Swiss regiments in the Russian campaign in 1812
The Swiss regiments in the Russian campaign in 1812 belonged to the 9th Infantry Division in the 2nd Corps under Marshal Charles Nicolas Oudinot . The corps took part in the Russian campaign in 1812 , with the Swiss also suffering enormous losses. The commanding officer of the 9th Infantry Division was the French General Augustin-Daniel Belliard , later General Pierre Hugues Victoire Merle . The 1st Swiss regiment was commanded by Colonel André Raguettly from Flims , the 2nd by Colonel Castella, the 3rd by Colonel May and the 4th by Colonel Karl von Affry. The same division also included the 3rd Croatian Provisional Regiment and the 123rd French Line Infantry Regiment, which consisted mainly of Dutch. Neuchâtel provided a battalion and two batteries of artillery . These soldiers were attached to Napoleon's headquarters . In contrast to the four Swiss regiments who secured Napoleon's northern flank with the 2nd and 10th Corps, the Neuchâtel marched with the main army. A Valais battalion was established in 1805. The Valais was annexed by France in 1810 and incorporated as the Simplon department . The battalion was disbanded on September 16, 1811 and incorporated into the 11th French light infantry regiment based in Wesel Fortress . This regiment also belonged to the 2nd Corps under Oudinot and shared the fate of the Swiss regiments .
prehistory
Switzerland has been under French rule since the invasion in 1798 (→ Helvetic ). On September 27, 1803, after Napoleon had decreed the new act of mediation, the Swiss Diet and France concluded a defensive alliance and a military capitulation . This made Switzerland virtually a protectorate of France. The cantons pledged to provide soldiers for France, although many Swiss lost their lives or were wounded, especially in the war against Spain and Portugal and in the Russian campaign. On February 15, 1806, Prussia ceded the Principality of Neuchâtel and the Duchy of Cleves to Napoleon in exchange with the Electorate of Hanover . The French Marshal Berthier was appointed Duke of Neuchâtel by Napoleon.
Troop strength
Officers 1st Swiss Regiment
Infantry 2nd Swiss Regiment
Colonel 4th Swiss Regiment
Infantry 4th Swiss Regiment
According to the treaty of 1803, Switzerland was to provide 16,000 soldiers for France. For this purpose, four regiments of 4,000 men each were to be formed. In addition to the regimental staff, each regiment should consist of four battalions. Each battalion from one grenadier company and eight fusilier companies . In 1807 a voltigeur company was added for each battalion . The artillery companies each had two cannons ("three pounders"), three ammunition wagons, a field smithy, two infantry cartridge wagons, two bread wagons and an ambulance vehicle. The soldiers must have reached the age of 20, be at least five feet and two inches tall , and have a baptismal certificate. For voltigeurs, a height of four feet and nine inches was sufficient. At the beginning of 1807 the target strength of 16,000 men was not less than 8,000 soldiers. On January 13, 1807, on behalf of Napoleon, the French General Honoré Vial demanded from the Landammann of Switzerland Hans von Reinhard that 16,000 soldiers be provided by May 1st. If this requirement is not met, he threatened compulsory evictions in the cantons. Under this pressure soldiers were recruited from prisons. Others with bad repute or crimes were sentenced to military service by court ruling. In the original cantons one was not intimidated. It was believed that if Napoleon threatened to subjugate Switzerland completely, it would be better to leave the young people at home so that they could be at their disposal in an emergency. On March 28, 1812, the contingent was reduced to 12,000 men. The cantons were still unable to cope with this. In addition, many soldiers who were forced to do military service deserted. Napoleon himself wrote on January 21, 1813: “Many in the Swiss regiments deserted and it turned out that they were all old deserters, the real Swiss stayed. […] As much as I value the Swiss, I do not value the whole mess that they read together ”.
The French historian Georges Vallotton stated the strength of the Swiss contingent with 9,000 men, the German historian Eckart Kleßmann on the other hand only with 7,000. The Swiss historian Albert Maag gives the strength, at the beginning of the campaign, with around 8,000 men. Wilhelm Oechsli , also a Swiss, gives the strength at the beginning of the war with 7,265 men - including the reinforcements that came up with around 9,000 men. None of the regiments reached the target strength. Nevertheless, in some later sources the total strength of the Swiss regiments is given as 16,000 men.
uniform
The basic color of the uniform was the same for all four regiments: madder red tunic, white, tight-fitting trousers. Epaulets , cuffs and collars were yellow in the 1st regiment, royal blue in the 2nd regiment , black in the 3rd regiment and sky blue in the 4th regiment. Fusiliers and voltigeurs wore shakos , the grenadiers wore bearskin hats . Because of the uniform red coat color, the soldiers were called "Red Swiss". The Neuchâtel people wore yellow ( chamois- colored) uniform skirts, collars, flaps and lapels were scarlet, their trousers white. Napoleon called them "canaris" (German: canaries). The artillery wore blue tunics. The Valais wore dark red uniform skirts, collars, flaps and lapels in white, as did their trousers.
Outline and deployment
The march of the " Great Army " in Russia was preceded by marches across Europe for months. The 1st regiment under the command of Colonel André Raguettly (born January 11, 1756 in Flims; † December 10, 1812 in Wilna) marched from Reggio di Calabria on July 14, 1811 and reached via Naples , Rome , Florence , Modena , Parma , Piacenza , Milan , Geneva , Strasbourg , Würzburg , Halle and Berlin to Stettin , where the four regiments gathered. Via Marienburg , Gumbinnen , and Kovno they marched on to Dünaburg . The 1st regiment arrived there on July 13, 1812. At that time the regiment consisted of only two field battalions, because the 3rd battalion under the command of Dufresne had been left behind in Piacenza. The two remaining battalions were initially under the command of Scheuchzer and Heinrich Ludwig Dulliker (1768-1812). Shortly after the start of the war, Scheuchzer had to be replaced by Captain Zingg for health reasons. The manpower of both battalions was originally 1,923, an additional 387 soldiers were later sent for reinforcement. The 1st regiment belonged to the Candras Brigade (Jacques-Lazare Savattier de Candras; * 1768; † 1812 on the Bjaresina ;) as well as the 2nd regiment of Colonel Castella de Berlens (* 1767; † 1830). The latter consisted of three battalions, led by Franz Peter Niklaus Vonderweid Seedorf (1779-1812), Joseph Ignaz von Flüe (1762-1813) and Captain Hartmann Füßli (1783-1812) and reached on 7 December 1811 by Nevers Coming Paris .
The 3rd Swiss Regiment under Colonel Thomasset (later replaced by Graffenried) also consisted of three battalions, led by Peyer-Imhof, Weltner and Graffenried. She formed the Brigade Coutard (Louis François Coutard; * 1769, † 1852) with the 123rd French Line Infantry Regiment. The 4th Swiss regiment under Colonel von Affry (Charles d'Affry; * 1772 in Friborg; † 1818 ibid) formed the 1st brigade of the division together with the 3rd Croatian regiment. This regiment also consisted of three battalions, which were commanded by the captains Bleuler, Maillardoz and Imthurn and were attached to the brigade of General François Pierre Amey . It left Cherbourg on December 25th, arrived in Paris on January 10th, 1812, and arrived in Stettin around April 16th.
The relationship between Regiments 3 and 4 was prejudiced by two similar incidents: Before the crossing at the border river Niemen , two drunken voltigeurs of the 4th Swiss Regiment shot a Polish peasant. They were then arrested by the Croats, sentenced and shot dead . The same fate met three other soldiers of the 3rd regiment, who had fired at a fleeing peasant.
The battalion from the Principality of Neuchâtel (1806-1814) - still deployed in Spain until the end of March - gathered in Besançon in April 1812 with an effective strength of 1,027 men . By the time it reached Poznan on June 12, it had already been decimated by marching losses to such an extent that the infantry only had 19 officers and 609 NCOs and soldiers. The artillery consisted of three officers and 76 men of non-commissioned officers and gunners, plus 74 horses.
Invasion of Russia
The Swiss were initially not involved in any major combat operations, but the losses were enormous. Badly supplied and infected with dysentery from polluted water , many soldiers fell ill. During his inspection on June 18, Napoleon was very dissatisfied, as the strength of the four regiments added up was less than 5000 men. However, on that day, part of the 3rd regiment was assigned to the Vistula .
According to the US military historian George F. Nafziger, the four regiments had a combat strength of 6030 men on August 1, 1812, and only 2950 on August 15. Recovered soldiers were brought in, but the march loss alone was at least 2,000 men can be seen in a letter from battalion chief Füßli. In the letter, Füßli also expressed the fear that the French war minister would label the more than 2000 men who are now missing as deserters and demand replacements: "... that would certainly be hideous, because God knows where they come from. "
The 2nd Corps of the "Grande Armée" occupied Polotsk on July 27, 1812 without a fight . On July 30, the battle of Klyastitsy took place at Jakubowo east of Polotsk against the Russian corps Wittgenstein . The 9th Division with the Swiss regiments formed the reserve and thus did not take part directly in the battle. On August 1st, the two opposing corps withdrew. On August 2, the Napoleonic corps reached Polotsk again. Four days later, the 6th Corps, which was provided by the Kingdom of Bavaria and commanded by General Saint-Cyr , joined the 2nd Corps. Although they had not yet been involved in any combat, the Bavarians had also suffered considerable losses during the deployment. Out of 22,000 men, only 12,000 reached Polotsk.
Napoleon had reproached Marshal Berthier, to whom the Neuchâtel battalion was subordinate as Prince of Neuchâtel: “I never notice the canaries [their soldiers] in the fire; You spare them! ". On July 28, the Neuchâtel battalion was deployed in the battle of Ostrowno and suffered considerable losses.
The dysentery also raged in Polotsk. Chef de bataillon Maillardoz died in the hospital, as did many soldiers. The 3rd Swiss Regiment was so decimated by the losses suffered that it was disbanded and two battalions were formed from the remaining forces. These were under the command of the battalion chiefs Weltner and Peyer-Imhof.
First battle at Polotsk
The first outpost battle for the city of Polotsk on the western bank of the Daugava took place on August 12, 1812 near Swolna (Svoiana) on the river of the same name. The French troops were pushed back by the Russian. On August 16, the first battle at Polotsk began in which the 9th Division, to which the Swiss regiments belonged, again formed the reserve. With Marshal Oudinot wounded, General Saint-Cyr took command. So far the Swiss regiments had never been in the first line. When asked about this, Saint-Cyr said: “I know the Swiss. The French are quicker to attack, but if they should retreat, we can certainly count on the cold-bloodedness and courage of the Swiss, and for this reason they have to stay in my reserve today. ”Saint-Cyr was wrong on 18. August, around noon, made a retreat. All carts and artillery withdrew under the eyes of the Russians, but Merle's division returned with most of the artillery. It was followed by other divisions. The 1st and 2nd Swiss Regiments took up positions in front of the city, the 3rd and 4th Swiss Regiments were partly distributed over the ramparts, partly positioned directly in the town. The Bavarian and French artillery opened fire with more than 150 cannons and the infantry columns attacked the Russians by surprise. After heavy fighting, the Russians withdrew, pursued by the imperial troops. The 3rd Swiss Regiment also belonged to the task force that pursued the Russians.
On August 25, the 9th Division formed the front line for the first time. As an outpost chain, it secured the intersection of the roads to Saint Petersburg and Riga at the Ropna chapel and at Gamselova . A battalion of voltigeurs of the 1st Swiss Regiment under their commander Dulliker took 200 prisoners during a bayonet attack on the Russian outpost line.
By October 12th, the 2nd Corps received 5,000 reinforcements, from which the Swiss regiments with around 1,000 men also benefited. The new Swiss soldiers arrived in the first half of September. In spite of this increase, the four Swiss regiments totaled only 2,825 soldiers capable of fighting on September 15. The inventory ( état de situation ) of the 3rd regiment on October 1st revealed the precarious situation: The effective population was 1,639 men, of which 524 were in the hospital and more than 350 men were left on the march. In other regiments the situation was hardly better.
Second battle at Polotsk
Together with the 3rd French lancers and cuirassiers and a battalion of the 2nd infantry regiment, the 3rd Swiss regiment was set up in the Cotiani area in mid-October 1812 . The units formed the extreme right wing of Marshal Saint-Cyr's troops. The marshal expected an attack and therefore on October 15, reinforcements, consisting of the 11th light infantry regiment with the Valais and a cuirassier brigade under General Nicolas-Joseph Maison , marched to Cotiani. On the morning of October 16, the 3rd launch regiment was attacked by Russian dragoons and infantry and pushed back. The Swiss opened their lines to let the lancers pass and then shot at their pursuers. When the Russians returned fire with artillery, General Maison, who had meanwhile arrived on the battlefield, gave the order to retreat because the French artillery was not yet in position. The 3rd Swiss Regiment was assigned to cover the retreat.
On October 17th, the French advance guard was attacked at Ropna. A grenadier battalion under Captain Jean Gilly reinforced the outposts and holed up in the churchyard. From safe cover, the soldiers fired at the approaching Russians. After all the ammunition had been used, some of the soldiers involved the Russians in close combat with bayonets in order to secure the retreat. The battalion lost 150 men in these battles; many were dead, 50 were wounded, and others were captured. Captain Gilly was also killed and Captain Pierre Druey died of his injuries. On the same day, under the command of Captains Henri Bourgeois and Franz von Sury, the Swiss received 200 reinforcements. Actually 320 men were put on the march, but shortly before Polotsk the column was attacked and lost 28 men in the process. In addition, 92 soldiers remained behind on the march.
On October 18, the second battle for Polotsk began. The Swiss regiments and the Croats attached to them still had a population of around 3,000 men, around 1,000 of whom were Croatians. The 1st and 2nd Swiss Regiments were on the left wing with the Merle Division. They were instructed to retreat to the entrenchments as soon as a major attack should take place. The division was supposed to hold back the enemy, while the right wing was supposed to take over the attack. The 4th Swiss Regiment was with the 123rd French Line Infantry Regiment in Polotsk, the 3rd Swiss Regiment was still on its way back from Cotiani and did not arrive on the battlefield until around 3 p.m. In the course of the morning there were heavy fighting between the voltigeurs of the 1st and 2nd Swiss regiments and Russian tirailleurs . The advanced voltigeurs were pushed back and had to seek protection from their battalions. Towards afternoon the Russians emerged en masse from the forest. Now the 4,000 men in Merle's division faced 15,000 Russians under the leadership of Prince Jachwyl. In such a case Saint-Cyr had given the order to retreat under the guns of Polotsk. The Swiss did not, but opened fire on the attacking Russians, marched forward, fired again, retreated a few steps and fired again. This maneuver was repeated several times in the following. Merle wanted to prevent this violation of the order of Saint-Cyr and therefore sent his orderly officer Schaller with the order to Candras to order the retreat. Schaller reached the brigade chief, but returned without having achieved anything. The Swiss continued to fire and later even went over to the bayonet attack. Merle had in the meantime instructed Schaller to convey the order to the 3rd Swiss Regiment, which had meanwhile returned, as well as to the 4th, to occupy the entrenchments and to support their compatriots from there. The 1st and 2nd regiments had actually succeeded in throwing back the surprised Russians. When the Russian cavalry intervened in the fighting, the Swiss withdrew, formed squares and then opened fire on the cavalry. After the cavalry repulsed, the Swiss continued their retreat, subjecting them to two more cavalry attacks. The two regiments were now cut off from their own line and felt the enemy both behind and in front of them. However, they were so close to their own lines that the Russians standing in front of them were exposed to fire from two sides. At that moment, the 3rd and 4th Swiss Regiments and the 3rd Croatian Regiment opened fire on the Russians. A remnant, made up of the 1st and 2nd Swiss regiments, finally managed to reach their own lines and around 250 seriously wounded Swiss were evacuated.
Tactically, the behavior of the two regiments was amateurish. In conjunction with the artillery, they would have achieved more and suffered smaller losses. The artillerymen, however, had to stand by and watch the action, as the Swiss were also in the target area of the guns during their maneuvers. Marshal Saint-Cyr writes in his memoirs: “The generals could only explain this movement by assuming that the Swiss, who were almost always in reserve and did not take as much interest in the fighting of the 2nd Corps as the other troops , wrongly imagined that one did not have the same trust in them, so that they did not want to miss the opportunity they had this time to show their bravery and got involved in the fight in spontaneous movement. ”The Swiss were in fact largely responsible for the fact that the Russians had to retreat at nightfall. When the order of the day was issued, the merit of the troops was recognized by Marshal Saint-Cyr, but the soldiers were also accused of having shown a little "too much bravado and cheerfulness". In his report to the governor, Colonel Affry emphasized "the honor which St. Cyr had shown him by complaining that the Swiss were too brave." There was criticism from other sources. Philippe-Paul de Ségur , who took part in the Russian campaign but not in the Battle of Polotsk, wrote: “But while everything seemed to be won on the right, everything seemed lost on the left; it was the Swiss and Croatians whose surge was the cause of this change. Her zeal had so far lacked the opportunity. Too jealous to show themselves worthy of the great army, they became foolhardy. Carelessly set up in front of their position to lure Jachwyl to him, instead of clearing him a terrain destined for his annihilation, they rushed before his masses and were crushed by the majority. The French gunners who could not fire at this ball became useless and our allies were thrown back as far as Polotsk. ”The French historian Adolphe Thiers made a similar statement. In his “Souvenirs des campagnes”, the Swiss captain Louis Bégos replied to Thiers and Ségur: “Missed because of too much zeal! The word is nice, Mr. Thiers! ... So you forget that, alongside General Doumerc's French cuirassier regiment, the Swiss were almost alone to lead the Russian army. In the whole of the Russian campaign, this is the only memory he escapes, and his pen seems to be afraid to praise the brave who fell on the battlefields of Russia for the honor of the French flag. "
Withdrawal from Polotsk
On October 19, the fight ceased. In the morning Marshal Saint-Cyr was informed that Russian reinforcements were on the way. The transportable seriously wounded were therefore loaded onto carts, as was luggage, ammunition and food. At 2 p.m. Saint-Cyr learned that the approaching enemy corps consisted of 12,000 infantry and a large number of artillery pieces. It was the corps of the Russian General Steinheil . Saint-Cyr decided to withdraw the following night. Merle's division remained in town to cover the retreat. A Russian attack took place around 9 p.m. The soldiers of Merle's division let the Russians approach and fired their volleys into the crowd of enemy soldiers. The attacking force consisted largely of poorly equipped militias from the city of Saint Petersburg. Captain Landolt wrote: "Poor devils of peasants, who, armed only with spears and encouraged by the priests, gave themselves up to kill." When Russian soldiers were preparing to cross the bridge over the Polota (Palata), Affry made 4 The Swiss regiment made a sortie and pushed them back. The bridge was defended until after midnight, then the order to retreat came. Captain Landolt covered him with his voltigeurs. At three in the morning the Daugava was crossed and the bridges were destroyed afterwards. The number of combat-capable soldiers in the four Swiss regiments had shrunk to 1,300 men.
The incapacitated soldiers were transported to Vilna, including the captains Sury, Thomasset and Gessner. The Swiss regiments were further weakened, since Captain Bleuler with his battalion (which only consisted of 220 men) and two French battalions were supposed to take 5,000 Russian prisoners to Vilna; a delicate job, as the long, wooded path offered the prisoners many opportunities to escape. Bleuler ordered that for every prisoner who was to escape a remaining prisoner should be shot; an order that was subsequently used several times. Maag is of the opinion that this is why the prisoners closely supervised each other and were therefore largely able to be brought to Vilnius. Captain Siegerist joined this column, because Colonel Affry had given him the order to bring his carriage to safety in Vilnius.
After a skirmish between Steinheil's troops and those of the Bavarian General Wrede near Bononia (today in the Lublin Voivodeship ) on the Uschatz River, in which the 2nd Swiss Regiment was involved, Saint-Cyr withdrew to the small river Ula. In the meantime the French 9th Corps under Marshal Victor had approached the scene of the battle. This reserve corps had recently invaded Russia and arrived in Smolensk on September 28th . The Bavarian 6th Corps, which no longer had the effective strength of a regiment, separated from the Corps Saint-Cyr and marched with the Brigade Corbineau ( Jean-Baptiste Juvénal Corbineau ; * 1776, † 1848) over Glubokoje ( Hlybokaje , today in Belarus ) to Vilna. Wittgenstein had finished building new bridges near Polotsk and set his troops on the march on October 23. Three days later he united his corps with that of Steinheil and pushed Saint-Cyr and his corps back.
On October 29th, the union of the Corps of Victor began with that of Marshal Saint-Cyr. In amazement one looked at the troops of Victor, who were in very good shape, while those stared in amazement at the emaciated soldiers of the 2nd Corps in their worn and partly torn uniforms.
On the morning of October 31, Wittgenstein's vanguard under the Russian General Jachwyl attacked the two united corps of invaders near Tschaschniki (now in Belarus). In Corps Victor, only 11 out of 54 infantry battalions were French units. Of these 11, two came from Holland, which was annexed by France . Another 12 battalions consisted of Polish soldiers and the rest were German battalions. The cavalry consisted exclusively of German units: the Bergische Uhlan regiment, the Darmstadt dragoons regiment, a Saxon dragoons regiment and a Baden dragoons regiment. The Swiss were now in line with Baden, Württemberg, Saxons and Poles. The advance guard's attack was repulsed. A little later Wittgenstein advanced with his main force. Now the Corps Saint-Cyr was withdrawn and the Corps Victor occupied the front line. Captain Landolt wrote that the Merle Brigade had stopped firing a shot. Every now and then a few cannonballs flew by, but they only killed one sutler . The battle lasted until evening, then the French corps withdrew. Since Saint-Cyr went to Vilna, Victor took over command of both corps, which were to unite with Napoleon's main army. Temperatures had dropped well below freezing. Marshal Oudinot, whose wound had healed, came back from Vilna and took command of the 2nd Corps again. On the orders of Napoleon, both corps advanced north on November 11th. On November 13, Victor attacked with his corps at Smoliani Wittgenstein and threw back his vanguard (→ Battle of Smoliani ). The following day, Victor withdrew to Tschereia.
Battalion Neuchâtel
The Neuchâtel battalion, which also belonged to the 9th Infantry Division, had been stationed in Smolensk since August 25 . The Chef de bataillon de Bosset died on October 29th. His post was transferred to Captain d'Andrié de Gorgier. The Neuchâtel also joined the main army returning from Moscow . The thermometer showed minus 25 degrees Réaumur (−31 ° C). In Krasnoi (Krasnoye) the battalion lost 60 men without a sword blow.
Battle of the Berezina
Napoleon reached Orsha on November 19 , where the Swiss regiments were now located. The latter had to surrender their artillery, including the gunners, to the main army. The main army received an additional 36 new cannons from the Orsha depot. Lieutenant de Sonnaz's battery was assigned to the Imperial Guard , Hirzel with his two cannons to the rearguard. Oudinot received the order with his corps, which still had about 7000 to 8000 men, to move on the road from Orsha to Borisov . Before Borissov, Russian troops occupied the only accessible bridge over the Berezina . On November 24th, Oudinot succeeded in defeating the Russian vanguard, which had already crossed the Berezina, but on their retreat the Russians managed to set fire to the bridge behind them. The Swiss also marched with the corps to Borissow, but they were not used in combat. Lieutenant Thomas Legler wrote: “It was fortunate for the 2nd Army Corps that there was no attack from the other side, hardly a shot was fired at the city, which was filled with all kinds of weapons and men, otherwise a bombardment brought certain deaths to thousands Legler gives the length of the Russian-occupied bridge over the Beresina as a little over 300 paces. Borissov would have been within range of the Russian artillery. In his report to the governor of January 2, 1813, Colonel Affry estimated the four Swiss regiments on arrival in Borissow at a total of 600 men. His own regiment consisted only of 103 men (excluding the Bleuler battalion, which escorted prisoners to Vilna).
In order to increase the will to persevere, Napoleon announced the promotions and awards that had already been set on November 19. Colonel Raguettly received the Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honor . The Colonels Castella de Berlens and von Affry received the Cross of the Legion of Honor. The grenadier captain Karl Zingg from Aargau , who had already received the cross of the Legion of Honor on the occasion of the Italian campaign , was promoted to battalion chief. Likewise, the Zug Grenadier Captain Franz Blattmann, who was also made a Knight of the Legion of Honor. A total of 32 medals were distributed for the Swiss regiments, and numerous promotions were also awarded. The Valais battalion honored major surgeon fighting.
On November 25th, the 2nd Corps left Borisov for Studyanka in the late evening. There two bridges were built over the Berezina. After the bridge for the infantry and cavalry had been completed, the Oudinot corps crossed the Beresina on November 26th at 1 p.m. with a total of about 7,000 men to cover the crossing of the rest of the army on the west bank. To the south of the bridge stood the Russian General Tschaplitz with his troops at Stachow. There were only Tirailleur skirmishes. The corps was still without artillery support, as the second bridge, which was intended for wagons, was not completed until three hours later. The artillery of the 2nd Corps crossed first. That night, Marshal Michel Ney followed with his troops and the young guard. Admiral Tschitschagow , commander of the Russian corps on the west bank of the Berezina, reinforced Chaplitz with two regiments of infantry. On the 27th the enemy troops stood inactive at Stachow. A Russian officer reported on the fighting on November 26th: “The night put an end to the fight and when morning came the troops on both sides were barely within range of rifles; so also passed the whole day of November 27th; no one was inclined to start the battle; we were very weak and the French hurried to pass and we were therefore satisfied if they were not alarmed. "
On the morning of November 28, Oudinot and Marshal Ney's corps were between Stachow and Brili about 12 kilometers from the two bridges. Ney formed the left wing on the Beresina, Oudinot took the center and the right wing. Behind it, near the village of Weselowo, stood the Imperial Guard. Because many supply cars were still on the other side of the Berezina, the soldiers were starving. The first column of the Tschaplitz division under General Rudsewitsch (1776-1829) had the task of pushing back the French outposts. She was supported by the Arnold Artillery Battery. Two more columns under Generals Kornilev and Metscherinov were provided as support. Another advanced to the Berezina under Colonel Krasowsky. When the Russian tirailleurs could be seen, the French artillery opened fire. Right at the beginning of the battle, Oudinot was wounded and Marshal Ney took command of both corps. The Swiss received the order to advance. After a quarter of an hour they got caught in the fire of the Russian infantry and artillery. Battalion chief Blattmann died of a shot in the head. Ammunition was already running out. Sergeant Barbey, who was supposed to get new cartridges, was fatally wounded the moment he set out to do the job. A second soldier with the same order was wounded. The Vistula Legion ( Légion de la Vistule ) arrived for reinforcement . Tschitschagow, in turn, sent two divisions to support Tschaplitz. Ney sent the Doumerc cuirassier division into action, which not only succeeded in repelling the attack, but also cut off a number of Russian soldiers from their line and drove them ahead of them. These had to lay down their weapons in front of the Swiss and were led behind their own line. In the forest near Brili there was fighting all day. The situation of the Swiss became precarious because the number of soldiers who had fired their ammunition rose steadily. Legler requested ammunition from General Merle and offered him to attack with the bayonet for the time being. The Swiss and the soldiers of the 123rd Line Infantry Regiment rushed at the enemy with wild cries. The Russian infantry were routed. After a Russian cavalry attack, the Swiss withdrew. In the meantime, new ammunition had arrived, but not enough. In total, the Swiss carried out seven or eight attacks with the bayonet. In the afternoon the Swiss were relieved and the 5th Army Corps consisting of Poland moved into the front line.
The losses suffered by the Swiss were heavy. The 1st regiment lost both battalion chiefs and ten officers; the 3rd regiment still has 60 men. In the Provisional Battalion of the 4th Regiment, ten out of 18 officers were wounded and one killed. According to Lieutenant Louis de Buman (* 1789 in Bulle ), only two officers and 12 soldiers of the 2nd regiment were still alive. Maag notes that de Buman's statements appear too pessimistic on this point, since more than two officers were decorated later, namely thirteen. In the evening, only 300 Swiss people were counted at roll call, a third of whom were wounded. The next day the Swiss regiments joined the general retreat.
Withdrawal from Russia
The withdrawal took place via Ziembin, Kamen, Plescheniczi (Pleščanicy), Molodetschno , Smorgoni and Osmiana . The 2nd Corps, which comprised only around 1,500 combat-capable soldiers, brought up the rear . General Maison took command of the wounded Marshal Oudinot. There was no longer any marching order. The Swiss marched together with Polish soldiers of the 5th Corps, later parts of the 9th Corps were added. There was no food, people ate themselves on the meat of fallen horses and turnips that were found every now and then. Small groups of Cossacks repeatedly attacked. On December 1st the thermometer showed minus 18 ° Réaumur (−22 ° C). The paths were littered with corpses and horse carcasses. The battalion chief Zingg and adjutant major Tschudi, both of whom had been wounded on the Beresina, had to be left behind. Vonderweid, who was also wounded on the Berezina, died on the way to Vilna. Captain Hopf died of his injuries on arrival in Vilnius.
There were large stocks of meat, bread, rusks, brandy and shoes in the city. Assembly points were set at which the corps were supposed to feed themselves. The starved masses, on the other hand, stormed Vilnius and plundered the depots, a large part of the supplies was destroyed by carelessness and much later fell into the hands of the Russian troops.
The Bleuler battalion had delivered the prisoners of war entrusted to it in Vilnius. There he received reinforcements from the Swiss depot located in Kovno. His battalion now numbered 380 men. With these he marched from Vilna to Smorgoni to meet the army. In a village near the town of Smorgoni he met Swiss people who were under the command of Captain Siegerist. United they marched back to Vilna. At the gates of Vilna the Bleuler battalion consisted of only 30 men. The temperature had dropped to minus 28 ° Réaumur (−34 ° C). Since Vilna was full of soldiers, the gates were closed and the Swiss were not allowed into the city. The next day, Hauptmann Siegerist and four other Swiss managed to slip through a breach in the city wall to buy groceries. The city was in chaos. Starving soldiers had filled their stomachs and then died. Others pounced on the stocks of brandy, collapsed drunk on the streets and froze to death. When the Russian troops approached, the city was evacuated in a hurry, but many stragglers remained in Vilna. The Swiss were again assigned to the rearguard. When the Russian troops marched into the city on December 10th, many Swiss were killed, the 1st regiment alone lost 17 officers that day.
The Swiss who had survived set out with the ruins of the “Grande Armée” to Kovno, where they arrived three days later. In the Swiss depot, Captain Hirzel, commander of the depot, still had 150 men under arms. In view of the threatening situation, Hirzel left the depot in the lurch and made his way to Marienburg.
losses
The sources on the total number of losses suffered by the Swiss regiments in the Russian campaign are confusing, incomplete and often contradictory. The inventory from the beginning of January 1813 only takes into account those soldiers who were with their units at the time in question. Since little is known about the later fate of soldiers who were in distant hospitals, who were taken prisoners of war or who stayed behind for other reasons, the loss figures can hardly be consolidated. It is undisputed that the company's balance sheet comes frighteningly close to a “total loss”. Maag writes about the remaining stocks: “If the remains of all four regiments are added together, the total number in January 1813 was not much more than 1000 men. With this result, the Swiss regiments could still consider themselves lucky if one compares the lot of other regiments of the Merle division with theirs. "
The remnants of the Swiss regiments gathered in Marienburg . Colonel Affry, who was in command of the regiments, wrote to the governor on December 25th: “... the many persistent battles ..., the harshness of the climate and innumerable other circumstances resulted in the almost complete annihilation of the four regiments, none of which unite 400 men represent. ”A count at the beginning of January 1813 showed that the 1st regiment still had three officers and 56 NCOs and soldiers, including the sick and wounded. At that time, however, 27 officers and 53 NCOs as well as other soldiers had already been marched to Küstrin , from where they marched to Mainz . Captain Rusca was able to gather 70 men from the 2nd regiment in Marienburg for the time being, Theiler from the 3rd regiment 87 men - all in miserable condition - and the battalion chief Salomon Bleuler counted 43 men in the 4th regiment, most of whom were sick. Lieutenant Isler of the 2nd Regiment collected 50 stragglers in Marienburg. The soldiers had frostbite on their noses, ears, toes or fingers. Carriages were not available. On the way to Magdeburg , he had to leave almost everyone behind and arrived there with only four soldiers. He has heard nothing more about the fate of those left behind. On February 22nd, 1813, the canton of Friborg banned dancing "as incompatible with the current events, which are afflicting more or less all countries in Europe."
After Maag, the 1st Regiment had ten officers and 49 soldiers when it entered Metz on March 6, 1813. A total of 2,310 men served in this regiment, including the soldiers who moved up to reinforce the position. 44 officers and 333 NCOs and soldiers returned from the hospitals and from captivity. Captain Hirzel of the 2nd Regiment commanded more than 100 soldiers, all of whom were on crutches and were not counted as "non-combat-capable". The remnants of the Neuchâtel battalion reached Königsberg on December 30, 1812 and Elbing on January 6, 1813 . The battalion still consisted of 23 men. Another 20 soldiers were in hospitals in Prussia.
Some Swiss prisoners joined the Russian-German Legion . According to Maag, around 40 men from the 4th Swiss Regiment were still serving in the Legion in April 1814.
Traditions
- During church processions, uniforms based on the historical uniforms of the Swiss regiments, with local variations in each case, are worn. This through the historical militias of the Blenio valley as well as through the young teams of the Uniun da giuventetgna Sagogn and the Cumpagnia da Mats from Domat / Ems . In Valais, the Herrgottsgrenadiers wear such a uniform, as do Erschmatt's tambourines . In Ferden im Lötschental , in Domat / Ems and in Sagogn, the uniform is worn for the Corpus Christi procession and the parish fair, while in the Blenio valley the processions take place on June 24th, on the first and third Sunday in July. Ticino soldiers vowed to set up a permanent militia on the Beresina if they returned safely, for Sagogn, in addition to Captain Baltasar Bundi, 24 other soldiers were in Napoleon's service.
See also
- Badener in the Russian campaign in 1812
- Swiss troops in French service for Napoleon Bonaparte 1798–1815
literature
- Albert Maag: The fate of the Swiss regiments in Napoleon's I campaign to Russia in 1812 . Published by Ernst Kuhn, Biel 1900.
- Yearbook of the historical association of the Canton of Glarus - fourth issue . Meyer & Zeller, Zurich & Glarus 1865.
- Eugène Fieffé: History of the foreign troops in the service of France - Volume II . J. Deschler'sche Buchdruckerei, Munich 1860.
- M. Bogdanowitsch: History of the campaign in 1812 , Vol. 3. Verlag von Bernhard Schlicke, Leipzig 1863.
- Gaetano Beretta: I ticinesi nella campagna di Russia (1812) . Bellinzona, 1937.
- G. Vallotton: Les Suisses à la Bérézina . La Baconnière, Neuchâtel 1942.
Individual evidence
- ^ Carl von Plotho: The war in Germany in the years 1813 and 1814 - first part , p. 3ff. Berlin, 1817.
- ↑ Fieffé, page 180
- ↑ Maximilian Poppe: Chronological overview of the most important events from the war years 1806 to 1815 , 1st volume, page 387. Theodor Thomas, Leipzig 1848.
- ↑ Maag, pages 21 and 93
- ↑ Maag, page 48
- ^ Wilhelm Oechsli: History of Switzerland in the 19th Century , 1st vol., P. 583. Leipzig, 1903.
- ↑ Fieffe, page 183
- ^ Gerhard von Scharnhorst: Head of the military reorganization (Prussia 1808-1809) , Vol. 5, p. 615. Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2009.
- ↑ H. de Schaller: Histoire des troupes suisses au service de France sous le règne de Napoléon Ier , p. 126. Imer & Payot, 1883.
- ^ Alfred Guye: Le Bataillon de Neuchâtel: dit des Canaris, au service de Napoléon, 1807-1814 , p. 155. La Baconnière, 1964.
- ↑ Maag, page 16
- ↑ Maag, page 122
- ↑ Maag, page 156
- ↑ Maag, page 181
- ^ Philippe-Paul de Ségur: History of Napoleon and the great army during the year 1812 , Vol. 2, p. 195. JG Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, Stuttgart and Tübingen, 1825.
- ↑ Louis-Marc Bégoz: Souvenirs des campagnes , p. 94f. A. Delafontaine, Lausanne, 1859.
- ↑ Maag, page 200 f.
- ↑ Maag, page 239/240 - M. Bogdanowitsch, page 273/274
- ^ Adam Zamoyski: 1812: Napoleon's campaign in Russia , p. 530. CH Beck, Munich 2012.
- ↑ Maag, page 311
- ↑ Maag, p. 367.
- ^ Albert Maag: History of the Swiss troops in French service (1813-1815) , published by Ernst Kuhn, Biel 1894 - page 5ff.
- ↑ Maag, page 365 ff
- ↑ Maag, page 340 f.
- ↑ The historic militias of the Blenio Valley 2012
Remarks
- ↑ Colonel Castella was wounded at Polotsk and replaced by Abyberg.
- ↑ The regiment belonged to the 1st Brigade (General Vivier) in the 8th Infantry Division, which was commanded by General Verdiere.
- ↑ The entire contingent of Bavaria was 30,000 men. They had to surrender the cavalry to Napoleon's main army and their 13th infantry regiment to the French 10th Corps.