- 48 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
Napoleon’s Swiss Troops
About this book
Ever since the 15th century Switzerland had been exporting professional soldiers to serve as mercenaries for foreign monarchies.
Napoleon, therefore, was not the first to make full use of the martial qualities of the Swiss and obtained Swiss agreement to expand the recruitment of regiments for service in the French Army. Napoleon would use Swiss troops on the battlefields of Italy and Spain, and in 1812 re-organize the four original regiments into a single division for the invasion of Russia, with each regiment having three full-strength battalions.
In November of 1812, meeting up with Napoleon's main force retreating from Moscow at the Berezina River, the Swiss on the west bank guarded the approaches to the pontoon bridges from the Russian attack to the south. Just 1,200 Swiss out of the approximately 8,000 that entered Russia were left to face, along with 8,000 other remnants of other units, the 30,000-strong Russian army. The Swiss held their ground and when their ammunition ran out they charged the Russians with bayonets.
This book reveals the proud combat history of the Swiss troops of Napoleon's army as well as the colourful uniforms they wore.
Napoleon, therefore, was not the first to make full use of the martial qualities of the Swiss and obtained Swiss agreement to expand the recruitment of regiments for service in the French Army. Napoleon would use Swiss troops on the battlefields of Italy and Spain, and in 1812 re-organize the four original regiments into a single division for the invasion of Russia, with each regiment having three full-strength battalions.
In November of 1812, meeting up with Napoleon's main force retreating from Moscow at the Berezina River, the Swiss on the west bank guarded the approaches to the pontoon bridges from the Russian attack to the south. Just 1,200 Swiss out of the approximately 8,000 that entered Russia were left to face, along with 8,000 other remnants of other units, the 30,000-strong Russian army. The Swiss held their ground and when their ammunition ran out they charged the Russians with bayonets.
This book reveals the proud combat history of the Swiss troops of Napoleon's army as well as the colourful uniforms they wore.
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Napoleon’s Swiss Troops by David Greentree,Gerry Embleton,Sam Embleton in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & European History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- COVER
- TITLE PAGE
- INTRODUCTION
- THE HELVETIAN LEGIONS & THE DEMI-BRIGADES
- FORMATION OF THE SWISS REGIMENTS
- 1st SWISS REGIMENT: ITALY, 1805–11
- THE PENINSULA, 1807–14: 2nd, 3rd & 4th SWISS REGIMENTS
- VALAIS AND NEUCHÂTEL BATTALIONS
- THE SWISS REGIMENTS IN RUSSIA, 1812
- THE SWISS IN 1813–15
- SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
- PLATE COMMENTARIES
- INDEX
- RELATED TITLES
- IMPRINT