Swiss troops in French service for the Valois royal family 1480–1589
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1480, in the State Treaty with Louis XI. , King of France, on the deployment of Swiss troops in French service for the royal house of the Valois , the authorities of the Confederation undertook for the first time to provide an official federal troop contingent to a foreign ruler.
42 Swiss troops served the Valois from 1480 to 1589 to assert themselves against Burgundy, to establish themselves temporarily in Italy , to compete with Habsburg for the European leadership role and to fight the Huguenots . They were requested for individual campaigns and released again after they had ended.
In 1497, Charles VIII , the successor of Louis XI, and his bodyguard, the Hundred Swiss, set up the first permanent Swiss troop in foreign service. She became a model for other European princes who began to afford standing Swiss guards.
The alliance was renewed again and again, also under the successors of the Valois, and made France the most important contractual partner of the Confederations for four centuries. It also served as a template for all other contracts that were concluded over the years with other, non-French contractual partners.
Swiss troops in foreign service was the name of the paid service of commanded, whole troop bodies abroad, regulated by the authorities of the Swiss Confederation by international treaties .
These treaties contained a chapter regulating military affairs: the so-called surrender (or private surrender if one of the contracting parties was a private military contractor).
Overview of Swiss troops in French service during the rule of the House of Valois
| King Charles VII. 1422–1461 | ||
| King Louis XI. 1461-1483 | ||
| # fra | designation | year |
| 1 | Auxiliary Corps «Tschalunerzug» | 1480 |
| King Charles VIII. 1483–1498 | ||
| 2 | unofficial mercenary troop Naples | 1494-1495 |
| 3 | "Hundertschweizer" life guard | 1497-1792, 1814-1830 |
| King Ludwig XII. 1498-1515 | ||
| 4 5 |
Auxiliary Corps Lombardy | 1499 1500 |
| 6th | Auxiliary Corps «Jenowerzug» | 1507 |
| King Francis I 1515–1547 | ||
| 7th | Picardy Auxiliary Corps | 1521 |
| 8th | Auxiliary Corps Bicocca | 1522 |
| 9 | Auxiliary Corps Sesia | 1524 |
| 10 | Auxiliary Corps Pavia | 1524-1525 |
| 11 | Auxiliary Corps Rome | 1527 |
| 12 | Auxiliary Corps Savoy | 1536 |
| 13 | Auxiliary Corps "Zyrasoli" | 1542-1544 |
| King Heinrich II. 1547–1559 | ||
| # fra | designation | year |
| 14th | Boulogne Auxiliary Corps | 1549-1550 |
| 15th | Auxiliary Corps Piedmont | 1551-1553 |
| 16 | Lorraine Auxiliary Corps | 1552 |
| 17th | Franche-Comté auxiliary corps | 1553 |
| 18th | Auxiliary Corps Piedmont | 1554-1556 |
| 19th | Picardy Auxiliary Corps | 1554 |
| 20th | Auxiliary Corps Tuscany | 1554 |
| 21st | Auxiliary Corps Naples | 1557 |
| 22nd | Auxiliary Corps Calais | 1557-1558 |
| 23 | Picardy Auxiliary Corps | 1558 |
| King Franz II. 1559–1560 | ||
| King Charles IX 1560-1574 | ||
| 24 | Free Corps Condé | 1562 |
| 25th | Auxiliary Corps Dreux | 1562 |
| 26th | Auxiliary Corps Meaux | 1567-1570 |
| 27 | Auxiliary Corps Moncontour | 1569-1570 |
| 28 | Auxiliary Corps Arnay-le-Duc | 1570 |
| 29 | Auxiliary Corps La Rochelle | 1572-1573 |
| King Henry III 1574-1589 | ||
| # fra | designation | year |
| 30th | Auxiliary Corps Dauphiné | 1574-1575 |
| 31 | Free Corps Trois-Évêchés | 1574-1575 |
| 32 | Auxiliary Corps Guise | 1576 |
| 33 | Gallati Auxiliary Corps | 1580 |
| 34 | Auxiliary Corps Brabant | 1582 |
| 35 | Auxiliary Corps Holy League | 1585 |
| 36 | Auxiliary Corps Provence | 1586 |
| 37 | Auxiliary corps bodyguard | 1587-1588 |
| 38 | Free Corps Navarre | 1587 |
| 39 | Auxiliary Corps Navarre | 1587 |
| 40 | Auneau Auxiliary Corps | 1587 |
| 41 | Auxiliary Corps Burgundy | 1587-1588 |
| 42 | Auxiliary Corps Saluzzo | 1589 |
 Signature of Heinrich III. |
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The first Swiss troops in foreign service in the Burgundian War of Succession 1477–1493
The French King Charles VII , after receiving approval from the Diet to recruit 4,000 mercenaries in 1447 , was the first to commit himself in the friendship treaty of Montil-les-Tours in 1453 to "never cause trouble" to the Confederates. to provide them with assistance and free passage. His application to evacuate an official Swiss troop of 1,000 men, however, was rejected by the Diet in Bern.
The death of Charles the Bold in 1477 in the Burgundian Wars led to the confrontation of Louis XI. , Son and successor of Charles VII, with Maximilian I of Austria . The Habsburg Maximilian had married the daughter and sole heir of Charles the Bold, Maria of Burgundy . The dispute over the possession of the Duchy of Burgundy erupted from 1477 to 1493 in the War of the Burgundian Succession .
Louis XI. A military agreement against Charles the Bold was entered into with the Confederates in 1470, an alliance for mutual aid in 1474 and another military surrender in 1475. But it was not until five years later that the pensions paid out to leading confederates took effect. After a large training camp near Rouen, in which he had deployed 6,000 Swiss people as instructors and model troops to introduce the heap of violence among his own infantry, he succeeded in enforcing a surrender to the Swiss Federal Diet , authorizing regular immigration contained by Swiss troops. It was the beginning of a military alliance that lasted almost four centuries.
In the same year 1480, Louis XI. 5,950 foot troops and 400 horsemen for use in the War of the Burgundian Succession. The Diet then sent a federal auxiliary corps to Chalôns-sur-Saone. It was the first Swiss troop in foreign service at all.
| Name, duration of use |
(1 fra ) Auxiliary Corps «Tschalunerzug» 1480 | |
| Year, contractual partner |
1480, surrender of King Ludwig XI. of France with the Federal Diet.
For the first time, this required the white cross on all standards. |
|
| Stock, formation |
The auxiliary corps, which was called up by the federal authorities themselves for the first time, consisted of more than 6,000 men (corresponding to a little more than 60 ensigns of 100 men). |
|
| Origin squad, troop |
The troop received a large number of visitors from all over the Swiss Confederation , the surrounding areas and common people:
1,000 people from Zurich under Hans Waldmann with ensign Jakob Tig, 1,000 from Bern under Wilhelm von Diesbach with ensign Heinrich Matter , Niklaus Zurkinden (rifleman), Bartholomäus Bütschelbach (butcher, right flag) and Hans Linder (tanner, shooter flag), 800 people from Lucerne under Heinrich Fehr with ensign Fankhauser, 500 Freiburgers under Jacques de Faussigny and Heinrich Fegelin, 500 Solothurners under Urs Steger, 2,000 men from Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug, Rottweil, the prince abbey and the city of St. Gallen, Thurgau and the common gentlemen, 150 men from Biel, and 400 riders under Niklaus von Scharnachtal . |
|
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The auxiliary corps was not under a single command.
Before a combat operation, a council of war made up of the leaders of the various contingents met to make decisions. |
|
| Use, events |
The Lucerne version was chosen as the oath:
When the Swiss Corps arrived in Chalôns-sur-Saône, Louis XI. an armistice had already been concluded with Maximilian I. To the displeasure of the Swiss, they had to leave without having achieved anything. There was looting in Châlons and Arles. Wilhelm von Diesbach then compensated the latter town from personal funds. On the way home, 200 men from Zug, Glarus and Baden drowned when their ships collided with the bridge at Wangen an der Aare and capsized. The “Tschalunerzug” was in vain, but as a joint federal state act it was nevertheless of groundbreaking importance. In 1481 the king then granted the Swiss considerable privileges in the patent letters . |
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The first standing Swiss troop in foreign service after the French campaign in Naples 1494–1495
In 1484 the confederates renewed the French alliance with Charles VIII , the successor of Louis XI, in a solemn ceremony in Lucerne. It contained the express prohibition of the unauthorized recruitment of mercenaries.
Ten years later, Charles VIII triggered the Italian Wars in 1494 with his ultimately unsuccessful campaign to Naples, in which he also deployed 8,000 Swiss . The dismembered Italy now became the bone of contention for the new territorial states France, Spain, Habsburg and at times even the Confederates.
Charles VIII had diplomatically secured his grip on the royal throne of Naples with England (1492 Treaty of Étaples), Spain (1493 Peace of Barcelona ) and Austria (1493 Treaty of Senlis ). The rapidity and violence of his advancement from Allied Duchy Milan of Ludovico Sforza from Naples, which he captured after a short siege 1495, however, resistance generated. Even Sforza changed camps and triggered the formation of the League of Venice . After he threatened to be cut off by their mercenary army in southern Italy, Charles VIII withdrew with his army to Lombardy. After the lost battle of Fornovo in 1495 he was only able to save himself there with luck (the Venetian troops began to plunder instead of pursuing him) and to return to France leaving behind the booty of his Italian campaign. The debts accumulated by the campaign prevented him from continuing.
| Name, duration of use |
(2 fra ) unofficial mercenary troop Naples 1494–1495 |
Battle of Fornovo 1495
organized Swiss violence in the middle of the turmoil (protection of the French artillery) |
|
| Year, contractual partner |
Unauthorized advertising of Swiss mercenaries in 1494 by Antoine de Bassey, bailiff of Dijon and royal colonel general for the Swiss troops, at advertising sites outside the territory of the Confederation. This advertising was in contradiction to the alliance of 1484, which forbade unauthorized recruitment, and was made against the active but ineffective resistance of the Diet. | ||
| Stock, formation |
Unofficial mercenary troops of 8,000 men (corresponding to 80 ensigns of 100 men). | ||
| Origin squad, troop |
Reisläufer from all over the Swiss Confederation. | ||
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Gian Giacomo Trivulzio , Engelbert von Kleve , Antoine de Bassey and Louis de Menton, Herr von Lornay are mentioned as commanders in the battle of Fornovo. | ||
| Use, events |
The Swiss, as the core of Charles VIII's army, spread particular horror through their relentless brutality (no prisoners!) As they marched through the northern Italian city-states.
When the army marched into Rome, the Pope Alexander VI, who had retired to Castel Sant'Angelo, was reluctantly added, they made a great impression on the population with their closed formation and magnificent appearance. When the mood began to turn against France and he threatened to be cut off in southern Italy, Charles III stepped. the withdrawal to Northern Italy. Part of the army and also the Swiss mercenaries stayed behind in Naples or went away through epidemics and desertion. Charles VIII still had 5,000 men. The 3,000 Swiss people involved brought the royal artillery back over the Apennines by land (it had been transported by ship on the way there) with great effort. In the battle of Fornovo they are said to have saved Charles VIII from capture and afterwards accompanied him safely to France with his artillery. But they also brought home syphilis from Naples , which after Fornovo began to spread across Europe. Venice's troops had initially driven France out of Italy. |
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It was also Charles VIII who in 1497 created the first standing Swiss troop in foreign service with the bodyguard of the "Hundertschweizer" . The Hundred Swiss were the perfect example, the later the Vatican and its legacies, the Maritime Republic of Genoa , the Dukes of Savoy, the city state Lucca, the governor of the Dutch Republic William III., The Dukes of Lorraine and the Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia with own Swiss guards followed.
| Name, duration of use |
(3 fra ) “Hundertschweizer” life guards 1497–1792, 1814–1830 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year, contractual partner |
1497, ordinance (= order) of Charles VIII, King of France.
From 1576 there is a copy of the 18 articles of the "very old ordinantz of the Hundred Confederates [...] to Franckryche Gwardi", on which the guardsman had to take the oath (excerpt): 1. To serve as long as the king pays them. If someone wants to leave the service, he must have the captain's permission, otherwise he will be punished for life. In any case, he serves the month started .
1814, orderly of Louis XVIII, King of France. |
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| Stock, formation |
1 company of initially 109 men and 4 officers of the royal household troops . |
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| Origin squad, troop |
The captain (from 1595 colonel-captain) had to be of French origin and reported directly to the king. The lieutenant, the other two officers and the NCOs were initially Swiss. Their number gradually increased and French people were also employed. In the end, they filled about half of the positions of officers and fouriers. The team was recruited from all over Switzerland, regardless of whether they were Catholic or Protestant. The prerequisites were Swiss nationality, a height of at least 6 feet (1.83 m) and an impeccable certificate of good repute. Upon entering the guardsman was sworn by an oath "to serve his royal majesty everywhere and against whomever, except against his own gracious lords and superiors, the highly laudable federal estates". The nominal starting stock of the "Hundertschweizer" team was as follows:
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| Owner, commander, namesake |
The first colonel-captain in 1497 became Louis de Menton, Herr von Lornay, previously a general of the French Swiss mercenary troops.
The lieutenant, his deputy, had the rank of colonel and could at the same time be the owner of a Swiss regiment. The following Swiss lieutenants are known from the 16th and 17th centuries:
Casimir-Louis-Victurnien de Rochechouart de Mortemart was the first colonel-captain of the "Hundertschweizer", which was re-established in 1815 . He had a small staff . |
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| Use, events |
The "Hundertschweizer" were responsible for the safety of the king and his family inside the royal palaces:
A man guarded the place where the royal seal was kept around the clock. Every evening 2 groups of 15 men had to stand guard in the royal palace and slept there ready for action in the guard room. They were used as parade troops at public appearances and ceremonies of the king. They also accompanied the king into the field. After the formation of the Swiss Guard Regiment in 1616, they were each incorporated as a grenadier company. The "Hundertschweizer" had their own jurisdiction under federal law, exercised by the war council of their Swiss officers, and numerous privileges. They suffered heavy losses several times. They just didn't go down with the Swiss Guards Regiment in the Tuileries Storm in 1792 because they had been released the previous year. In 1814 they were by Louis XVIII. set up again and finally dissolved by his successor Louis-Philippe I after the July Revolution of 1830 . |
In 1498, just one year later, Charles VIII died at the age of 27 in his Amboise Castle as a result of an accident.
Used in the second French Italian campaign, 1499–1504
King Ludwig XII. continued the Italian plans of conquest of his predecessor Charles VIII. He had a Visconti as a grandmother and derived his claim to the Duchy of Milan from this, which he conquered in 1499 with the help of Swiss mercenaries. A year later, however, Duke Ludovico Sforza - also with Swiss travelers - brought back his duchy.
In 1500 in Novara there was almost a direct encounter between the Swiss in the opposing camps of King Ludwig XII. on the one hand and Duke Sforza on the other. She was only able to prevent the daily statute barely, but not the shameful capture of Ludovico Sforza by the French.
Duke Ludwig Sforza had recruited 11,000 Swiss mercenaries and used them to defend Novara. King Ludwig XII. besieged the city with an army of 24,000 men, including the federal auxiliary corps.
The startled Diet in Zurich immediately sent messengers on both sides with the request to either return home immediately or to unite under one flag. Thereupon the crew of Novara under Landammann Hans Zellweger and the captains Hans Meggeli and Christian Brander, all from Appenzell-Unterroden, defected to the besiegers.
Duke Sforza was betrayed by a soldier named Hans Turmann from Uri to Louis XII. extradited and died eight years later in French captivity in Loches in Tourraine. The Diet carried out a strict investigation into this infidelity: Turmann was executed as a "pawn".
| Name, duration of use |
(4/5 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Lombardy 1499/1500 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1499, alliance of Ludwig XII., King of France, with the ten federal towns of Zurich, Bern, Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug, Glarus, Freiburg and Solothurn.
It brought French artillery support with cannons, ammunition and service teams to the Confederation during the Swabian War and France the influx of Swiss infantry in the Italian campaign. In Article 11 the king was assured that he would not have to pay the number of mercenaries that exceeded his official requirements. Apparently he wanted to protect himself against financial exploitation by too many bellicose Swiss! In contrast, he promised each of the ten locations an annual payment of 2,000 francs. |
| Stock, formation |
The Federal Auxiliary Corps is said to have comprised up to 14,000 men (corresponding to 140 ensigns of 100 men). |
| Origin squad, troop |
The sources mention the federal captains Kaspar Goeldli and Jakob Stapfer from Zurich, Kaspar Schöni, Michael Hueber, Hans von Weingarten, Niklaus von Graffenried, Ludwig and Burkhard von Erlach and Ludwig von Büren.
The influx of mercenaries from all over Switzerland was extremely large, despite the Confederates' own needs for the Swabian War. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The Swiss troops were under the command of Antoine de Bassey, bailiff of Dijon and royal colonel general for the Swiss troops. |
| Use, events |
In 1499 de Bassey succeeded in conquering the Duchy of Milan with 6,000 Swiss, but it was lost to Duke Ludovico Sforza by the spring of 1500. In 1500 the bailiff of Dijon and over 14,000 Swiss took the duchy back into French possession in the unbeaten battle of Novara . In 1503, in the Peace of Arona, these Swiss Confederates' war expeditions brought the Blenio valley, the Riviera and Bellinzona to the Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden estates. The confederates also began to dream great power dreams. |
Subsequently, France (from the north) and Spain (from the south) jointly conquered the Kingdom of Naples in 1501. Two years later, the French were driven out of Italy by Spain. Louis XII. recognized defeat in the Treaty of Blois in 1505 . It was the beginning of two centuries of rule by the Spanish Habsburgs over southern Italy.
Alienation and federal dreams of great power in the Great Venetian War 1508–1515
Louis XII. did not give up his Italy plans and in 1507 demanded a Swiss troop from the Diet for his protection and escort to Milan, which he was granted. In reality, however, he intended to take the imperial city of Genoa, whose aristocracy was besieged by a popular uprising. Which he succeeded in the same year with the help of the Swiss troops, but did not go down well in the Swiss Confederation.
| Name, duration of use |
(6 fra ) Auxiliary Corps «Jenowerzug» 1507 |
| Year, contractual partner |
King Ludwig XII. In 1507, based on the alliance of 1499, requests the influx of 4,000 men.
The Diet approves the request with the condition that the troops may not be used against the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. |
| Stock, formation |
Again an auxiliary corps was found in Alexandria, the number of which clearly exceeded the requirement. The sources speak of 6,000 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From all over the Swiss Confederation . |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Not specified. |
| Use, events |
When the Diet became aware of the actual target, the imperial city of Genoa, it forbade the Swiss troops to cross the Po River and Bern even ordered its contingent back. The Swiss Auxiliary Corps could not be stopped and moved in front of Genoa. The twelve towns left the city's first storm to the troops of the Allied Towns and Common Lords. Led by Unterwaldner warrior captain Oswald von Rotz, supported by rifle shooters and a flag of volunteers under Bern leadership, the action succeeded. The occupation of the city was taken over by French troops. After the successful Genoese counter-attack, the subsequent attack by the main power of the twelve places completed the conquest of Genoa. In the Swiss Confederation, however, the French king's blatant deception was by no means off the table! |
In 1509 the Diet refused, not least because of this, the renewal of the alliance of 1499. At the same time, however, the three leagues concluded an identical pay agreement for the first time, although they actually had close ties with Venice. The 2,000 francs a year for all three were a convincing argument. Because King Ludwig XII. was not deterred. The League of Cambrai , which he agreed with Emperor Maximilian I in 1508 , ostensibly stated the fight against the Ottomans as its goal.
In reality, however, the allies wanted to expand their power at the expense of the Republic of Venice , on their Italian mainland territory ( Terraferma ). In addition to other European powers, Pope Julius II joined the league , who occupied Venice with the interdict. After the Battle of Agnadello in 1509, which was successful for the French army (also with federal and Graubünden mercenaries!) Under Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, the general mood turned again against the dominant position of France in northern Italy.
First, in 1510, the papal diplomacy, with the active help of Cardinal Matthäus Schiner from Valais and despite the French pension funds, succeeded in convincing the Confederates to apostate France and for a five-year papal pay alliance. In 1511 they were even to be persuaded to join the Holy League , an alliance of European powers including Milan (Sforza) and Venice, which was directed against France.
After the initial successes of the French , Duke Massimiliano Sforza succeeded in 1513 with a Swiss auxiliary corps in the name of the Holy League to defeat the French contingent under the general Louis II. De La Trémoille in the battle of Novara . The confederates mercilessly slaughtered the opposing mercenaries but were unable to pursue the refugees without cavalry. But they captured the cannons of the French artillery.
Now it was the confederates who officially reinstated Massimiliano Sforza as Duke over the Duchy of Milan. They did not leave it at the "open accounts" with France and in 1513 they went on a foray into rich Burgundy to Dijon. They broke off the siege of the city only after agreeing a high ransom, which France then failed to pay. The confederates' growing lust for great power was suddenly destroyed in the battle of Marignano in 1515.
King Franz I , the successor of Louis XII, softened the federal front with financial arguments and, in the modern combat of combined arms (infantry, cavalry and artillery) against the outdated tactics of the heap of violence , administered to the part of the confederates who had taken up battle a catastrophic and lossy defeat. Now France was once again ruler of the Duchy of Milan and the Confederates had been given a lesson that they would not soon forget.
With the «Eternal Peace» 1516 back to reality: France vs. Habsburg until 1559
The far-sighted and indulgent French victor Franz I finished in Freiburg i. Ü. one" Eternal peace " with the defeated confederates, which the three leagues joined. In 1521 it resulted in a new alliance with a corresponding surrender. The Confederates, with the exception of the people of Zurich, who did not join because of Huldrych Zwingli's opposition , undertook to invade France with at least 6,000 and a maximum of 16,000 men in the event of a “war of defense”, who were not divided and not at sea could be used. Upon request, the king promised 1,000 riders and 12 guns and various financial benefits. This treaty of 1516/21 served as the basis for all subsequent agreements ... and confirmed the priority of the French kings in the demand for Swiss troops and mercenaries.
Emperor Maximilian I died in 1419. His grandson and successor, Charles V, united all of the Habsburg territories in one hand for the first time. First, France was completely enclosed by Habsburg territory and, secondly, including the overseas territories, its confrontation with Habsburg grew from a European to a global dimension.
Dominions of Charles V
Burgundy: Castile Red: possessions Aragon Orange: Burgundian possessions Yellow: Austrian hereditary lands Pale yellow: Holy Roman Empire |
For the next two centuries, more or less covertly, this contrast was to determine European politics and its perpetual wars. King Franz I alone fought four wars with Emperor Charles V for supremacy in Europe in a good two decades (1521–1544) , both with changing coalitions. The main theaters of war were the Pyrenees, the Meuse, Picardy and mainly Italy. Swiss troops and mercenaries were always involved.
| Name, duration of use |
(7 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Picardy 1521 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1521, Charles I, King of France, surrendered with the Federal Diet. |
| Stock, formation |
King Franz I applies for 6,000 men. The Diet sends an auxiliary corps of 10,000 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From all over the Swiss Confederation. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The captains Hans von Diesbach, Hans Frisching and Wilhelm von Treytorrens from Bern, Oswald and Konrad Zurlauben from Zug and Fridolin Gallati from Glarus are mentioned. |
| Use, events |
The battles with the Spanish Habsburgs were also fought in northern France, in Picardy.
After successful missions in Bayonne, Bapaume, Landrecies and Hesdin, the imperial troops were driven from Picardy. The majority were released after the campaign and 2,000 men remained as a garrison in Abbeville. |
| Name, duration of use |
(8 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Bicocca 1522 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1522, Charles I, King of France, capitulates with the Federal Diet. |
| Stock, formation |
The Diet sent an auxiliary corps of 20,000 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
3,000 Berners with Albert von Stein and the captains Rudolf von Mülinen, Wilhelm von Bonstetten and the Vaudois Jean de Mestral, 8,000 Urner, Schwyzer and Unterwaldner with Arnold von Winkelried and the Zug captains Oswald and Konrad Zurlauben as well as Kaspar Pfyffer from Lucerne , 8,000 people from Zurich with Ulrich von Hohensax and the Glarus captain Hans Tschudi, 400 people from Freiburg with Count Johann II of Gruyères and 300 from Valais with Antoine de Courten. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Marshal Odet de Foix , Viscount de Lautrec led the French campaign in Lombardy. |
| Use, events |
,_1649,_20.JPG)
Albrecht vom Stein (left)
in the dance of death by Niklaus Manuel Copy by Albrecht Kauw 1649 Dominican Church Bern In the battle of Bicocca in 1522, the Spanish firepower (arquebuses and artillery) was once again superior to the federal pikemen. The Confederates suffered terrible losses in the fight against the imperial troops, over 3,000 men. Among the fallen were almost all the leaders and the Bernese commander Albrecht vom Stein (he later appeared in the dance of death in the Bernese preacher's church of Niklaus Manuel, who was a field scribe ):
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| Name, duration of use |
(9 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Sesia 1524 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1524, Charles I, King of France, capitulates with the Federal Diet. |
| Stock, formation |
King Franz I applies for 6,000 men. The daily statute set off an auxiliary corps of 12,000 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Auso of the whole Swiss Confederation including 2,000 Valais and Graubünden. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Admiral Guillaume Gouffier de Bonnivet was the leader of the French armed forces that tried in vain to take Lombardy. |
| Use, events |
The French expeditionary force gathered in Vercelli to advance to Lombardy.
The 2,000 Graubünden residents on the march under Dietegen von Salis were called back because the notorious Condottiere Jakob Medici threatened to break into Graubünden . The main Federal Harst was so decimated by the plague and desertions that the Diet sent a further 8,000 men from Bern, Basel, Solothurn, Freiburg, Schaffhausen and Rottweil to reinforce it. In the Battle of Romagnago on the Sesia in 1524, the Swiss were again victims of Spanish firepower and suffered enormous losses with 2/3 of their population. |
| Name, duration of use |
(10 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Pavia 1524–1525 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1524, Charles I, King of France, capitulates with the Federal Diet. |
| Stock, formation |
The Confederation set up an auxiliary corps of 20,000 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Whole confederation. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Charles I himself led his troops together with Admiral Guillaume Gouffier de Bonnivet to Lombardy and suffered a grandiose defeat. |
| Use, events |
Again Dietegen von Salis and 5,000 Graubünden members were called back as Jakob Medici threatened to break into Graubünden again.
After the invasion of Milan, 20,000 Swiss under Hans von Diesbach and Jacques de Rovéréa besieged Pavia. Franz I moved 10,000 of them to Naples. In the Battle of Pavia in 1525, the Swiss were outmaneuvered, although the opposing mercenaries advanced into the field of fire of their own artillery and thus rendered them ineffective. The indiscipline and even mutiny of the federal mercenaries took bitter revenge for once. 4,000 men were captured, including two Tschudi, Rovéréa, Wilhelm von Treytorrens, Johann Jakob von Wattenwil and Peter von Ardez. 5,000 confederates lost their lives. Even Franz I himself was taken prisoner after his «Hundertschweizer» had fallen to the last man. It was time to modernize federal combat tactics: the importance of rifle shooters was finally recognized. Shooting societies were now established everywhere in the Confederation. The violence subsequently gave way to formations with less depth . In 1526, monthly inspections of the Swiss troops were introduced in order to create the basis for the exact payment of wages, the control of stocks and equipment! |
| Name, duration of use |
(11 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Rome 1527 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1527: Francis I (supported by England, Milan and Venice) requested Swiss troops after the Sacco di Roma for the liberation of Pope Clement VII. |
| Stock, formation |
The daily statute awarded him 10,000 men. It was the first Swiss troop to be drafted monthly. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From all over the Swiss Confederation. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The auxiliary corps was under the leadership of Jacques de Rovéréa, Niklaus von Graffenried , Wilhelm von Diesbach, Wolfgang von Weingarten, all from Bern, and Niklaus Muheim from Uri. |
| Use, events |
This Swiss troop was already destroyed by the plague in northern Italy. |
| Name, duration of use |
(12 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Savoy 1536 |
| Year, contractual partner |
In 1536 Franz I applied for Swiss troops for a campaign to Savoy.
Duke Charles III. von Savoy, feeling oppressed by the Bernese conquest of Vaud, had allied itself with Charles V. Franz I felt compelled to intervene. |
| Stock, formation |
6,000 men in 12 ensigns of 500 men and other free ensigns entered Savoy with the French army. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Not specified. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The 12 federal ensigns were under the command of Schaffhausen's Kaspar Rinck von Wildenberg.
Hieronimus von Luternau , Herr zu Belp, Werner Saler and Hans Junker from Solothurn as well as Heinrich Kaltschmied and Kaspar Gallati from Glarus (father of the later first guard of the same name) led free pennons into the field. |
| Use, events |
The campaign was a complete success. France exercised full control over Savoy for the next two decades. The population benefited from the progressive French social system. The Dukes of Savoy did not regain their domain until the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. |
| Name, duration of use |
(13 fra ) Auxiliary Corps "Zyrasoli" 1543–1544 |
| Year, contractual partner |
In 1543 Franz I asked for a federal move to Italy. |
| Stock, formation |
7,500 Swiss:
6 companies of 300 men each from Wilhelm Fröhlich (1 company from Fröhlich in Murten, 5 companies from federal mercenaries raised from Saint Julien in Piedmont), 7 companies of 300 men each of Ulrich von Hohensax (brought from Picardy), in addition one (unofficial) free company each of the captains Fuchsberger from Rottweil, Karly from Chur and Andres von Uri, supplemented with 3,500 Gruyeres under Count Michael von Greyerz ( filled up by Welsche newcomers under Herr von Cuny). |
| Origin squad, troop |
Not specified. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
French supreme command by Franz von Bourbon , Duke of Enghien.
Colonel-General of the Swiss was James de Saint Julien, French ambassador to the Confederation and Piedmont. For the first time he divided the Swiss troops into regiments, the field colonels of which were nominated by the Diet. The little ensigns became companies, whose soldiers (spearmen, riflemen, drummers and whistlers) were led by a captain together with a lieutenant, an ensign, fouriers, sergeants, corporals and corporals. The court-martial met outdoors. The captains could soften his judgment, but not tighten it. James de Saint Julien was the first colonel general of the Swiss from 1542 to 1544 . He was followed by nineteen other function holders by 1814: 
Wilhelm Froelich by Hans Asper
|
| Use, events |
In the battle of Ceresole (Zyrasoli), the inexperienced Gruyeres were completely cut down by the opposing mercenaries in the first attack.
However, at the head of the federal troops, Captain Fröhlich managed to take revenge on these Spanish mercenaries. He had waited under cover until they ran into the field of fire of his own artillery and musketeers, thus preventing them from operating, before he attacked them with full force and ruthlessly cut them down. The Battle of Ceresole ended in a French victory. |
King Heinrich II. , Who succeeded Franz I, continued the military test of strength with Habsburg and Emperor Charles V undiminished. In 1549 he renewed the State Treaty with eleven Swiss Confederation towns (excluding the Protestant towns of Bern and Zurich), which Graubünden also joined.
Urs Sury, the mayor of Solothurn, headed the federal delegation that solemnly conjured up the alliance in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He headed the list of numerous native pensioners in France, which had opened its embassy in Solothurn since 1522.
In 1553 the same contractors agreed to surrender, which remained in force until 1671. You determined u. a. that the enlisted men should be united in regiments and that the colonels appointed by the king should be elected by the assembly of captains. The mercenaries had to swear an oath of war to remain faithful to their ensign and the captains until their abdication.
The regiment should consist of 3,000 to 8,000 men and be divided into companies (also called gangs or ensigns) of 300 to 500 men. Their flag was to bear the colors of the canton that permitted advertising and provided the captains. Each company had a number of spear bearers (50 out of 100 men), halberdiers (30), hook rifle shooters (10) and crossbowmen (10, soon to be replaced by firearms) under their own officers (1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 ensign, 1 sergeant major and 1 Rottmeister per 50 men) and field music of 3 tambours and 1 piper. The team did not wear uniform clothing but had white canvas crosses sewn onto the chest and sleeves as a common standard. The officers were marked by gloves, sashes, and breastplate.
| Name, duration of use |
(14 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Boulogne 1549–1550 |
| Year, contractual partner |
In 1549 , Henry II, who was allied with the Scottish queen widow Maria von Guise (his son and later successor Franz II will marry her daughter Maria Stuart in 1558 ) needed federal troops against the English who had occupied Boulogne. |
| Stock, formation |
24,000 men in 3 regiments. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From Bern and Schwyz? |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Dietrich In der Halden, Landammann von Schwyz, provided a regiment. Augustin von Luternau, Pannerherr from Bern, raised two regiments. |
| Use, events |
Siege of Boulogne.
In return for payment of 20,000 gold thalers by Henry II, the English finally evacuated the city. |
| Name, duration of use |
(15 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Piedmont 1551–1553 |
| Year, contractual partner |
In 1551, 500 unemployed mercenaries from Schwyz, Glarus and the areas around the upper Lake of Zurich wrote to the currently best-known mercenary leader Wilhelm Frölich, the French King Heinrich II and the federal authorities to request the drafting of a Swiss troop into French services . Which he initiated with the help of the French ambassador. The Tagsatzung reluctantly tolerated advertising outside of the State Treaty of 1549 with the “expectation” that the locations at the captain's positions would be given due consideration. The "recruiting ordinance" set up for this extract, with its deeper approaches, was to lead to disputes later. |
| Stock, formation |
2,600 men in 8 companies of 300–400 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
In December the recruited mercenaries gathered in Chambery to be drafted and to move over the Mont Cenis:
In 1553 the Frölich regiment was increased from 2 to 10 companies:
|
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Colonel Wilhelm Frölich from Solothurn. |
| Use, events |
After a few years of quiet, the Habsburg-French rivalries flared up again in northern Italy in 1551. The French governor of Piedmont, Karl von Cossé , Marshal von Brissac, therefore welcomed the arrival of the Frölich regiment. He stationed it in Carmagnola near Turin, where his headquarters were. He used the Swiss troops, mostly only parts of them, over the next 3 years in the arduous war for permanent positions in the whole of Piedmont and the adjacent areas.
Before moving to the winter quarters (Chieri: Lucerne and Graubünden; Carignano: Schwyz and Unterwalden; Turin: Wallis; Moncalieri: Fröhlich and the rest of the companies) the Frölich regiment was reunited in Carmagnola. Apparently the arduous fortress war was not to the taste of the Swiss mercenaries: the captains complained about the high desertion rate. Many deserters, on the other hand, reported that the captains would make unjustified pay deductions or even withhold pay. As a result, they are forced to beg, bounce back or even run away - without any means. There were also court martial cases for indiscipline, disobedience, looting, desertion and even disputes resulting in death. At the end of the year, the concerned King Heinrich II contacted Frölich personally and in writing:
In the next year, after the Frölich regiment had been enlarged by two companies, the wrestling continued for permanent places. It ended in a military stalemate. At the end of 1553 Brissac released his troops. The Swiss returned home via Mont Cenis. |
| Name, duration of use |
(16 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Lorraine 1552 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1549, alliance between King Heinrich II of France and eleven Swiss Confederation towns (excluding the Protestant towns of Bern and Zurich). |
| Stock, formation |
8,000 men in 2 regiments. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Not specified. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
One regiment was raised from Basel by Nicolaus Irmi (banker, Basel councilor and governor of Farnsburg), the second by Urs Schwaller from Solothurn. |
| Use, events |
Heinrich conquered the Lorraine imperial cities of Metz, Toul and Verdun with the help of his Swiss troops.
When the king started to conquer Strasbourg, a delegation from the Diet (concerned about their granary) was able to dissuade him from conquering Alsace. He now turned to Luxembourg and took the towns of Ivry, Damvillers and Montmedy before dismissing his Swiss contingent again. |
| Name, duration of use |
(17 fra ) Franche-Comté Auxiliary Corps 1553 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1549, alliance between King Heinrich II of France and eleven Swiss Confederation towns (excluding the Protestant towns of Bern and Zurich). |
| Stock, formation |
10,000 men in 30 companies. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Not specified. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Not specified. |
| Use, events |
King Henry II used this auxiliary corps to secure the province of Franche-Comté from Charles V's imperial troops. He thereby gained freedom of movement for the rest of his troops in Picardy. |
| Name, duration of use |
(18 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Piedmont 1554–1556 |
| Year, contractual partner |
In 1554, the Diet of Henry II approved 6,000 men in accordance with the treaty of 1549 for the protection of the kingdom (the north-eastern border) and some free companies for use in Piedmont.
These free companies should only be used in accordance with the same state treaty (i.e. not to violate the non-aggression clause in the inheritance of the confederates with Habsburg and the county of Burgundy). The king had requested 6,000 to 9,000 men, 6,000 of them officially according to the State Treaty, in Lucerne and at the same time thanked the Frölich regiment for the two-year service from 1552–1553. The advertising was accompanied by clarifications in the daily statute about pay claims from the earlier Piedmont campaign (see comment there), which were to the detriment of the mercenaries who complained. In 1555, a year later, the assembly approved again and an additional contingent of 4,000 men for deployment in Piedmont. |
| Stock, formation |
4,000 men in 12 companies.
In 1555 another 4,000 men in 17 companies. |
| Origin squad, troop |
With the exception of Graubünden (which, like Bern and Zurich, no longer participated for religious reasons), the 9 companies from the earlier Piedmont campaign (2 Solothurn, 1 each Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Wallis and Fuchsberger) came together again and additionally 1 company each from Zug, Freiburg and Appenzell. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Wilhelm Frölich was again appointed as regimental commander.
In 1555 the additional regiment gathered in Susa under the Lucerne mayor Urs Hug as commander. He died shortly afterwards and the Uri Captain A Pro was his successor. |
| Use, events |
Marshal Brissac gathered his approximately 20,000-strong army in front of Valferna in June.
The Swiss contingent initially had quieter but not idle times. Captain Ritter reported to Lucerne:
Then the struggle for permanent places in Piedmont continued throughout the year and the following. The access to the great St. Bernhard (Santhia, Asti) was particularly competitive. In February 1556, the weary opponents of the war finally ended the conflict with the armistice of Vaucelles. The Swiss troops played a major role in the French success. They were mainly used for the protection and transport of the French artillery. As a result, she was able to reach difficult-to-move but optimal positioning spaces. This was a crucial advantage of the French troops in the siege war. Occasional assaults on imperial fortresses by “voluntary” Swiss led to discussions in the Diet and to irritations with the Habsburg Emperor Charles V. In this campaign, too, the desertion rates were again considerable. Was it also due to the fact that an increasing proportion of the «Swiss» spoke High German, Hungarian, Polish and other European idioms? The Swiss troops who had spent the winters in Santia and Alice were released in February 1556 after the armistice of Brissac and returned home, this time via the Gotthard. |
| Name, duration of use |
(19 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Picardy 1554 |
| Year, contractual partner |
Alliance treaty of 1549 and capitulation of King Henry II in 1553 with eleven federal locations. |
| Stock, formation |
16,600 men in 33 companies. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Not specified. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
General and Konnetabel Anne de Montmorency , together with Franz von Lothringen , Duke of Guise, and Gaspard II. De Coligny , led the French army, the Schwyzer Dietrich In der Halden, Pierre de Cléry from Freiburg and the Graubünden Hercules von Salis the Swiss involved Troops. |
| Use, events |
Charles V personally led the imperial troops to Lorraine and Picardy and besieged Metz in vain, which was successfully held by Duke Franz von Guise.
Charles V's imperial troops suffered a defeat in the Battle of Renty in 1554 and the Swiss suffered considerable losses on the French side. Shortly afterwards Charles V resigned and the Habsburg empire was divided between his brother Ferdinand I and the Spanish King Philip II . The power of the Habsburgs was divided, but the grip of France still not broken. |
| Name, duration of use |
(20 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Tuscany 1554 |
| Year, contractual partner |
After the Federal Diet rejected the French envoy's request, he turned to the Bundestag of the Three Leagues in Davos in 1554 and demanded the influx of 3,000 - 4,000 men to defend French Lombardy in accordance with the treaty of 1549.
Since it was already foreseeable that the troops were intended to relieve Siena, which was besieged by imperial troops, the Bundestag only approved the request for the recruitment of 3,000 men at the second attempt and on the condition that the agreement of 1549 was strictly adhered to. The envoy had to admit that the Graubünden troops would never be deployed south of the French possessions, that the officer positions would be occupied by Graubünden (evenly distributed over all three leagues), only Graubünden mercenaries and none from the federal locations. |
| Stock, formation |
An auxiliary corps of over 3,000 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
The local officers and non-commissioned officers led 3,000 people from Graubünden and - contrary to the express advertising ban - several hundred Swiss comrades south. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Anton von Salis zu Rietberg, called Runconius, was appointed as the commandant of the troops. |
| Use, events |
From Salis, his troops did not take the direct route through Milan, where 5,000 imperial troops would have blocked his way near Cremona, but rather through the Valtellina and Val Camonica to the Mirandola assembly point.
Contrary to their express orders to stand still in Mirandola, the troops advanced further south and united with the Franco-Sienese army under Piero Strozzi near Lucca. Doom took its course. In a fierce battle near Munistero at the gates of Siena, the French held their own, but with considerable losses among the Graubünden. Later, in the Strozzis camp near Arezzo, a dispute over a location of wine between Graubünden and Italian troops escalated into an actual battle that cost 80 Graubünden and their leader Anton von Salis their lives. The incriminating incident could only be ended by the energetic intervention of Strozzi personally and let the military morale sink to a low point. At Marciano della Chiana , Piero Strozzi suffered a devastating defeat against Jakob von Medici and the Bündner troops a total loss, including almost all of the leaders: Jakob von Sax, Martin Beli von Belfort, Martin von Capol , Ambroise du Mont, Bartholomäus von Stampa, Wolfgang Salet , Hans Guler von Weineck, Hans von Gugelberg-von Moos, Jakob von Schauenstein, Gaudenz and Fortunat von Planta, Hans Scheck, Matthias Ruotsch, Florian Sprecher von Bernegg, Ambrosius Liatas, Hans Muntsch, Adam Graf von Zernez were all killed. The indignation that arose in Graubünden and the party quarrels that broke out were enormous. Religious, political and social contradictions clashed with great violence. Only two officers from Graubünden survived the Marciano disaster, Jakob Schmid von Grüneck from Lugnez and a Milanese captain named Vespasianus Burellinus from Varese. The first one hid in Locarno for the time being and escaped the death sentence of a local court only thanks to influential friends. He was sentenced to a fine and loss of honor. He lost the right to bear arms and arms. The court could not get hold of the second. He evaded conviction. Even the French ambassador had to leave Graubünden, which was on the verge of civil war. Several times delegations from the thirteen federal locations had to intervene. Spain, England and Milan were also able to recruit mercenaries in Graubünden several times. Nevertheless, France succeeded again in 1565, using all means (especially financial), to renew the alliance of 1549 with Graubünden. Incidentally, in 1555, after a 15-month siege, Siena had to surrender to the imperial troops. Two thirds of the population did not survive the siege. |
| Name, duration of use |
(21 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Naples 1557 |
| Year, contractual partner |
In 1556, Henry II demanded 6,000 or 8,000 men on the basis of the alliance of 1549, which the eleven towns agreed to with conditions: express reservation of "inheritance" with the House of Habsburg-Burgundy, appointment of the colonels not by the King but by the captains and improved financial achievements.
The Vaucelles armistice did not last for the five years envisaged. King Henry II had concluded a secret offensive alliance with Pope Paul IV (a die-hard Neapolitan nobleman) in 1556 , who wanted to drive the Spanish Habsburgs out of Naples. Duke Hercules of Ferrara joined the venture against the prospect of financial war support and a papal honorary title. The war plan was to advance with the French army under Duke Franz von Guise, reinforced by the troops of Ferrara, from Piedmont along the Adriatic Sea to the south and capture Naples, while Marshal Brissac was to secure Piedmont for him with a troop. |
| Stock, formation |
10,000 men in 34 companies. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From the 11 federal locations, from Mulhouse and Graubünden. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Colonel Wilhelm Frölich from Solothurn added 21 companies (6,000 men) to Duke Franz von Guise's troops, with 21 French companies (5,000 men), 1,800 horsemen and 22 guns. Colonel Peter A Pro from Uri led Marshal Brissac to 13 companies via Mont Cenis to Susa, to the location of the pattern. |
| Use, events |
Guise's rapid advance came to a standstill at the heavily fortified Spanish-occupied city of Civitella.
This gave the Spanish general, Duke Alba, the opportunity to advance from the south and threaten the supply lines of Guise. This, and a counter-order from King Henry II to relocate the war to Lombardy, caused Guise to break off the undertaking to conquer Naples and retreat to Rome. When the news of the crushing defeat of Montmorency arrived at St. Quentin , King Henry II immediately ordered him back to France with his whole army to protect the country. He shipped north from Civitavechia. Frölich had to join the French cavalry under the Duke of Aumale , who moved to France by land via Graubünden and Switzerland. Frölich was released with his troops on the retreat in Ferrara, where he left 11 companies to the Duke Hercules. He returned home with 10 companies via Venetian territory and the Bündner passes. |
The Spanish-English success in St. Quentin in August 1557 ended with the capture of Konnetabel Montmorency and his most capable officer, Marshal St. Andre , and other French notables. When shortly afterwards, after the fall of the fortified city of the same name, its defender, Admiral Coligny , was taken prisoner, the route to Paris would actually have been open for the army leader of the troops of the Spanish King Philip II, Duke Emanuel Philibert of Savoy . However, he hesitated and even had to disband his army in November due to lack of money.
King Heinrich II hastily gathered an army by calling up his feudal aristocracy and sending out his recruits for mercenaries. Relieved by the arrival of the Duke of Guise's army group in October, he immediately gave him command of the French armed forces in place of the captured Montmorency.
| Name, duration of use |
(22 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Calais 1557–1558 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1557 after the capitulation of 1553. |
| Stock, formation |
14,000 men, the Frölich and A Pro regiments reinforced by the Tschudi regiments from Glarus and Schauenstein from Graubünden. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Not specified. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Wilhelm Frölich and Philipp von Hohensax under the command of the Duke of Guise. |
| Use, events |
In the spring of 1558 Guise succeeded in snatching Calais from the English with the help of the Swiss troops.
The royal arrears and the emptiness of the coffers were enormous. A Pro alone had a debt of 250,000 livres and the cities of Solothurn and Freiburg also had considerable loans outstanding. A Per z. B. was appeased by a title of nobility. |
In the spring of 1558, Guise succeeded in snatching the last bastion on French soil, Calais , from the English and, after a stubborn siege, even took the German imperial fortress Thionville. He then felt compelled to assemble all his military forces in Champagne, since King Philip II was now approaching personally from the Netherlands with a Spanish army. Again, Swiss troops were in demand.
| Name, duration of use |
(23 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Picardy 1558 |
| Year, contractual partner |
In 1558, the five towns of Lucerne, Zug, Freiburg, Solothurn and Appenzell approved King Heinrich II's request for 6,000 men for Picardy, despite discussions about the previous inadequate compliance with the alliance agreements and the outstanding payments. The other six locations joined later. |
| Stock, formation |
6,000 men in 21 companies. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Mainly from the Catholic cantons. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Colonel Wilhelm Frölich gathered the troops as commandant in Chalons-sur-Saone. |
| Use, events |
The captains of the Lucerne and Zug ensigns were arrested by Bernese officials while marching through the Pays de Gex near Geneva and brought to Bern. They were only released again when the examination in Chalons-sur-Saone confirmed that there were no Bernese among the recruits. After this incident, the Frölich regiment set out for Reims and was finally ready at Reims.
The French and Spanish armies then faced each other indecisively for a long time, finally began peace negotiations and concluded an armistice in the Abbey of Cercamy in October, which was to be followed by the peace of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559 after lengthy negotiations . For the Frölich regiment, the mission ended with the retirement in Chatillon, without the troops having come into serious contact with the enemy, but with some background noise when the king settled the arrears. |
|
|
The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559 represented a turning point and restored dominance in Europe for Philip II and Spain for decades: Henry II definitely came into possession of Calais and received the three bishoprics after receiving financial compensation from England Metz , Toul and Verdun finally awarded. But he had to return Thionville and other places in the north to Spain, leave Italy completely to Philip II and withdraw from Savoy with its Alpine passes. Duke Emanuel Philibert regained control of his Duchy of Savoy.
The peace treaty was secured by mutual wedding agreements and celebrated accordingly. However, the celebrations ended tragically: King Heinrich II took part personally as a competitor in the knight tournament. During the jousting , a splinter of a lance pierced his helmet visor, entered his brain through one eye and caused an injury from which he died in agony a few days later. The clutches of France by Habsburg territories had still not broken and the Valois were soon to be challenged domestically by the Huguenot Wars !
Royal instrument of power in the Huguenot Wars 1562–1598
Among the successors of Henry II - one after the other his sons Franz II (died early), Karl IX. and Heinrich III. - religious questions threatened to divide France.
Francis II ruled only briefly and died early. His brother Charles IX. was still a minor and his mother Katharina von Medici prevailed as regent in his place against the competition of the Duke of Guise . This revenge himself in the bloodbath of Wassy on the French Protestants and thus triggered the Huguenot Wars 1562-1598.
The king got caught between the front lines and was in distress several times. Time and again, Swiss troops became important pillars of the Valois royal family in crucial situations. When Louis de Condé , the leader of the Huguenots, approached the Diet for help in vain, breaking the "Eternal Peace" was out of the question even for the Protestant cantons. In the Diet, the Catholic estates were in the majority, and there were enough influential French partisans in Zurich and Bern. When Calvinist Geneva wanted to intervene in favor of the oppressed co-religionists, it was even prevented from doing so. A Protestant volunteer corps took the initiative against the resistance of the federal authorities.
| Name, duration of use |
(24 fra ) Freikorps Condé 1562 | |
| Year, contractual partner |
1562, an initiative of Protestant families mainly from Bern and Neuchâtel against the will of the federal authorities. | |
| Stock, formation |
6,500 men in 15 companies. | |
| Origin squad, troop |
8 companies were raised in Bern, 3 in Neuchâtel and 4 in the Protestant Valais, supplemented by 100 horsemen from Geneva and largely financed by the Geneva theologian Johannes Calvin . | |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Niklaus von Diesbach took over command, with the captains Christoph, Jost, Gabriel and Bendicht von Diesbach, Anton Tillier and Burkard Nägeli, all from Bern, Ambühl and von Weiss from the Valais, as well as de Goumoëns, d'Arnay and Praroman from the Vaud . | |
| Use, events |
The Freikorps was already approaching Macon when King Charles IX. intervened with the confederates.
Bern immediately sent delegates to von Diesbach urging them to break off the operation. Niklaus von Graffenried and Hieronymus Manuel initially had no success with their mission. It was only Ludwig von Mülinen, governor in Gex, that at least the eight Bern companies returned home. The Neuchâtel stayed with Condé and the Valais joined the battle of Baron von Adrets in the Dauphiné. |
|
Furthermore, Swiss troops were occasionally deployed for the French kings, although the majority were increasingly only from the Catholic cantons. In the rift between the numerous French aristocratic groups, King Francis II came more and more under the control of the Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny , who wanted to use the anti-Spanish reflex to unify France after the start of the Dutch struggle for freedom .
Katharina's attempt at reconciliation, the marriage of her daughter Margarete to the young Huguenot leader Heinrich von Navarra , ended in the massacre on St. Bartholomew's Night , the consequences of which almost wiped out the Huguenots .
As heir to the throne after the death of Charles IX. In 1574 Heinrich von Navarra finally prevailed and Heinrich III, who was disempowered. was even expelled from Paris by the mob. When he wanted to return there - not least with the help of his Swiss troops - he was murdered by a fanatical Dominican monk near St. Cloud in 1589. It was the final end of the Valois royal family. Henry of Navarre, the first Bourbon monarch , was now crowned King of France in 1589.
| Name, duration of use |
(25 fra ) Dreux auxiliary corps 1562 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1562, requested by the regent and queen mother Catherine de Medici in place of her underage son Charles IX. . |
| Stock, formation |
Auxiliary corps of 6,900 men in 22 companies. |
| Origin squad, troop |
15 companies (3 each from Solothurn and Lucerne, 1 each from Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden and Zug, 5 more from Freiburg, Appenzell and St. Gallen), reinforced by 8 companies from Lucerne. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Wilhelm Frölich collected the larger contingent in St. Jean-de-Losnes, Ludwig Pfyffer von Altishofen joined with his contingent in Blois. |
| Use, events |
While marching through Neuchâtel, Frölich was only able to prevent his troops from clashing with the locals, who were indignant about the action against their co-religionists and who broke out in savage abuse. He then marched via St. Jean-de-Losnes, Dijon, Troyes, and Corbeil to Blois, the king's abode, where Pfyffer's companies joined him. The siege of Bourges and the conquest of Rouen followed. When English support troops landed in France for the Huguenots, the withdrawal to Paris was ordered. When Frölich died unexpectedly there, command passed to Gebhard Tammann from Lucerne. 
In the Battle of Dreux in 1562, the Huguenot side under Prince Condé and Admiral Coligny already had the upper hand when Tammann managed to turn the tide in favor of the Catholic side. However, the losses for the Catholic leadership triumvirate were great: Konnetabel Montmorency was captured at the beginning of the battle, Marshal Saint-André fell and only the Duke of Guise survived the slaughter, but died a year later. Tammann, many of his officers and 1,000 men also died. List of fallen officers:
List of wounded officers:
In place of the fallen Tammann, the surviving captains elected Ludwig Pfyffer as the new commandant. The greatly reduced auxiliary corps was then strengthened during the siege of Orleans by the influx of 2,000 recruits under the Lucerne captains Hans Kaspar von Sonnenberg and Sebastian Ify. After the siege of Le Havre in 1563, Pfyffer led the auxiliary corps back to Switzerland. Charles IX expressly thanked the Diet. After five years, however, Dreux's battle wages were still outstanding. |
In 1564, the alliance with the Confederates of 1549 was established by Charles IX. renewed and solemnly invoked the following year in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. However, after four years of non-war religious warfare flared up again in 1567. Condé and Coligny advanced with the Huguenot troops on Lagny with the intention of King Charles IX. to capture. He fled to Meaux and Katharina von Medici again called Pfyffer for help.
| Name, duration of use |
(26 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Meaux 1567–1570 | |
| Year, contractual partner |
Requested in 1567 by the Queen Mother Catherine de Medici. | |
| Stock, formation |
6,000 men in 20 companies of 300 men, 10 out of 100 were equipped with armor or rifles, the rest with spears.
A squadron of 200 horses joined them. |
|
| Origin squad, troop |
The cadres consisted mainly of surviving officers from the Battle of Dreux:
Arnold von Segesser, Jost Bircher, Dietrich In der Halden, von Reding, Anton von Zurlauben, Nicolas de Praroman, Urs Zurmatten, as well as from the Gray Bund the captains Criser, von Salis and Freiherr von Travers. The cavalrymen were young noblemen from Graubünden, Wallis, Unterwalden and Bern. |
|
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Johann Ludwig Pfyffer von Altishofen led the troops to Chateau-Thierry. |
|
| Use, events |
When the royal court was in distress due to the advance of the Huguenots in Meaux, Pfyffer made the 45 km from Chateau-Thierry to Meaux with the Swiss troops in one night. He then directed King Charles IX. and his entourage inside his square through the Huguenot lines. He successfully fended off the cavalry attacks of Condé, Coligny, d'Andelot and La Rochefoucauld and thus prevented the Huguenots' plan to take the king prisoner.
After 72 hours of continuous operation, the auxiliary corps arrived safely in Paris with the king. The prestige of Pfyffer, the “Swiss King”, and his Swiss troops were at their peak. But Condé did not give up his plan and tried to starve the king in Paris. This had to evacuate St. Denis and Le Bourget. Huguenot uprisings also began in the provinces. When supplies in Paris were slowly running out, Rudolf von Mettenwyl from Lucerne brought Pfyffer another 4,000 men, which caused the Montmorency connetable to break out on the road to Saint-Denis. In this battle near Saint-Denis he was wounded and died two days later. However, the undecided outcome of the trial of strength moved the Huguenot side to break off the siege and to retreat. This was followed by further cross and cross marches without decisive military conflicts and Pfyffer, faced with a high desertion rate, requested a further 2,000 recruits from the Confederation. The Peace of Lonjumeau in 1568 put an end to the campaign, but not to the deployment of the Pfyffer Auxiliary Corps. In Count Nassau's army group, Pfyffer managed to capture 200 Huguenots in the battle of Moncontour in 1569, who were then used as satellites in his companies. After the siege of Saint Jean d'Angely in 1570, Pfyffer's auxiliary corps (together with de Clery's auxiliary corps, listed below) were released back home. After ten years the pay from the action in the Meaux was still outstanding. |
|
The Lonjumeau peace was short-lived and only turned out to be a temporary truce. King Charles IX revoked the edict and the fighting continued.
| Name, duration of use |
(27 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Moncontour 1569–1570 | |
| Year, contractual partner |
1569, requested by Charles IX. | |
| Stock, formation |
4,000 men. | |
| Origin squad, troop |
Not specified. | |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The troop was under the command of Pierre de Clery from Freiburg. |
|
| Use, events |
Together with Pfyffer's 22 companies, de Clery's troops were responsible for protecting the royal artillery in the equestrian battles of Jazeneuil and Jarnac. Condé met his death in Jarnac. The leadership of the Huguenots was now with Coligny. Reduced from illness and deprivation to 2,000 men, the auxiliary corps went to the battle of Moncontour and, like the auxiliary corps von Pfyffer, stood in the center of one of the two Catholic armies. Clery himself fell in battle, but so thoroughly destroyed the German mercenaries from Coligny that they fell away from Coligny. This was a crucial action. In addition to a heavy defeat, the Huguenot side also suffered considerable losses. In 1570 the troops (together with the Pfyffer's auxiliary corps) were dismissed. |
|
| Name, duration of use |
(28 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Arnay-le-Duc 1570 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1570, requested by Charles IX. |
| Stock, formation |
2 times 4,000 men each in 2 regiments. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From the Waldstätten, Freiburg and Solothurn. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The Swiss regiment was commanded by Christoph Schorno, Landammann from Schwyz, and the urban regiment by Hans von Lanthen-Heid, the mayor of Freiburg. |
| Use, events |
In the battle of Arnay-le-Duc, the two regiments lost 2,000 men, mainly due to illness and exhaustion.
In 1570 the troops were released after the Peace of St. Germain . |
By the time of the Peace of Saint-Germain, the Valois had reached enormous amounts in arrears with the Confederates. The troops of the fallen Pierre de Clery alone had outstanding claims of 800,000 thalers. The cautious Diet only made ⅓ of it. Berne and Zurich had outstanding loans of CZK 120,000, Basel 60,000 and Friborg 20,000 CZK from the cantons.
Karl succeeded in appeasing them by two measures: 1. He kept a few companies from each regiment for his personal protection. Apparently these employment relationships were very popular among the company owners, although the financial compensation was still missing. 2. In 1571 he converted the previously temporary function of "Colonel général des Suisses et Grisons" , a representative function as a liaison to the royal court without military command, into a permanent office. The first permanent incumbent was Charles de Montmorency-Méru, the son of the fallen Konnetabel Anne de Montmorency.
On August 24, 1572, the slaughter broke out on Bartholomew's Night , in which Admiral Coligny was slain. Murder and manslaughter ruled the provinces for two months. The leaderless Huguenots barely escaped complete annihilation.
The horror of the Protestants in Switzerland was great. The Catholic estates, however, saw no reason to breach their contract and granted the king new troops.
The “Hundertschweizer” of the king under Wilhelm Tugginer apparently did not take part in the slaughter, but in the looting. Some Swiss mercenaries returned home rich. Only La Rochelle, the last bastion of the Huguenots, withstood the besiegers, including two Swiss regiments.
| Name, duration of use |
(29 fra ) Auxiliary Corps La Rochelle 1572–1573 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1572, requested by Charles IX. |
| Stock, formation |
2 times 4,000 men each in 2 regiments. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From central Switzerland, Freiburg and Solothurn. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The inner Swiss regiment was commanded by Hans Kraft, city clerk of Lucerne, and the city regiment by Hans von Lanthen-Heid, the mayor of Freiburg. |
| Use, events |
The siege of La Rochelle was broken off after the "pacification of Boulogne" in 1573, which again gave the Huguenots some limited rights.
The two Swiss troops returned home in 1573. |
King Charles IX died in 1574. only 24 years old and left a deeply divided France with three aristocratic parties fighting each other:
1. The Huguenots with the new leader King Henry of Navarre ,
2. the Catholics under Duke Heinrich von Guise and
3. the controversial successor, King Heinrich III. .
The Diet regarded the parties of the Huguenots and the Guise as insurgents and therefore approved Henry III. Swiss troops continued to be the legitimate king.
| Name, duration of use |
(30 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Dauphiné 1574–1575 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1574, requested by King Henry III. |
| Stock, formation |
2 times 4,000 men each in 2 regiments. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From central Switzerland, Freiburg and Solothurn. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The Swiss regiment was commanded by Dietrich In der Halden, Landammann von Schwyz, and the municipal regiment by Urs Zurmatten, Altrat von Solothurn. |
| Use, events |
The auxiliary corps fought in the Dauphiné and Provence against the Huguenots, led by Charles du Puy-Montbrun and François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières. In the Battle of Die on the Drôme, the 72-year-old In der Halden suffered heavy losses and lost his life. His son and that of the mayor of Lucerne, Alexander Pfyffer, fell, along with most of the officers and over 1,000 men.
List of fallen officers in The:
The regiment In der Haldens passed to Sebastian Tanner from Uri, who had previously been in papal service. After the return of the auxiliary corps in 1575, Urs Zurmatten was made responsible for the losses in Die and removed from all offices, but later rehabilitated. |
Triggered by the events of St. Bartholomew's Night and the flight of many Huguenots to Switzerland, waves of indignation rose above the fate of the fellow believers, especially in Protestant Bern, whose supporters continued to seek support.
Around 20,000 Protestants were preparing to answer the call of Count Palatine Johann Kasimir for his campaign in the Trois-Évêchés . Bernese officers returning from imperial service against the Ottomans began (largely at their own expense) to raise companies:
Albert von Mülinen, Ludwig and Peter von Erlach, Beat von Bonstetten, Bendicht Nägeli, Walter von Diesbach, Anton May, Paul von Luternau, Bernhard Tillmann and Rudolf von Graffenried, for example. When the Bern authorities closed the city gates to prevent the project, the migrants are said to have swum across the Aare to gather in Mühlhausen. At the same time, the Duke of Guise's Holy League , strengthened by Spanish funds, did not remain idle and was heard in the Catholic cantons. They granted her a Swiss troop. The Edict of Etigny put an end to the conflict before the Confederates clashed in enemy camps.
| Name, duration of use |
(31 fra ) Freikorps Trois-Évêchés 1575–1576 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1574, initiative of Protestant families, especially from Bern, against the will of the Diet and their own authorities. |
| Stock, formation |
6,944 men in 2 regiments. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Mainly from Bern, but also companies from other Protestant areas:
|
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Under the supreme command of Count Palatine Johann Kasimir, the command of the regiments lay with Ludwig and Gabriel von Erlach from Bern. |
| Use, events |
The campaign, together with the German mercenaries, through the war-torn landscape was a failure. General morale hit rock bottom.
Fights broke out over the little things and it was looted and pillaged. Diesbach's troops are said to have actually staged a carnage in Saint-Veri-des-Bris near Nevers and set the city on fire. Bellikon War lost 1,616 men. After the troops returned, the Zurich authorities had the captains Schweitzer, Scheuchzer and Asper beheaded. Almost 100 men of de Cugy's troops, half-naked and barefoot, escaped the terrible events. The campaign of this volunteer corps, ended by the Edict of Etigny (near Sens) in 1576, left behind only hatred, decay and despair. |
| Name, duration of use |
(32 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Guise 1576 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1576, advertising request from the Holy League of the Duke of Guise with Spanish financial support, sponsored by Ludwig Pfyffer. For years he had unsuccessfully demanded the outstanding wages from the king. |
| Stock, formation |
6,000 men in 1 regiment with 20 companies of 300 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From the Catholic cantons. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The regiment was under the command of Ludwig Pfyffer from Lucerne. |
| Use, events |
Fortunately, the troops were dismissed after the Edict of Etigny in 1576, before the fateful encounter with the Protestant Freikorps of Erlachs. |
| Name, duration of use |
(33 fra ) Gallati Auxiliary Corps 1580 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1580, Catholic cantons with King Heinrich III. |
| Stock, formation |
2,000 men in 5 companies. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From the Catholic cantons. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The regiment was under the command of Kaspar Gallati from Glarus. |
| Use, events |
Not specified. |
The division of faith itself, the work of the papal nuncio and, above all, the advertising of the financially strong Spanish Habsburgs brought the Swiss Confederation to the brink of a crucial test. Spain offered to settle the Valois' debts and to double the pensions in case the Confederates gave up the privilege of the French royal family. Henry III. for his part was literally insolvent with empty coffers. Nevertheless he succeeded in renewing the alliance with the Confederates in 1582: Colonel Pfyffer, the “Swiss King”, promised him 50,000 men if the king were in need.
In return, Heinrich promised that 20,000 noblemen would move in if the Confederates needed help. He gave each member of the federal negotiating delegation a gold chain, a medallion with the image of the king, apologized for his insolvency, promptly demanded the arrival of Swiss troops and got it!
| Name, duration of use |
(34 fra ) Brabant Auxiliary Corps 1582 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1582, Catholic cantons with King Heinrich III. |
| Stock, formation |
3,300 men in 11 companies. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From the Catholic cantons. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The regiment was under the command of Hans von Lanthen-Heid, Schultheiss in Freiburg. |
| Use, events |
The troops fought for the Duke of Anjou in Brabant, the king's youngest brother, against Spain. |
| Name, duration of use |
(35 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Holy League 1585 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1585, Catholic cantons and Bern with King Heinrich III. |
| Stock, formation |
6,000 men in 2 regiments of 10 companies each with 300 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From the Catholic cantons (excluding Uri and Lucerne) and Bern. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The two regiments were under the command of Hans von Lanthen-Heid, Schultheiss in Freiburg, and Rudolf von Reding, Landammann in Schwyz. |
| Use, events |
The troop was intended for use against the Holy League of Guises.
However, when Henry II joined this Holy League with the Treaty of Nemours, Bern recalled his troops. |
| Name, duration of use |
(36 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Provence 1586 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1586, Catholic cantons King Heinrich III. |
| Stock, formation |
1,200 men in 4 companies with 300 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From the Catholic cantons. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Under the command of the Duke of Epernon , the auxiliary corps was commanded by Kaspar Gallati from Glarus. |
| Use, events |
The troops were deployed against the Huguenots in Provence and in the Dauphiné. |
| Name, duration of use |
(37 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Bodyguard 1587–1588 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1587, Catholic cantons and King Heinrich III. |
| Stock, formation |
4,000 men in 10 companies with 400 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From the Catholic cantons. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Under the command of Kaspar Gallati from Glarus. |
| Use, events |
The troops served as the king's bodyguard.
Under the influence of the Holy League of the Duke of Guise, during the uprising of May 12, 1588 (the so-called "Barricade Day"), the Parisians attacked the separately deployed Swiss troops, inflicting losses of around 60 men and partially disarming them. The weak king managed to flee from Paris to Blois with most of his Swiss bodyguards. In the same year, the auxiliary corps was abdicated. |
|
Name, duration of use | (38 fra ) Free Corps Navarre 1587 |
|
| Year, contractual partner |
1587, tolerated by the Bernese authorities. |
| Stock, formation |
4,000 men in 10 companies with 400 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
Priam Willermin, Herr zu Monnaz, Guillaume Willermin, his brother, Herr von Montricher, Francois Martines, Herr von Cugy, all from Vaud and Johann Simonin from Montbelliard. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Commanded by François de Lottes, Baron of Aubonne. |
| Use, events |
The troop was intended as a move for the Huguenots under King Henry of Navarre.
Carelessly led by the inexperienced commander and without discipline, it was destroyed as it approached Montélimar. |
| Name, duration of use |
(39 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Navarre 1587 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1587, Protestant cantons of Zurich, Bern, Basel, Glarus and Schaffhausen and King Heinrich of Navarra. |
| Stock, formation |
13,000 men in 3 regiments. |
| Origin squad, troop |
3,600 men from Zurich, 7,500 from Bern and 2,100 from Basel, Glarus and Schaffhausen. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Commanders were War von Bellikon for Zurich, Bernhard Tillmann for Bern and Johann Friedrich (or Emmanuel?) Rhyner for Basel. |
| Use, events |
The auxiliary corps was already reduced to 5,000 men in the battle of Vimory on the march, failed to reach the Protestant army and was forced to surrender on the Loire against the promise of free withdrawal. |
| Name, duration of use |
(40 fra ) Auneau Auxiliary Corps 1587 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1587, Catholic cantons and King Heinrich III. |
| Stock, formation |
4,000 men in 10 companies with 400 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From the Catholic cantons. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The commanding officer was Jost Krepsinger, city venerator from Lucerne. |
| Use, events |
Fought as part of the royal army in the Battle of Auneau victoriously under the Duke of Guise against a Protestant mercenary army .
After Marsigny-les-Nonnains surrendered two months later, the troops were dismissed for lack of money. |
| Name, duration of use |
(41 fra ) Burgundy Auxiliary Corps 1587–1588 |
| Year, contractual partner |
1587, Catholic cantons and King Heinrich III. |
| Stock, formation |
2,100 men in 7 companies with 300 men. |
| Origin squad, troop |
From Freiburg and Solothurn. |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
The commandant was Wilhelm Tugginer from Solothurn. |
| Use, events |
The auxiliary corps was deployed under the Duke of Guise in Burgundy and Champagne and released in January 1588.
At the same time, Colonel Wilhelm Tugginer resigned from the French service. |
The uprising of the Parisian population on the so-called "Barricade Day", May 12, 1588, forced King Henry III. to escape from Paris. With the help of Colonel Gallati and his troops, he managed to escape to Blois. Part of the Swiss troops suffered losses and were disarmed in the process. A few days later the Duke of Guise was killed by the king's guards at Blois. He is said to have been unarmed. The Duke of Mayenne moved up to the head of the Holy League .
The kingdom of the Valois slowly disintegrated and slipped on the weak Henry III. out of the hands. Large parts were occupied by Spaniards, British or Germans and the French nobility were in turmoil. He slowly began to realize that, without a male successor from the family, he had to come to an agreement with his legal successor, Heinrich von Navarra , if he was to be up to the Catholic aristocratic opposition.
| Name, duration of use |
(42 fra ) Auxiliary Corps Saluzzo 1589 | |
| Year, contractual partner |
1589, cantons of Zurich, Bern, Basel, Solothurn, Glarus, Schaffhausen and Graubünden with the French ambassador Nicolas de Harlay de Sancy on behalf of King Heinrich III.
Although the Swiss troops in France had not received any pay for four years, Sancy was able to negotiate a loan of 100,000 ecu in Bern and also obtained his advance payment for a contingent of 3,000 men. |
|
| Stock, formation |
12,600 men in 4 regiments of 3,000 men with 10 companies of 300 men plus 2 detached companies of 300 men. | |
| Origin squad, troop |
3,000 men each from Bern, Glarus, Solothurn, Basel and Schaffhausen and Graubünden. | |
| Owner, commander, namesake |
Commanders were:
|
|
| Use, events |
The campaign of the auxiliary corps against Savoy in Saluzzo developed successfully.
But after two months Sancy decided, with 10,000 men of the auxiliary corps, to his King Henry III. to rush to help. He left the Erlach regiment to occupy the conquered places in Savoy and prepared to bring Paris, which was controlled by the Catholic opposition, back to the crown with the majority of the Swiss troops. The troops quickly advanced into the suburbs of Paris. King Heinrich III fell. on August 2, 1589 in St. Cloud was assassinated by the fanatical Dominican monk Jacques Clément, who was killed on the spot by the guards. It was the final end of the Valois royal family. |
|
After the murder of Heinrich III. In St. Cloud in 1589, Henry of Navarre, who now called himself Henry IV , finally prevailed as his successor and French king. He was the first bourbon on the French throne. The House of Bourbon also relied on Swiss troops in its service . But the Huguenot Wars were not to come to rest for another decade.
Remarks
- ↑ The Hundertschweizer became a prime example, later the Vatican and his legates, the Maritime Republic of Genoa , the Dukes of Savoy, the city republic of Lucca, the governor of the Republic of the United Netherlands William III, the Dukes of Lorraine and the Electors of Brandenburg-Prussia with their own Swiss guards followed.
literature
- Beat Fidel Zurlauben : Histoire militaire des Suisses au service de la France. 8 tomes, chez Desaint & Saillant, Jean-Thomas Herissant & Vincent, Paris 1751–1753, OCLC 718299696 .
- Beat Emmanuel May (by Romainmotier): Histoire Militaire de la Suisse et celle des Suisses dans les differents services de l'Europe , Tome VII. JP Heubach, Lausanne 1788, OCLC 832583553 .
- Karl Müller von Friedberg : Chronological representation of the federal surrender of troops to foreign powers. Huber, St. Gallen 1793, OCLC 716940663 .
- Heinrich Türler, Viktor Attinger, Marcel Godet: Historical-Biographical Lexicon of Switzerland , fourth volume. Neuchâtel 1927.
- Moritz von Wattenwil: The Swiss in foreign military service. Separate print from the Berner Tagblatt . Bern 1930, OCLC 72379925 .
- Paul de Vallière, Henry Guisan , Ulrich Wille : Loyalty and honor, history of the Swiss in foreign service. (Translated by Walter Sandoz). Les editions d'art ancien, Lausanne 1940, OCLC 610616869 .
- Gérard Miège: Le sang des Suisses du Roy: histoire des relations militaires entre la Confederation helvétique et le royaume de France, 1444–1789. Edition G. Miège, Versoix 2012, OCLC 851625872 .
See also
- Swiss troops in foreign service
- Swiss troops in French service for the Bourbon royal house 1589–1792
- Swiss troops in French service for Napoleon Bonaparte 1798–1815
- Swiss troops in French service for the Bourbon royal house 1814–1830
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Anna Maria Cetto: The document of eternal friendship between Charles VII and the Confederation (1453). Berner Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Heimatkunde, Volume 11, 1949.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Paul de Vallière, Henry Guisan, Ulrich Wille: Treue und Ehre, history of the Swiss in strangers Services. (Translated by Walter Sandoz). Les editions d'art ancien, Lausanne 1940.
- ↑ a b Wolfgang Friedrich von Mülinen : History of the Swiss mercenaries up to the establishment of the first standing guard (1497) , dissertation to obtain a doctorate, University of Bern, Verlag von Huber & Comp, Bern, 1887.
- ^ Barbara Braun-Bucher: Diesbach, Wilhelm von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Hans Braun: Zurkinden, Niklaus. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Beat Hodler: Steger, Urs. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Wolfgang Friedrich von Mülinen: History of the Swiss mercenaries up to the establishment of the first standing guard (1497) , dissertation to obtain a doctorate, University of Bern, Verlag von Huber & Comp, Bern, 1887.
- ^ A b c d e f g h i j Heinrich Türler, Viktor Attinger, Marcel Godet: Historisch-Biographisches Lexikon der Schweiz. Fourth volume. Neuchâtel 1927.
- ^ Annamaria Valenti and Marino Viganò: Trivulzio, Gian Giacomo. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Wilhelm Havemann: History of the struggles of France in Italy under Charles VIII. Hahnsche Hofbuchhandlung, Hanover 1833.
- ^ Albert Maag: History of the Swiss troops in French service. Published by Ernst Kuhn, Biel 1891.
- ↑ Erich Meyer: Frölich, Wilhelm. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Erich Meyer: Greder, Jost (von Wartenfels). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ A b Max Banholzer: Tugginer, Wilhelm. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .,
- ↑ Erich Meyer: Cressier, Balthasar de [Balthasar von Grissach]. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Veronika Feller-Vest: Gallati, Kaspar. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Achilles Weishaupt: Zellweger, Hans. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Rudolf Thommen: Contract of March 16, 1499. Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde, Volume 15, 1916.
- ^ Andre Gutmann: Swabian War. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Thomas Gmür: Göldli, Kaspar. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Martin Lassner: Stapfer, Jakob. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Hans Braun: Graffenried, Niklaus von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Barbara Braun-Bucher: Erlach, Burkhard von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Hans Stadler: Ennetbirgische Feldzüge. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Norbert Furrer, Lucienne Hubler, Marianne Stubenvoll, Danièle Tosato-Rigo: Gente ferocissima. Chronos Verlag, Zurich 1997.
- ↑ Niklaus von Flüh: Rotz, Oswald von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Hans Braun: Stein, Albrecht vom. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Anna-Maria Deplazes-Häfliger: Sax (Hohensax), Ulrich von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Samuel Schüpach-Guggenbühl: Meltinger, Henry. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Silvio Färber: Salis, Dietegen (Soglio). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Erich Meyer: Frölich, Wilhelm. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Anna-Maria Deplazes-Häfliger: Sax, von (de Sacco). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Ursula Birchler: Greyerz, Michael von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Hofmeister / Court Marshal of the King
- ↑ Erich Meyer: Sury, Urs. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Hans Wieland, editor: The Swiss troops in foreign service , Allgemeine Schweizerische Militär-Zeitung. Organ of the Swiss Army, Issue 14, Basel 1855.
- ↑ Franz Auf der Maur: In the Halden, Dietrich. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Hans Braun: Luternau, Augustin von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ A b c d e f g Eduard Leupold: Contributions to the history of the mercenary colonel Wilhelm Frölich of Solothurn. Yearbook for Solothurn History, Volume 4, 1931.
- ^ Gregor Egloff: Ritter, Lux. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz .
- ↑ Winfried Hecht: Fuchsberger, Jakob. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Erich Meyer: Schwaller, Urs. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Franz Auf der Maur: In the Halden, Dietrich. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Pierre de Castella: Cléry, Pierre de. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Silvio Färber: from Salis, Hercules. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Conradin Jecklin: The Bündner in the battle of Siena (August 2, 1554) , Bündnerisches monthly newspaper, magazine for Bündner Geschichte, Landes- und Volkskunde, pages 3 and 4, Chur 1929.
- ↑ Anna-Maria Deplazes-Häfliger: Sax, von (de Sacco). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Louis Vuillemin: History of the Confederates during the 16th and 17th Century , Volume 2, in Orell, Füssli and Comp., Zurich 1844.
- ^ Hans Braun: Graffenried, Niklaus von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Ulrich Moser: Manuel, Hieronymus. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Christian Müller: Mülinen, Beat Ludwig von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Mark Lischer: Pfyffer, Ludwig (Altishofen). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Gregor Egloff: Tammann, Gebhard. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Peter Quadri: Mettenwyl von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Pierre de Castella: Clery, Pierre de. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Stefan Jäggi: A day in the life of a Lucerne mercenary , In: Der Geschichtsfreund 152 (1999). StALU AKT 113/845 file from the Lucerne State Archives .
- ^ Franz Auf der Maur: Schorno, Christoph. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Alain-Jacques Tornare Czouz-: Lanthen-Heid, Jean de. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Max Banholzer: Tugginer, Wilhelm. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Gregor Egloff: Kraft, Hans. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Franz Auf der Maur: In the Halden, Dietrich. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Erich Meyer: Zurmatten, Urs. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Kälin, Urs: Tanner, Sebastian. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Colonel Wieland: History of the war events in Helvetia and Rhaetia as a manual for military instruction for Swiss officers of all weapons, first part. In the Schweighauser'schen Buchhandlung, Basel 1827.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Karl Müller von Friedberg: Chronological representation of the federal surrender of troops to foreign powers. Huber, St. Gallen 1793.
- ↑ Veronika Keller-Vest: Gallati, Kaspar. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Alain-Jacques Tornare Czouz-: Lanthen-Heid, Jean de. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Franz Auf der Maur: Reding, Rudolf von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Guy Le Comte: Willermin, Guillaume. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ a b Abbé François Girard: Histoire Abrégée Des Officiers Suisses Qui Se Sont Distingués Aux Service Étranges Dans Des Grades Supérieurs , Tome II., Louis Piller Imprimeur, Friborg en Suisse 1781.
- ↑ Gregor Egloff: Krepsinger, Jost. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Barbara Braun-Bucher: Erlach, Ludwig von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Veronika Keller-Vest: Wanker, Ludwig. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Peter Conradin von Planta: Schauenstein (von). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Silvio Färber: Hartmannis, Hartmann von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Sandra Lena: Ostervald, Louis. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Andrea Weibel: Hurter. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Urs Amacher: Zurlauben, Beat Fidel. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . March 4, 2014 , accessed January 10, 2019 .
- ↑ Karin Marti-Weissenbach: May, Beat Emmanuel (from Romainmotier). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Olivier Meuwly: Valliere, Paul de. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .