The Austrians occupied Switzerland on December 30, threatening the borders of France. The tide of war was running against Napoleon; in two months he lost 400,000 men. Still, he fought on.

This essay is part of “(There is Nothing New) Under the Sun“ A monthly column of random, historical vignettes demonstrating that the more things change, the more they stay the same. After ...

The cantons became mere prefectures, and the political situation was tense when Napoleon imposed mediation. Switzerland was formed into a country of 19 autonomous and equal cantons united under a ...

After the fall of Napoleon and the signing of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, a period that also marked the formal recognition of Swiss neutrality, Switzerland reverted back to a cantonal association.

Napoleon Absent, Coalition Ascendant covers why and how French gains in the Rhineland, Switzerland, and Italy that resulted from Bonaparte’s victories in 1797 that led to the Peace of Campo Formio ...

Swiss, and others, as well as French. They were the most feared men in Napoleon’s army. Much more than personal bodyguards, they were Napoleon's weapon of last resort, and were rarely committed ...

The first volume, Napoleon Absent, Coalition Ascendant: The 1799 Campaign in Italy and Switzerland, examined why and how French gains in the Rhineland, Switzerland, and Italy that resulted from ...