: Bat 21 JU BE, 22 JU BE, 24 JU BE
- Inf Rgt 10: Bat 17 FR, 23 BE, 90 SUN
- Inf Rgt 11: Bat 49 SO, 50 SO, 51 SO
- Sch Rgt 12: Sch Bat 3 BE, 4 BE, 5 BE
These included the Fahrende Mitrailleur Department 2, the Cyclist Company 2, the Guide Department 2 and the Artillery Brigade 2. According to the Ordre de Bataille from 1917, the war inventory of the 2nd Division was: 939 officers, 24,044 NCOs and soldiers, 5,837 horses, 17,627 rifles, 126 machine guns, 287 sabers, 56 guns.
2nd division parade in front of the general
Mobilization facility in Tavannes
Battalion 14 with the Friborg flag
Second World War
After the mobilization in World War II in September 1939, the 2nd Division under Jules Borel (1938-40 2nd Division, 1941-49 Commander of the 1st Army Corps) moved to the "Aufmarsch NORD" (Aufmarsch NORD) on October 4, 1939 Area in the Jura near Biel and Neuchâtel.
Since the army deployment at Front North was clearly directed against the German Reich, the general had the western border against France occupied by the 1st division in the Gros de Vaud and on the Mentue and with the 2nd division in the Neuchâtel Jura for reasons of neutrality . If the North case was triggered, the two French divisions would have been moved to their combat areas in the Limmat position . In this army position, the 1st Division was subordinated to the 3rd Army Corps and the 2nd Division to the 2nd Army Corps.
With the operational order of May 1940, the 2nd Division was set up as an army reserve in the center of the army position north. The 2nd division had to block the narrow areas of the Moutier and Pichoux glaciers. In June 1940 the division was relocated to the southwest in order to secure internment and to block the caves in the Neuchâtel Jura.
Based on the operation order No. 12 (Reduit order) in July 1940, the 1st Army Corps had to occupy the delay area from the Jura to Lake Thun. The 2nd Division had to stop an enemy march towards Bern in the Neuchâtel Jura and in the area of the lakes (Bieler and Neuchâtel lakes) and thereby protect the Sankt-Immer-Tal and ( Val de Ruz ), block the axes on both sides of the Zihl Canal and to stop on Mont Vully .
The barriers of the 2nd Division extended from the Jura to the Murten area: Sonceboz , Frinvillier , Gampelen , Mont Vully , Löwenberg , Biberächeren . The Neuenegg lock belonged to the light brigades.
In May 1941, the 2nd Division was withdrawn from its fortification work between Zihl (Thièle) and Saane (Sarine) and moved to the Wimmis-Stockhorn Reduit position between Stockhorn and Gastlosen . The divisional command was transferred from Saint-Blaise to Friborg and then to Zweisimmen .
When in 1944 the city of Basel and the Ajoie were directly threatened by the war, the light brigades 1 and 2 in the Ajoie were reinforced by the 2nd division.
Lock point Löwenberg
Locking point small gurmels
Jaunpass artillery plant
10.5 cm cannon Jaunpass
Cold war and army reforms
The post-war period saw the armament of armored and nuclear weapons. With Army 61 , the 2nd Division was converted into Grenzdivision 2 to comply with the will to defend Switzerland from the border.
Border Division 2 was composed of infantry regiments 3 GE, 8 NE, 9 JU, heavy artillery regiment 26, reconnaissance and anti-tank formations, anti-aircraft division 2, genius battalion 2, transmission division 2, medical division 2 and logistics formations.
In 1965, Intelligence Division 2 was formed. The border division was reinforced with the 1st Infantry Regiment and the Dragon Regiment 1 (until 1973). In the 1970s, the training of the troops was intensified, so border division 2 had to complete a refresher course every four years in winter in the Jura or the foothills of the Alps. In 1979, the border division was reinforced with Artillery Regiment 2, the successor to Artillery Regiment 26, with four divisions (one of which was with self-propelled howitzers). In 1981 field division 2 (new) was formed, which resulted in several regroupings. The command of Field Division 2 was in Castle Colombier .
From 1997 to 2003 Field Division 2 hosted the international military competition Swiss Raid Commando . With Army XXI , all army corps and divisions were dissolved, and with it Field Division 2, which had existed for around 130 years.
Naming of Field Division 2 throughout history
- 1874–1911: II. Army Division (II. Division d'armée)
- 1912–1937: 2nd division (2nd division)
- 1938–1961: 2nd Division (2nd Division, type de campagne)
- 1961–1980: Grenzdivision 2 (division frontière 2)
- 1981–2003: Field Division 2 (division de campagne 2)
Museums and military historical associations
- In Castle Colombier barracks was set up from 1824 in the surrounding buildings, which still exists today. It housed the command of Field Division 2, the Infantry Officers School 1 and the Infantry Recruit School 5. Today the castle houses a military museum and a cotton museum. The military museum contains a collection of weapons and uniforms by the painter Auguste Bachelin as well as archives of the Regiment de Meuron.
- Association of Friends of Km 0
- The Pro Fortins Neuchâtel association organizes tours of the Valagin fortifications (Verrou de Valagin, 2 works) and the fortified structure of the Val-de-Travers (10 works).
literature
- Maurice Jeanneret: Le château de Colombier , Editions de la Baconnière, Neuchâtel 1970.
- Marcel Bosshard: Histoires de troupes jurassiennes. Editions de la Prévôté, Moutier 1977.
- Dominic M. Pedrazzini, Jean-Hugues Schulé: La deuxième division, Racines et continuite, 1803-1961-1986 . Commandement de la Division de campagne 2, Colombier 1986.
- Denis Borel: La 2nd division, force de souveraineté en Ajoie en automne 1944 . Self-published, Neuchâtel 1994.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Gremaud, Jean-Pierre: Die Felddivision 2nd General Swiss Military Magazine (ASMZ), Issue 5, Volume 154 1988
- ↑ Structure of the 6 divisions of the Swiss Army, “Ordre de Bataille” from 1917
- ↑ Limmat position: 2nd Division ( Memento from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Pierre-André Steiner: L'histoire de la division de campagne 2nd Revue Militaire Suisse, Issue 8, Volume 148 2003
- ↑ Arcinfo of 19 August 1914: Le château de Colombier ouvre (presque) toutes ses portes
- ^ Pro Fortins: Museum of the Border Brigade 2
Coordinates: 46 ° 58 ′ 0 " N , 6 ° 51 ′ 45" E ; CH1903: 556,154 / 201,894