Battle of Neuenegg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contemporary depiction of the Battle of Neuenegg
Combat operations in connection with the Helvetic Revolution (1798/99)

The Battle of Neuenegg took place on March 5, 1798 near Neuenegg , between Bernese and French troops, during the French invasion of Switzerland.

prehistory

On March 2, 1798, the Friborg troops surrendered without a fight and the French armies now advanced from Solothurn and Freiburg in Üechtland towards Bern . The French army in Freiburg under the command of Brigadier General Pigeon advanced towards Neuenegg with around 10,000 men. On the night of March 4th and 5th, the French overpowered the small Bernese contingent guarding the crossing over the Sense near Neuenegg. On the Bernese side, the Bernese Landsturm was called that night . In the city of Bern, Adjudant General Johann Weber mobilized the existing soldiers, 2,300 men, and set out for Neuenegg on the morning of March 5, 1798.

The battle

In the meantime, the French had already reached Oberwangen , where they met the Tscharner sniper company, which had camped on the Koenizberg and were now stopped by them. When Weber arrived with his troops, the Bernese drove the French to the Neuenegg plain, where they came under fire from several French artillery and infantry battalions. In the assault on the French that followed, there were significant losses on the Bernese side.

The French began to retreat across the Sense Bridge in the direction of Freiburg and were constantly fired at by three Bernese cannons. Later in the afternoon the battle was won and Weber was about to give the order to pursue the French when the news came from Bern that the battle at Grauholz was lost and that General Schauenburg had already entered Bern. Weber was forced to give the order to withdraw, which led to outrage among the troops and riots against the officers.

Battle memorial

The battle memorial by Albrecht Haller, built in 1866 above Neuenegg, commemorates the battle. It bears the following inscriptions: "HERE BERN'S BRAVE WARRIORS VICTIMED OVER FRANCE'S PROUD GARDEN ON THE FIFTH MERZ MDCCLXXXXVIII" and "WON THE FIGHT, THE FATHERLAND LOST!". It is also the burial place of the 135 fallen, facility from 1863.

To commemorate the battle, the historic Neuenegg shooting takes place every year on the first Sunday in March.

swell

  • FN von Freudenreich: "Looking back on the capture of Solothurn and the battle of Neuenegg in March 1798". In: Ludwig Lauterburg (Ed.): Berner Taschenbuch 1859 . 8th year. Bern.
  • Eidgenössische Nachrichten: News of the Neueneck affair , p. 77f, digitized
  • H. R: Briefly: «Swiss battles», 2nd edition 1977, Bern