Журнал «История: факты и символы»

Author: Vital-Durand Gabriel

Events of the two last years of the XVIII th century may go unnoticed in the middle of more prominent military campaigns and dramatic political developments alike. The French Directory was struggling with political and financial challenges in 1799. On the international front, the fate of the French Republic did appear rather grim, with four major powers leagued against it, armies stretched from Friesland to Calabria, a navy in shambles, its best general stuck in Syria. During that period, a corner of the world that is usually very quiet underwent a series of memorable events. The three initial participants in the 1291-Pact had crystallised around them a Confederation that had managed to emerge virtually unscathed from the disastrous episodes attached to the Reformation, the Thirty-year War and the emergence of France as a dominant nation at the expense of Flanders, Lorraine, Burgundy, Franche-Comté and Savoy. The old Confederation had actually preserved a number of antiquated practices that worked to the benefit of oligarchic parties at the expense of ordinary people. Little wonder that France would soon seize the opportunity of replicating itself in the form of the ill-fated Helvetic Republic (1798-1803). At the same time, the 2 nd Coalition of allied powers had formed three large armies, one in Holland under command of the Duke of York, one in Southern Germany under Archduke Charles and one in Italy directed by Field-Marshal Count Suvorov. The French Army of Italy was led by Generals Moreau and Championnet. These otherwise capable commanders happened to lose every major engagement with the Russian Cossacks brilliantly conducted by the 70-year-old once favourite of Catherine II of Russia. By the end of the 1799 campaign, Suvorov had conquered back all of Northern Italy and was on the verge of invading the South of France. He had been made Prince Italskii in testimony to his successes. At this particular moment, the Aulic Council in Vienna came about moving armies along the Alps... General Brune heading the French Army of Holland was considered a threat to the poorly co-ordinated Anglo-Russian forces once intended to overthrow the Batavian Republic. In September of 1799, Archduke Charles was ordered North to support these. Meanwhile, Field-Marshal Suvorov was to march across the Tessin region North of Milan, slip through the S t Gothard Pass and reach central Switzerland to contain the French. General Masséna was quick to seize the opportunity, and ordered General Oudinot eastwards across the Limatt River at Zurich on 25 th September. Austro-Russian positions under Generals Korsakov and Hotze were taken by surprise and overrun. The allied troops soon had to retreat towards the Vorarlberg Province of Austria to the East. During that time, Suvorov had given up any hope of receiving the mules that had been committed to carry guns, equipment and forage across the Alps. The Cossacks had little choice but to give up their horses and march up to the S t Gothard Pass (2’108 m) against heavy fire from the overwhelming French entrenchments. Notwithstanding, they managed to cross the pass on 24 th September and rush further North across Devil’s Bridge into the Schöllenen Gorges. Two days later, their chance of boarding boats to cross the Four-Cantons-Lake had vanished and Suvorov was left to head eastbound across the Chinsig (2'073 m) and the Pragel (1'515 m) Passes towards Glaris and Austria. They reached there only to realise that the French troops had settled in Glaris and the only opportunity yet available to them was to retreat Southwards across the Panix Pass (2'407 m) towards the Anterior Rhine River. By now, hunger, bitter cold and heavy snow had combined with tiredness and despair against the unfortunate Russians who had lost up to their shoes... On 6 th October, the old yet indomitable Field-Marshal managed to cross that pass with whatever was left of his once-successful army. The troops would eventually reach Chur before marching back to Austria and Russia. The unfortunate Suvorov, upon presenting to the tsar, was to fall in disgrace, get ill and die soon afterwards. Nevertheless, locals in Switzerland and soldiers in Russia still remember the amazing resilience and stubbornness as displayed by the Cossacks during the fall of 1799. Meanwhile, General Brune had routed the English expeditionary force in Castricum (Holland) on 6 th October. Unexpectedly, General Bonaparte had abandoned his army back in Egypt and reached Paris to prepare a coup (18 th Brumaire Year VIII - 9 th November, 1799). He was to quickly reassert law and order, reach the appropriate compromise with the aristocracy in exile and the Catholic Church alike, hence actually combining the benefits of both worlds, the old and the new. Eventually, the determination of his archenemies - Pitt the Younger and Admiral Nelson - was to force the soon to be emperor into ever-continuing wars with all European powers of the time. Year 1814 was the last time that Switzerland would have to stand foreign soldiers on its soil. The hesitancy of many Swiss citizens of this day to join into either European or other international commitments may well have something to do with the events of that time.