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2nd Swiss Regiment (France)
French military unit (1806-1815) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2nd Swiss Regiment (French: 2e régiment suisse) was a Swiss mercenary infantry regiment that served in the French Army from 1806 to 1815. It was one of four Swiss regiments integrated into the Grande Armée during the Napoleonic Wars.
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The 2nd Swiss Regiment was raised by Emperor Napoleon in October 1806.[2] In August 1807, the regiment was sent to the Gironde Observation Corps, which would participate in the invasion of Portugal.[2] The unit fought in the Iberian Peninsula within the French Army of Spain (Armée d'Espagne), both in Portugal and Spain.[2] In 1812, the 2nd Swiss was sent to Russia with the 9th division under the command of General Belliard.[2] They entered Vilnius in June 1812.[2] The regiment took part in the battles of Ostrovno, Vitebsk, Smolensk, Dorogobuzh and Borodino.[2][3] They took part in the Battle of the Berezina during the retreat.[2]
In 1813, the 2nd Swiss was in Saxony and took part in the Battle of Leipzig.[2][4][5] After Napoleon's first abdication in 1814, the regiment was kept by the First Bourbon Restoration along with the three other Swiss regiments.[2] On 2 April 1815, following Napoleon's return to power, the four regiments were dissolved and the 2nd (Swiss) Foreign Regiment was formed with Swiss soldiers who remained loyal to the Emperor; it participated in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.[2][6] During this campaign, the regiment had a total of 407 men, a small number compared to the other French line infantry regiments. The general staff consisted of 54 men, but the post of major remained vacant.[6]
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