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114-675: The company consisted of a core of about 700 mercenaries of Uri , Schwyz and Lucerne , who had participated in the Battle of Nancy , and who were unhappy with the distribution of the spoils. This company formed by 21 February, and was joined by men of other Swiss cantons, increasing to an estimated total strength of about 1,700 to 1,800 men. They caused embarrassment for the Swiss urban elites in Bern , Zürich and Lucerne , who were engaged in diplomatic negotiations with Savoy and France , and who wanted to avoid

228-569: A Genevan officer of the Royal American Regiment . During the Seven Years' War , the Swiss were numerous among the auxiliary troops from continental Europe that fought in the war's Indian theater on behalf of the EIC. Some Swiss mercenaries reached important posts within the company and amassed considerable wealth, notably through looting. Another important theater of war in the 18th-century

342-547: A federal state in 1848. The cantons retained far-reaching sovereignty but were no longer allowed to maintain individual standing armies or international relations. As the revolutions of 1848 in Western Europe had failed elsewhere, Switzerland during the later 19th century (and with the exception of the French Third Republic , until the end of World War I ) found itself as an isolated democratic republic, surrounded by

456-407: A federation of states was restored, at the time including 19 cantons (the six accessions to the early modern Thirteen Cantons being composed of former associates and subject territories: St. Gallen , Grisons , Aargau , Thurgau , Ticino , Vaud ). Three additional western cantons, Valais , Neuchâtel and Geneva , acceded in 1815. The process of "Restoration", completed by 1830, returned most of

570-467: A force of about 2,000 strong. At this point, they were met with negotiators from Geneva, Greyerz , Basel and Strasbourg , as well as representatives of the Swiss diet , and on 4 March 1477, an agreement was settled upon which forced Geneva to pay a third of its debts immediately, and providing hostages as security for the rest. In addition, Geneva had to pay two Gulden and a drink of wine for each member of

684-707: A further surge in Swiss mercenaries, now in the service of the Kingdom of Sardinia , with the recruitment of new units such as the Guibert, Du Pâquier, Kyd, and Donatz regiments, most of which were disbanded shortly after the war. The Swiss also fought for the King of Sardinia in the War of the Austrian Succession , suffering heavy losses at the Siege of Villafrance and distinguishing themselves at

798-532: A maelstrom of battle, with very many dead and wounded on both sides. Despite the competition from the Landsknechts , and imitation by other armies (most notably the Spanish, which adopted pike-handling as one element of its tercios ), the Swiss fighting reputation reached its zenith between 1480 and 1525, and indeed the Battle of Novara , fought by Swiss mercenaries, is seen by some as the perfect Swiss battle. Even

912-504: A much more complicated design: it features a sow (not a boar) with three piglets being fed with acorns by a fool, who takes the acorns from a large bag over his shoulder, while holding a club in his right hand. In the top corner are the coats of arms of Zug , that of Küssnacht am Rigi and that of the Wissnacht family of butchers. Traditional Swiss historiography based on 15th and 16th century chroniclers such as Diebold Schilling depicted

1026-482: A particular municipality (the place of origin ) and the canton in which that municipality is part. Cantons, therefore, have a role in and set requirements for the granting of citizenship (naturalisation), though the process is typically undertaken at a municipal level and is subject to federal law. Switzerland has only one federal public holiday (1 August); public holidays otherwise vary from canton to canton . The cantons are listed in their order of precedence given in

1140-522: A political purpose was achieved through the extension of French diplomatic and commercial influence over the neighbouring cantons. The Swiss soldier was paid at a higher level than his French counterpart but was subject to a harsher disciplinary code, administered by his own officers. The basis of recruitment varied according to regiment – in some units recruits were drawn exclusively from the Swiss inhabitants of specific cantons while in others German or French volunteers were accepted to make up shortfalls in

1254-529: A popular vote to amend the cantonal constitution or laws or to veto laws or spending bills passed by the parliament. Other than in the instances of general popular assemblies in Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus, democratic rights are exercised by secret ballot. The right of foreigners to vote varies by canton, as does whether Swiss citizens living abroad (and registered to vote in a canton) can take part in cantonal voting. Swiss citizens are citizens of

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1368-529: A powerful infantry force constituted by professional soldiers originating from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy . They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among the military forces of the kings of France , throughout the early modern period of European history, from the Late Middle Ages into the 19th century. Their service as mercenaries was at its peak during

1482-672: A private capitulation with Swiss mercenary Hercules Capol , a Protestant who had left French service in 1685, raising a regiment of 1,600 men from the Grisons for Dutch service. Zürich authorized the recruitment of 800 men the same year. In 1696, the Protestant cantons of Bern and Schaffhausen , as well as the Republic of Geneva and the Principality of Neuchâtel (both Protestant associate states of Switzerland ), entered into similar accords with

1596-644: A time of civil unrest. In April 1791 the nominal strength of the Swiss line regiments in French service was 11,429 men with a further 2,330 in the Swiss Guards. Swiss regiments made up a significant proportion of the royal troops summoned to Paris by Louis XVI in early July 1789. A detachment of Swiss grenadiers from the Salis-Samade Regiment was sent to reinforce the garrison of the Bastille prison shortly before it

1710-523: A word for "edge, corner", at the time the literal translation of Early Modern High German ort . After 1490, canton was increasingly used in French and Italian documents to refer to the members of the Swiss Confederacy. English use of canton in reference to the Swiss Confederacy (as opposed to the heraldic sense ) dates to the early 17th century. In the Old Swiss Confederacy,

1824-525: The Landsknechts . Landsknechts were Germans (at first largely from Swabia ) and became proficient at Swiss tactics, even surpassing them with their usage of the Zweihänder to crush opposing pike formations. This produced a force that filled the ranks of European armies with mercenary regiments for decades. After 1515 the Swiss pledged themselves to neutrality, other than regarding Swiss soldiers serving in

1938-602: The stadhouder in 1795 and the establishment of the Batavian Republic , all Swiss regiments were disbanded in 1796. After the return of the Prince of Orange in 1813, four regiments of Swiss infantry, numbered 29 to 32 in the line, were raised, of which the 32nd served as a guard regiment performing guard duties at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam after 1815. These units were also disbanded in 1829. Several Swiss soldiers joined

2052-585: The 6th Mountain Division . Due to Switzerland's neutral status, their allegiances were considered illegal and in 1943 the government decided that those who cooperated with Germany would be deprived of their nationality. By 1945, there were only 29 such cases. A number of Swiss citizens were taken prisoner by the Soviet Union while fighting on the Eastern Front . The plot of George Bernard Shaw 's comedy Arms and

2166-655: The Battle of Bailén in 1808, the Swiss regiments pressed into French service defected back to the 3rd Swiss Regiment Reding under Theodor von Reding . The Swiss regiments suffered heavy losses in the following years of the Peninsular War, numbering only a few hundred men by 1812. They were finally disbanded in 1823 during the Trienio liberal . The Swiss fighting in the ranks of the Spanish army generally followed its organization, tactics and dress. The Swiss regiments were however distinguished by their blue coats, in contrast to

2280-504: The Battle of Bailén with Swiss troops in the Spanish Army) and in Russia. During the retreat from Moscow Swiss losses amounted to 80% of their original numbers. The Swiss were allowed to keep the distinctive red coats which had distinguished them prior to 1792, with different facings identifying each regiment. During the first Bourbon Restoration of 1814–1815, the grenadier companies of

2394-472: The Battle of Pavia in 1525. The early contingents of Swiss mercenary pikemen organized themselves rather differently than the cantonal forces. In the cantonal forces, their armies were usually divided into the Vorhut ( vanguard ), Gewalthut (center) and Nachhut ( rearguard ), generally of different sizes. In mercenary contingents, although they could conceivably draw up in three similar columns if their force

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2508-750: The Dutch East India Company (VOC) for service in the Cape of Good Hope , Ceylon and the Dutch East Indies . In 1781, the Meuron Regiment was hired for VOC service in the Cape Colony. The regiment was later transferred to Ceylon, where it campaigned against the Kingdom of Kandy . In 1787, the six Swiss regiments in the Dutch States Army numbered a total of 9,600 men. With the abdication of

2622-815: The Eighty Years' War . By the middle of the 17th century, Philip III and his successor Philip IV had signed capitulations for a dozen Swiss regiments. These were deployed in the Portuguese Restoration War , the Reapers' War , and the Nine Years' War in the latter half of the century. Swiss soldiers in Spanish service saw action in Italy during the War of the Quadruple Alliance in 1718, in North Africa during

2736-800: The French Revolutionary Army . Others followed King Ferdinand IV into exile in 1799, following his overthrow by the Parthenopean Republic , and again from 1806 to 1815 during Napoleonic rule in Naples . After his restoration in 1815, Ferdinand, now monarch of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies , negotiated with the Swiss Federal Diet and concluded treaties in 1824 with the cantons of Lucerne , Uri, Unterwalden and Appenzell Innerrhoden , and in 1825 with Solothurn and Fribourg , for

2850-621: The Holy Roman Empire , they had become de facto independent when the Swiss defeated Emperor Maximilian I in 1499 in Dornach. In the early modern period, the individual confederate allies came to be seen as republics ; while the six traditional allies had a tradition of direct democracy in the form of the Landsgemeinde , the urban states operated via representation in city councils, de facto oligarchic systems dominated by families of

2964-571: The Italian Peninsula . By the 15th century, they were greatly valued as mercenary soldiers, particularly following their series of notable victories in the Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) in the latter part of the century. The standing mercenary army of the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus , known as the " Black Army " (1458–1490), also contained Swiss pikemen units, who were held in high regard by

3078-450: The Kingdom of Sardinia ) were recruited in 1577 through a capitulation signed by Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy and the Catholic cantons of Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug and Fribourg. In 1579, Emmanuel Philibert expanded his personal guard with a Swiss company, initially composed of seventy soldiers and three officers. His successor, Charles Emmanuel , established the unit as

3192-545: The Late Middle Ages , mercenary forces grew in importance in Europe , as veterans from the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) and other conflicts came to see soldiering as a profession rather than a temporary activity, and commanders sought long-term professionals rather than temporary feudal levies to fight their wars. Swiss mercenaries ( German : Reisläufer ) were valued throughout the kingdoms and states of medieval Europe for

3306-573: The Renaissance , when their proven battlefield capabilities made them sought-after mercenary troops. There followed a period of decline, as technological and organizational advances counteracted the Swiss' advantages. Switzerland 's military isolationism largely put an end to organized mercenary activity; the principal remnant of the practice is the Pontifical Swiss Guard at the Vatican . During

3420-690: The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) after the Swiss regiments in the Netherlands were dissolved. Like the French Foreign Legion , the KNIL profited from the dissolution of Swiss units across Europe during the 19th century. In the 1850s, some 1,200 men from the Swiss regiments of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies entered KNIL service, similarly to 240 mercenaries from the short-lived British Swiss Legion, disbanded in 1856. Many of

3534-585: The Saubanner enterprise was in reality a serious political and military enterprise of the Forest cantons in defense of their interests threatened by the coalition and Burgrecht treaties of the urban cantons. These tensions culminated in the Saubanner expedition, but they remained latent until their peaceful resolution in the Stanser Verkommnis of 1481. Swiss mercenaries The Swiss mercenaries were

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3648-458: The Saubannerzug as rowdy march of youthful ruffians hatched out of drunken Fasnacht revelry, and indeed the term Saubannerzug in modern (journalistic) Swiss Standard German is used in the sense of hooliganism and rioting . Würgler (2004) argues that the chroniclers, representing the interests of the urban patriciate, consciously and severely misrepresented the episode. Würgler argues that

3762-742: The Spanish Civil War , incurring heavy losses. Swiss citizens also served in the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War, although purely on an individual and voluntary basis. At least 2,000 Swiss fought for Germany during the war, mostly from the German-speaking cantons of Bern and Zürich, and many of them had dual German nationality. Besides the Wehrmacht some also joined the SS , particularly

3876-695: The expedition to Oran and Mers el-Kebir in 1732, and in Sicily and Naples during the War of the Polish Succession in 1734–1735. In the War of the Austrian Succession , 30,000 Swiss mercenaries from five regiments fought for the Spanish Crown in Lombardy , Savoy and the County of Nice . During the second half of the 18th century, Spain employed four Swiss regiments which took part in all of its campaigns, including

3990-574: The invasion of Portugal in 1762, the invasion of Algiers in 1775 and the American Revolutionary War . By the 1790s there were about 13,000 men making up the Swiss contingents in a total Spanish Army of 137,000. The practice of recruiting directly from the Catholic cantons was however disrupted by the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars . Recruiting agents substituted Germans, Austrians and Italians and in some regiments

4104-633: The patriciate . The old system was abandoned with the formation of the Helvetic Republic following the French invasion of Switzerland in 1798. The cantons of the Helvetic Republic had merely the status of an administrative subdivision with no sovereignty. The Helvetic Republic collapsed within five years, and cantonal sovereignty was restored with the Act of Mediation of 1803. The status of Switzerland as

4218-703: The second Bourbon Restoration , a final capitulation was signed in 1816 for the recruitment of six Swiss regiments, four for the line infantry and two for the Royal Guard, with a nominal strength of 14,000 men. All Swiss units were disbanded following the final overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy in the Revolution of 1830 , where about three hundred Swiss soldiers were killed in the defense of the Fontainebleau and Louvre palaces. Another major employer of Swiss mercenaries from

4332-436: The town of the same name from the Ottomans. The Venetian army suffered enormous losses due to fighting and disease, and the Siege of Negroponte had to be lifted in October 1688. The remaining two hundred Swiss soldiers were then transferred to Lepanto . Poor treatment by the Venetian commanders and disputes among Swiss officers further aggravated the situation, and the regiment was finally disbanded in 1691. The outcome of

4446-529: The 16th century, the Old Swiss Confederacy was composed of 13 sovereign confederate allies (the Thirteen Cantons ; German : Die Dreizehn Alten Orte ), and there were two different kinds: five rural states ( German : Länder ) – Uri , Schwyz (which became eponymous of the confederacy), Unterwalden , Glarus , Appenzell – and eight urban states ( German : Städte ) – Zürich , Bern , Luzern , Zug , Basel , Fribourg , Solothurn , Schaffhausen . Though they were technically part of

4560-518: The 1850s for the Crimean War , was disbanded in 1856 without having been deployed. The permanent employment of Swiss mercenaries by the Kingdom of Naples began with the transfer of the Neapolitan crown to the Spanish Bourbons . In 1731, Philip V of Spain put two of his most experienced Swiss units (the Nideröst and Bessler regiments) at the disposal of his son Charles, Duke of Parma (the future Charles III of Spain ). After becoming King of Naples in 1734, Charles raised two new Swiss regiments under

4674-410: The 18th century. Several Swiss regiments were taken into Savoyard service during the War of the Spanish Succession , including the La Reine, Alt, Lombach, Frid, Schmid, and Reding regiments. Due to the French invasion of the Duchy of Savoy, most of the regiments were scattered before they could fully assemble. They served with distinction at the Siege of Turin . The War of the Polish Succession saw

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4788-444: The Austrian army but in British pay. The Swiss soldiers were then transferred to British service. They fought in the Napoleonic Wars, mainly around the Mediterranean. They were based in Malta and then in Egypt from 1801 to 1803, fighting in Sicily and Naples . The regiment fought in the Battle of Maida in Southern Italy in July 1806. Kept up to strength by Spanish and Portuguese recruits from 1811 to 1813, De Watteville's Regiment

4902-424: The Catholic cantons of Central Switzerland , Solothurn, and the city of St. Gallen, was raised for Venetian service in the Morean War . Led by Sebastian Peregrin Schmid of Uri , the Swiss set sail from Venice in May 1688, arriving at the Peloponnese peninsula (then known as Morea ) about a month later. In early July, the regiment was transferred to the Greek island of Negroponte , where it had orders to seize

5016-415: The Châteauvieux, played a major part in the Nancy affair (mutiny) of 1790 and 23 of its soldiers were executed, after trial by their own Swiss officers. The Swiss Guard however remained loyal and was massacred on 10 August 1792, when the mob attacked the Tuileries Palace , although Louis XVI had already left the building. The eleven Swiss regiments of line infantry were disbanded under a decree passed by

5130-507: The Confederation, a directorial system of government is followed by the cantons. The cantonal legislatures are unicameral parliaments , with their size varying between 58 and 200 seats. A few legislatures also involve or did involve general popular assemblies known as Landsgemeinden ; the use of this form of legislature has declined: at present, it exists only in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus . The cantonal executives consist of either five or seven members, depending on

5244-441: The Dutch colonies in Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean. The Fourgeoud Regiment, which was sent to Berbice in 1763 in response to a slave rebellion , undertook numerous expeditions against the maroons in neighboring Surinam until 1778. A narrative of the Surinam campaigns, written by John Gabriel Stedman , was later published. Between 4,000 and 5,000 Swiss mercenaries were employed, mostly on an individual basis, by

5358-417: The Elder describing the banner mentions only these two designs, the boar ( eber ) and the mace ( kolben ), and the illustrations of his Berner Chronik depict them on a triangular blue banner. But there is a banner preserved in the Museum in Zug castle which according to local tradition is identified as the original Saubanner . In contrast to Schilling's description, this banner is rectangular, and shows

5472-416: The Federal Constitution). The cantonal constitutions determine the internal organisation of the canton, including the degree of autonomy accorded to the municipalities , which varies but almost always includes the power to levy taxes and pass municipal laws; some municipalities have their own police forces. As at the federal level, all cantons provide for some form of direct democracy . Citizens may demand

5586-467: The French Assembly on 20 August 1792. Over three thousand Swiss soldiers transferred individually to French units and continued in service. However, many of the rank and file returned to Switzerland, where measures had to be taken to provide them with relief and reintegration into the rural society from which most had been drawn. Following the French invasion of Switzerland in 1798, a project to raise six demi-brigades of Swiss infantry for French service

5700-403: The French Revolutionary Wars , and later passed into the service of the French Republic in 1798 as the Helvetic Legions in Italy. After his return to Turin in 1814, King Victor Emmanuel I considered raising six Swiss regiments from the cantons of Ticino , Vaud, Bern and the Grisons. However, due to budgetary reasons, he was forced to sign the capitulation for only one regiment (Christ) from

5814-399: The French monarchy and Swiss cantons or individual noble families. By 1740 more than 12,000 Swiss soldiers were in French service. During the remainder of the eighteenth century, Swiss numbers varied according to need, reaching a peak of 20,000 during the Austrian War of Succession and falling to 12,300 after 1763. In addition to the direct military value of employing Swiss in French service,

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5928-436: The Grisons, which never reached its nominal strength and was disbanded in 1816. The Hundred Swiss of the Guard, who were also disbanded in 1798 and restored in 1814, continued to perform their duties at the Royal Palace of Turin until their final dissolution in 1832. The Kingdom of England began to recruit Swiss mercenaries after the Glorious Revolution of 1689. A first capitulation was signed in 1690 between England and

6042-409: The Hirzel Regiment formed part of the Dutch contingent sent to serve in England as allies at the time of the Jacobite rising in Scotland that year. With the threat of a French invasion in 1748, the Netherlands concluded a capitulation with all Protestant cantons (except Basel ) in addition to Glarus , Appenzell Ausserrhoden , St. Gallen and Neuchâtel. The capitulation of 1748 increased to 20,400

6156-401: The Man (and of the operetta The Chocolate Soldier based on it) is focused on a fictional Swiss mercenary serving in the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian War ; there is, however, no evidence of actual such mercenaries in that war. Cantons of Switzerland The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation . The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of

6270-642: The Negroponte expedition and overdue payments strained Venetian relations with the Swiss, particularly the Catholic cantons, in the late 17th century. Nevertheless, Venice continued to employ Swiss regiments, concluding a new capitulation with the Protestant cantons of Bern and Zürich, as well as the Grisons, in 1706. Swiss mercenaries served the Republic of Venice until 1719. Swiss mercenaries were also employed at various dates by Prussia , Brandenburg , Genoa , Portugal , Tuscany , Poland , Saxony , Denmark , Sweden , and Bavaria , among other states. Since 1859, only one Swiss mercenary unit has been permitted,

6384-457: The Netherlands. In 1700, 11,200 Swiss soldiers served in the Dutch States Army . At the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709, during the War of the Spanish Succession , six Swiss regiments in Dutch pay (Chambrier, Schmid von Grüneck, Hirzel, May, Stürler and Mestral) fought a French army which included Swiss infantry regiments and Louis XIV's Swiss Guards . The Republic sent Swiss regiments to Scotland in 1715 and 1745; in 1745, three battalions of

6498-435: The Protestant cantons of Zürich, Bern, Glarus, Schaffhausen and Appenzell Ausserrhoden, as well as the city of St. Gallen . Starting in the 1750s, Swiss soldiers also served in the armies of the British East India Company (EIC). Between 1751 and 1754, 518 mercenaries, mostly Swiss and Germans, were sent to the East Indies. The EIC's Swiss contingent was increased in 1757 by four regiments recruited by Jacques Marc Prevost ,

6612-452: The Swiss Guard ( Guardia Svizzera ), also called the "Hundred Swiss" ( Cento Svizzeri ) after the eponymous French unit . The company's size varied between 175 men in 1597 and 112 in 1774. In addition to the Swiss cantons, Savoy employed a number of units from the Valais , a Catholic associate state of Switzerland , starting with the Kalbermatten Regiment in 1615. Swiss Protestants, mostly from Vaud and Bern, entered Sardinian service in

6726-410: The Swiss cantons had gradually developed a reputation across Europe as skilled soldiers, due to their successful defense of their liberties against their Austrian Habsburg overlords, starting as early as the late 13th century, including remarkable upset victories over heavily armoured knights at Morgarten and Laupen . This was furthered by later successful campaigns of regional expansion, mainly into

6840-547: The Swiss constitution of 1848, though troops still served abroad when obliged by treaties. One such example were the Swiss regiments serving under Francis II of the Two Sicilies , who defended Gaeta in 1860 during the Italian War of Unification . This marked the end of an era. Swiss soldiers continued to serve as valued mercenaries with a number of European armies from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, in spite of extensive changes in tactics, drill and weapons. The most consistent and largest-scale employer of these troops

6954-402: The Swiss mercenaries, serving the French king, attempted repeatedly to storm an impregnable defensive position without artillery or missile support, only to be mown down by small-arms and artillery fire. Never before had the Swiss suffered such heavy losses while being unable to inflict much damage upon their foe. The Swiss are generally considered to have been surpassed by the Landsknechts after

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7068-399: The Swiss participated in mutinies against their Dutch superiors at Java in 1860. The Dutch government then suspended their recruitment, only to resume it in 1866. By the start of the First World War , about 7,600 Swiss mercenaries had served throughout the Dutch colonial empire . The first Swiss mercenaries in the service of the House of Savoy (rulers of the Duchy of Savoy and later

7182-466: The Swiss pikemen at a disadvantage. For instance, the Spanish rodeleros , also known as sword-and-buckler men, armed with steel rodelas and espadas and often wearing a helmet and a breastplate, were much better armed and armored for man-to-man close quarters combat. Accordingly, they could defeat the Swiss pike square by dashing under their unwieldy pikes and stabbing them. However, this tactic operated in support of allied pike squares and thus required

7296-410: The Two Sicilies were officially disbanded. Mercenaries from Switzerland and the Grisons were individually employed by the Republic of Venice as early as the 15th century. In 1500, a capitulation authorized Venice to recruit 4,000 men from the Grisons, in return for Venice's support at the Battle of Calven the previous year. A treaty signed in 1560 raised a Swiss regiment of twelve companies, under

7410-441: The Vatican's Swiss Guard , which has been protecting the pope for the last five centuries, dressed in colourful uniforms, supposedly drawn by Michelangelo , reminiscent of the Swiss mercenary's heyday. Despite its being prohibited, individual Swiss citizens carried on the tradition of foreign military service into the twentieth century. This included 800 Swiss volunteers who fought with the Republican International Brigades during

7524-408: The basis for several 17th-century capitulations between Venice and the Swiss. Two Swiss units, the Werdtmüller and Weiss regiments, were formed in 1648 and 1658, respectively, for service in Venetian Dalmatia . The Büeler Regiment, from Solothurn, took part in the Cretan War against the Ottoman Empire , serving in Dalmatia from 1652 to 1664. In 1687, a Swiss regiment of 2,500 men, recruited from

7638-441: The battlefield, where they were often opposed during the major European conflict of the early sixteenth century, the Italian Wars . Although the Swiss generally had a significant edge in a simple " push of pike ", the resulting combat was nonetheless quite savage, and known to Italian onlookers as "bad war". Period artists such as Hans Holbein attest to the fact that two such huge pike columns crashing into each other could result in

7752-417: The battles of Madonna dell'Olmo and Assietta . By the end of the war in 1748, about 10,600 Swiss soldiers were employed by Sardinia. Three new Swiss regiments, largely consisting of soldiers from the recently-disbanded Swiss units in French service, were raised for the Sardinian Army in 1793. Each regiment was reduced to a single battalion in 1797, following Sardinia's defeat in the Italian campaigns of

7866-403: The by now under-strength four Swiss regiments undertook ceremonial guard duties in Paris. Upon Napoleon's return from Elba in 1815, the serving Swiss units were recalled to Switzerland on the grounds that a new contract signed with the government of Louis XVIII had now been rendered void. Still, one composite regiment of Napoleon's Swiss veterans fought at Wavre during the Hundred Days . After

7980-562: The canton. For the names of the institutions, see the list of cantonal executives and list of cantonal legislatures . The cantons retain all powers and competencies not delegated to the Confederation by the federal constitution or law: most significantly the cantons are responsible for healthcare , welfare , law enforcement, public education , and retain the power of taxation . Each canton defines its official language(s). Cantons may conclude treaties not only with other cantons but also with foreign states (respectively Articles 48 and 56 of

8094-416: The cantons vary from 37 km (15 sq. mi.) ( Basel-Stadt ) to 7,105 km (2743 sq. mi.) ( Grisons ); the populations (as of 2018) range from 16,000 ( Appenzell Innerrhoden ) to 1.5 million ( Zürich ). The term canton , now also used as the English term for administrative subdivisions of other countries, originates in French usage in the late 15th century (recorded in Fribourg in 1467), from

8208-591: The close defeat at the Battle of Marignano in 1515, the "Battle of Giants", was seen as an achievement of sorts for Swiss arms due to the ferocity of the fighting and the good order of their withdrawal. Nonetheless, the repulse at Marignano presaged the decline of the Swiss form of pike warfare —eventually, the two-century run of Swiss victories ended in 1522 with disaster at the Battle of Bicocca when combined Spanish tercios and Landsknecht forces decisively defeated them using superior tactics, fortifications, artillery, and new technology (i.e. handguns ). At Bicocca,

8322-541: The close-packed ranks of the Swiss squares in bloody heaps—at least, as long as the Swiss attack could be bogged down by earthworks or cavalry charges, and the vulnerable arquebusiers were backed up by melee infantry—pikemen, halberdiers, and/or swordsmen (Spanish sword-and-buckler men or the Doppelsöldner wielding the Zweihänder)—to defend them if necessary from the Swiss in close combat. Other stratagems could also take

8436-408: The company. The banner used in this campaign showed a boar ( sau being a term for wild pig ) and a mace or club ( kolben ). The alternative term for the campaign, torechtes Leben is from Early Modern High German torecht for "foolhardy, daredevil" (Modern German töricht "simple, fatuous") and leben (lit. " life "), at the time term for a guild or corporation. Diebold Schilling

8550-602: The employment of Swiss mercenaries in organized bodies from the late 16th century on, customary capitulations existed between employing powers and the Swiss cantons or noble families assembling and supplying these troops. Such contracts would generally cover specific details such as the numbers, quality, pay rates and equipment of recruits. Provisions were commonly made that Swiss soldiers would only serve under officers of their own nationality, would be subject to Swiss laws, would carry their own flags and would not be employed in campaigns that would bring them into conflict with Swiss in

8664-465: The enemy and relied more on a straightforward steamroller assault of the phalanx formation. Such deep pike columns could crush lesser infantry in close combat and were invulnerable to the effects of a cavalry charge, but they were vulnerable to firearms if they could be immobilized (as seen in the Battle of Marignano ). The Swiss mercenaries did deploy bows, crossbows, handguns and artillery of their own, however these always remained very subsidiary to

8778-600: The eve of the French Revolution the log-book of one Swiss regiment expressed concern that Franco-Swiss recruits were becoming prone to desertion as general discontent spread. French-speaking Swiss soldiers were generally to prove more susceptible to revolutionary propaganda than their German-speaking colleagues. At the outbreak of the French Revolution the Swiss troops were, as at least nominal foreigners, still considered more reliable than their French counterparts in

8892-511: The first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte . Two important periods in the development of the Old Swiss Confederacy are summarized by the terms Acht Orte ('Eight Cantons'; from 1353 to 1481) and Dreizehn Orte ('Thirteen Cantons', from 1513 to 1798). Each canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy , formerly also Ort ('lieu/locality', from before 1450), or Stand ('estate', from c.  1550 ),

9006-520: The formation of two Swiss regiments. A third regiment were raised in 1826, through a treaty with Valais , the Grisons and Schwyz, and fourth by Bern in 1829. These capitulations , concluded for a period of thirty years, offered commercial advantages. The Swiss regiments went through unrest under the reign of Ferdinand II , with frequent changes of garrison. During the Revolutions of 1848–1849 , Swiss mercenaries were deployed in two campaigns against

9120-475: The former feudal rights to the cantonal patriciates , leading to rebellions among the rural population. The Radicals embodied these democratic forces calling for a new federal constitution. This tension, paired with religious issues ("Jesuit question") escalated into armed conflict in the 1840s, with the brief Sonderbund War . The victory of the Liberal-Radicals resulted in the formation of Switzerland as

9234-677: The future landammann of Nidwalden , Melchior Lussy , for Venetian service. Another regiment, belonging to the Salis family of the Val Bregaglia , was recruited by the Republic around the same time. In 1571, a contingent of six hundred Catholics from the Grisons served at the Battle of Lepanto as rowers in the Venetian Navy . An alliance with the cantons of Zürich and Bern, signed in 1615, served as

9348-604: The genuine Swiss element dwindled to 100 or less. Spain's Swiss units served against the French in the War of the Pyrenees , and one Swiss regiment (Betschart) formed part of the Allied army at the Siege of Toulon in 1793. Their final role in Spanish service was against the French in the Peninsular War , in which the five Swiss regiments (Rüttimann, Jann, Reding, Schwaller and Courten) mostly stayed loyal to their Spanish employers. At

9462-528: The impression of not being in control of their own troops. As the company marched from Central Switzerland towards Burgundy , they threatened Swiss towns on their way. They arrived outside of Bern on 24 February, and the city council raised the 3,000-strong militia to protect the city. After promising not to interfere with Bern, they were let inside the city and given food and shelter, moving on towards Fribourg on 27 February. Outside of Fribourg, they were joined by bands from Zug and Unterwalden , now forming

9576-594: The king. The native German term Reisläufer literally means "one who goes to war" and is derived from the Middle High German Reise, meaning "military campaign". The Swiss mercenaries, with their head-down attack in huge columns with the long pike, refusal to take prisoners, and consistent record of victory, were greatly feared and admired—for instance, the Italian diplomat and political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli addressed their system of combat at length in

9690-561: The late 15th century. Ort was increasingly replaced by Stand (plural: Stände ) ' estate ' about 1550, a term taken to imply liberty and sovereignty. Abolished in the Helvetic Republic, the term 'Stand' was revived in 1815 and remains in use today. The French term canton adopted into German after 1648 , and then only in occasional use until the early 19th century: prominent usage of Ort and Stand gradually disappeared in German-speaking Switzerland from

9804-594: The later 16th century on was Spain . After the Protestant Reformation , Switzerland was split along religious lines between Protestant and Catholic cantons. Swiss mercenaries from the Catholic cantons were thereafter increasingly likely to be hired for service in the armies of Habsburg Spain in the late 16th century. The first regularly embodied Swiss regiment in the Spanish Army was that of Walter Roll of Uri (a Catholic canton), formed in 1574 for service in

9918-497: The modern era, since Neuchâtel ceased to be a principality in 1848, all Swiss cantons can be considered to have a republican form of government . Some cantons formally describe themselves as republics in their constitutions. This applies to the Romance-speaking cantons in particular: Geneva (formally République et canton de Genève , 'Republic and canton of Geneva'), Jura , Neuchâtel , Valais , Vaud and Ticino . In

10032-573: The most capable close order infantry in Europe throughout the remainder of the sixteenth century. This was demonstrated by their battlefield performances in the service of the French monarchy during the French Wars of Religion , in particular at the Battle of Dreux , where a block of Swiss pikemen held the Huguenot army until the Catholic cavalry were able to counterattack. During the period of formalization of

10146-725: The name Regiment de Meuron , first serving the Dutch East India Company, and from 1796, the British East India Company. Under British service, the regiment fought in the Mysore campaign of 1799, the Mediterranean campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars and the Peninsular War . The Regiment de Watteville was a Swiss regiment founded by Louis de Watteville and recruited from regiments that served between 1799 and 1801 in

10260-450: The number of Swiss mercenaries in Dutch service, and additional regiments were taken into service, but that year, the War of Austrian Succession ended and three of these regiments were retired from service. In 1749 a regiment of Swiss Guards ( Zwitsersche Guardes ) was raised, the recruits coming from the ranks of the existing Swiss infantry regiments. Swiss mercenaries were also deployed to

10374-452: The number of available Swiss. During the latter part of the 18th century, increasing reliance was placed on recruiting from the "children of the regiment" – the sons of Swiss soldiers who had married French women and stayed in France after their term of service had ended. The effect was to partially break down barriers between the Swiss and the French population amongst whom they were garrisoned. On

10488-449: The opposing pike square to be fully engaged in the chaos of the push of pike . Swiss pike columns that retained good formation were often able to beat back Spanish rodeleros with impunity, such as in the Battle of Seminara , in which the Swiss pike were heavily outnumbered. Despite the end of their supremacy after the Battle of Pavia, the Swiss pike-armed mercenaries continued to be amongst

10602-628: The ownership of the Tschudi family of Glarus . The Bessler Regiment was replaced by a regiment belonging to the Jauch family, from Uri . Three of the regiments were stationed in the city of Naples and the surrounding area, with a fourth garrisoned in Sicily . The Swiss regiments in Neapolitan service, totaling between 6,000 and 7,000 men, remained active until 1789. After their dismissal, several Swiss soldiers joined other foreign regiments and went on to fight

10716-449: The pike and halberd square. Despite the proven armour-penetration capability of firearms, they were also very inaccurate, slow-loading, and susceptible to damp conditions, and did not fit well with the fast-paced attack tactics used by the Swiss mercenary pike forces (the Spanish invention of the armor piercing arquebus leading to the later tercios formation changed the optimal war tactics). The Swiss remained primarily pikemen throughout

10830-440: The power of their determined mass attack in deep columns with the spear , the pike , and halberd . Hiring them was made even more attractive because entire ready-made Swiss mercenary contingents could be obtained by simply contracting with their local governments, the various Swiss cantons —the cantons had a form of militia system in which the soldiers were bound to serve and were trained and equipped to do so. The warriors of

10944-569: The ranks of the Royal French army. The Landsknecht , however, would continue to serve any paymaster, even, at times, enemies of the Holy Roman Emperor (and Landsknechts at times even fought each other on the battlefield). The Landsknecht often assumed the multi-coloured and striped clothing of the Swiss. The Swiss were not flattered by the imitation, and the two bodies of mercenaries immediately became bitter rivals over employment and on

11058-437: The recognition of former subject territories as full cantons. The Federal Treaty of 1815 increased the number to 22 due to the accession of former associates of the Old Swiss Confederacy . The canton of Jura acceded as the 23rd canton with its secession from Bern in 1979. The official number of cantons was increased to 26 in the federal constitution of 1999 , which designated former half-cantons as cantons. The areas of

11172-687: The restored monarchies of France , Italy , Austria-Hungary and Germany . The Swiss Federal Constitution declares the cantons to be sovereign to the extent that their sovereignty is not limited by federal law. Areas specifically reserved to the Confederation are the armed forces, currency, the postal service, telecommunications, immigration into and emigration from the country, granting asylum, conducting foreign relations with sovereign states, civil and criminal law, weights and measures, and customs duties. Each canton has its own constitution , legislature , executive , police and courts . Similar to

11286-577: The revolutionary Roman Republic and took part in the suppression of the Sicilian Revolution . Their behaviour on this occasion was criticized within Switzerland, which led the Federal Council in 1851 to ban all recruitment for foreign service and to demand the removal of the cantonal and national coats of arms from regimental flags. After Ferdinand II's death in 1859, the Swiss regiments in

11400-576: The service of another country. It has been claimed that such contracts might also contain a commitment that Swiss units would be returned if the confederation came under attack. However, surviving capitulations from the 16th and 17th centuries are not known to contain provisions to this effect. With the passing of the amendment to the Swiss Constitution of 1874 banning the recruitment of Swiss citizens by foreign states, such contractual relations ceased. Military alliances had already been banned under

11514-477: The seventeenth century wore on, and abandoned the pike, their ancient trademark, altogether at around the same time as other troops in the French army, circa 1700. They also served in the New World: Samuel De Champlain 's map of the Île Sainte-Croix ( Saint Croix Island ) settlement shows a barracks for the Swiss. The Swiss mercenaries were recruited according to contracts (capitulations) between

11628-666: The sixteenth century, but after that period they adopted similar infantry formations and tactics to other units in the armies in which they served. Accordingly, they began to deviate from their previously unique tactics, and they took a normal place in the battle line amongst the other infantry units. In the end, as proven at Marignano and Bicocca, the mass pike attack columns of the Swiss mercenaries proved to be too vulnerable to gunpowder weapons as firearms technology advanced, especially arquebusiers and artillery deployed on prepared ground (e.g., earthworks) and properly supported by other arms. These arquebusiers and heavy cannons scythed down

11742-441: The still largely rural cantons; adventure; pride in the reputation of the Swiss as soldiers; and finally what military historian Sir Charles Oman describes as a pure love of combat and warfighting in and of itself, forged by two centuries of conflict. Until roughly 1490, the Swiss had a virtual monopoly on pike-armed mercenary service. However, after that date, the Swiss mercenaries were increasingly supplanted by imitators, chiefly

11856-468: The term Ort (plural: Orte ) was in use from the early 15th century as a generic term for the member cantons. The founding cantons specifically were also known as Waldstätte 'forest settlements' (singular: Waldstatt ). The formulaic Stette und Waldstette for the members of the early confederacy is recorded in the mid-14th century, used interchangeably with Stett und Lender ('cities and lands', 'city cantons and rural cantons') until

11970-679: The time of the Helvetic Republic . Only with the Act of Mediation of 1803 did German Kanton become an official designation, retained in the Swiss Constitution of 1848. The term Stand ( French : état , Italian : stato ) remains in synonymous usage and is reflected in the name of the upper chamber of the Swiss Parliament, the Council of States ( German : Ständerat , French : Conseil des États , Italian : Consiglio degli Stati , Romansh : Cussegl dals Stadis ). In

12084-497: The twelfth chapter of his literary masterpiece, The Prince (1513–1532). Although often referred to as "pikemen", the Swiss mercenary units also contained halberdiers as well until several decades into the 16th century, as well as a small number of skirmishers armed with bows , crossbows , or early firearms to precede the rapid advance of the attack column. The young men who went off to fight, and sometimes die, in foreign service had several incentives—limited economic options in

12198-614: The white uniforms of the Spanish line infantry. The Dutch employed many Swiss units from the late 17th century until the 19th century. After initial attempts by the Dutch Republic to raise Swiss regiments during the Franco-Dutch War failed, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 by Louis XIV of France prompted a feeling of common threat among Protestants. In March 1693, the Dutch envoy to Zürich , Petrus Valkenier, concluded

12312-715: Was North America , where Swiss mercenaries in the British Army served in the French and Indian War . Some, such as Henry Bouquet and Frederick Haldimand (both from the Royal American Regiment), achieved distinction in North America and held high offices in the British colonial administration . In 1781, Charles-Daniel de Meuron , a former colonel of the French Swiss Guards, founded his own mercenary regiment under

12426-482: Was besieged by the mob . The Swiss and other royal troops were subsequently withdrawn to their frontier garrisons. Over the next years The Ernest Regiment in particular faced a series of clashes with local citizens, culminating in a two-day battle with Marseilles' militia in 1791. This indication of growing popular resentment against the Swiss caused the Canton of Berne to recall the disarmed regiment. Another Swiss regiment,

12540-476: Was a fully sovereign state with its own border controls, army, and currency from at least the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848, with a brief period of centralised government during the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803). The term Kanton has been widely used since the 19th century. The number of cantons was increased to 19 with the Act of Mediation (1803), with

12654-706: Was initiated. However, recruitment proved difficult and by May 1799 only a quarter of the intended establishment of 18,000 had been raised. Napoleon authorized the recruitment of a Swiss infantry regiment for French service in July 1805. A further three infantry regiments were created in October 1807, each including an artillery company. He specified that this newly raised Swiss Corps should comprise only citizens of Switzerland without "mingling in deserters or other foreigners". The Swiss regiments fought well both in Spain (where they clashed at

12768-451: Was involved in the Peninsular War in Spain, defending Cádiz during the Siege of Cádiz . The Meuron and Watteville regiments both sailed to Canada in 1813 to fight in the War of 1812 . De Watteville's Regiment saw action at the Siege of Fort Erie and at the Battle of Fort Oswego . All Swiss units in British service were demobilized in 1816. A short-lived British Swiss Legion, recruited in

12882-496: Was of sufficient size, more often they simply drew up in one or two huge columns which deployed side by side, forming the center of the army in which they served. Likewise, their tactics were not very similar to those used by the Swiss cantons in their brilliant tactical victories of the Burgundian Wars and Swabian War , in which they relied on maneuver at least as much as the brute force of the attack columns. In mercenary service they became much less likely to resort to outmaneuvering

12996-458: Was the French army, where the Swiss formed an elite part of the infantry. The Swiss Guards regiment, the most senior of the twelve Swiss mercenary regiments in French service, was essentially identical to the French Guards in organization and equipment, other than wearing a red uniform as opposed to the blue coats of the French corps. The Swiss adopted the musket in increasingly large numbers as

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