The Stecklikrieg left traces in Bern’s old town that can still be seen today. Bullet hole from a cannon ball fired during the siege of Bern. — **The u003cemu003eStecklikriegu003c/emu003e left traces in Bern’s old town that can still be seen today. Bullet hole from a cannon ball fired during the siege of Bern.** Wikimedia

Switzerland’s ‘War of Sticks’ of 1802

The battle over freedom and liberties led to a game-changing civil war in Switzerland in the early 19th century.

Noah Businger

Noah Businger is a historian and a PhD student in Early Modern Swiss History at the University of Bern.

The thunder of cannon fire rumbles over Bern, and each bang shakes the city to its core. The streets are deserted; nobody dares venture outside. The storm is coming from the east. Outside the city fortifications, federalist troops from Bern bombard the city from an elevated position on the steep Aargauerstalden pathway. They are targeting the government of the Helvetic Republic which is trying to maintain its position amidst the thunder of cannons. It’s the 18 September 1802 and people in the city are wondering whether the roaring cannon fire will herald a storm that will overturn the political order.

Will the ‘federalists’ achieve their goal? To find out, we need to look at how this bombardment came about in the first place. Who were the federalists anyway? What was the Helvetic Republic? And why did they want rid of it? Time for a look at the causes, timeline and implications of the so-called Stecklikrieg (‘War of Sticks’).

The unpopular Republic

In early 1798, the ‘Helvetic Revolution’ took place in Switzerland, when subjects in Vaud and Basel staged revolts, inspired by the upheaval in France. To back them up, a French army invaded the country. The old order – the ancien régime – came to an end and gave way to a new state called the Helvetic Republic. This new state was inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, in other words, religious freedom, freedom of establishment, representative democracy and equality of all citizens, which meant abolishing the many subject territories that had existed up until that point.

Despite these revolutionary freedoms, the new state met with disapproval and even resistance in many places. While the so-called ‘unitarians’ supported the Helvetic Republic, the ‘federalist’ group was sceptical about the new state. Just by calling themselves federalists it was clear that they rejected the Helvetic Republic, which was heavily centralised and decimated borders that had existed for centuries. The former small states and their local autonomous governments disappeared and the new cantons were purely administrative entities.

Map of the Old Swiss Confederacy, around 1789. — **The Helvetic Republic (right) redrew the borders of the cantons, thus destroying political and cultural identities.** Wikimedia / Marco Zanoli / Wikimedia / Marco Zanoli

Map of the Helvetic Republic from 1798/99. — **The Helvetic Republic (right) redrew the borders of the cantons, thus destroying political and cultural identities.** Wikimedia / Marco Zanoli / Wikimedia / Marco Zanoli

The Helvetic Republic thus destroyed local political rights, cultures and economies. Up until then, self-determination of political processes and self-government of political offices and common property had been considered liberties that were central to regional identities. The new revolutionary universal freedom couldn’t compete with these age-old liberties. In addition, the introduction of new taxes and the presence of French occupying troops sparked resistance against the new state. Under these circumstances the Republic struggled to build up any political, institutional or cultural powers. It primarily owed its existence to the French occupying forces.

In towns and in the countryside, the presence of French troops was expensive and annoyed the local population. Caricatures by David Hess-Hirzel. Swiss National Museum

Following four years of complete political chaos, the French troops unexpectedly withdrew in late July 1802. This significantly weakened the Helvetic government, and had immediate implications. By 1 August there was an uprising. The Landsgemeinde (cantonal assembly) was recalled in Schwyz, and Alois Reding, one of the most prominent representatives of the federalists, was appointed Landamann (chief magistrate). Schwyz decided to break with the Helvetic Republic and go back to the old order of ‘privileges and civil liberties’. Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Glarus, Graubünden, both Appenzells, the Rheintal and Toggenburg soon followed suit. They all wanted to return to a system of self-governance within the old borders, and – as those in Appenzell Innerrhoden put it – they wanted to govern their states themselves rather than having to pay administrative officials to do it.

The insurgents placed great value on a return to the old liberties. Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden and Obwalden already informed the Helvetic government in early August that they would defend their reinstated order militarily if necessary. And that proclamation was soon put to the test.

**Portrait of Alois Reding.** Swiss National Museum

Outbreak of civil war

In mid-August the Helvetic government decided to take military action against the insurgents, sending General Joseph Leonz Andermatt and several hundred soldiers to Central Switzerland. Andermatt occupied the Rengg Pass – a sensitive area that connected Lucerne with Nidwalden and Obwalden. But the opposition had also mobilised, and on 28 August, the insurgents from Central Switzerland attacked Andermatt’s troops. After a brief engagement, the Helvetic troops withdrew and the insurgents celebrated an unexpected victory against the Republic.

The skirmish on the Rengg Pass sent out a clear signal. Next, the city of Zurich turned against the Helvetic government, as the old elites wanted their power back. General Andermatt was sent to lay siege to Zurich but the city refused to surrender. Andermatt then had to move on, as the people of Aargau had also deposed the representatives of the Helvetic Republic. By this point, the uprisings had reached the scale of a civil war.

**On 10 and 13 September 1802, Zurich was bombarded by Helvetic troops. But the shelling had no effect.** Swiss National Museum

As the insurgents were sometimes only armed with improvised weaponry and everyday objects, the war became known as the Stecklikrieg or ‘War of Sticks’. The federalist masterminds tried to turn these impromptu, uncoordinated revolts into a concentrated campaign. To this end, they sent Bernese patrician Rudolf von Erlach to Aargau. There, Erlach rallied some 1,100 men, conquered Olten, then Solothurn, and in mid-September made his way towards Bern. Bernese federalist Rudolf von Effinger then joined Erlach with 200 men to move in on the city. They both reached the Swiss capital on 17 September and embarked on the bombardment the following day. But the bombs didn’t fall for long as the Helvetic government had surrendered by the afternoon of 18 September and negotiated a retreat to Lausanne. But the federalist army, which had grown to over 7,000 men, pursued the Helvetic troops. By this time, the balance of power had become clear: the end was looming for the Republic.

The siege of Bern, depicted by Karl Ludwig Zehender, 19th century. — The siege of Bern, depicted by Karl Ludwig Zehender. Militarily, the federalists kept improving their organisation. The soldiers were often battle-hardened former mercenaries who armed themselves with rifles and cannons from the seized Helvetic armouries. That’s when the war moved up a notch from being a u003cemu003eStecklikriegu003c/emu003e or ‘war of sticks’. Bernisches Historisches Museum, Photo: Stefan Rebsamen

The federalists were already preparing to re-establish the Swiss Confederation. To do so, Schwyz invited the insurgent cantons to the Federal Diet, where every canton was asked to send a representative of both urban and rural areas. This may seem innocuous but was in fact highly controversial as Schwyz’s proposal meant equal rights for town and country, which had not been the case in every canton before 1798. Bern in particular fought against equal status and wanted to send only a representative from the city to Schwyz. Karl Ludwig Stettler from Bern, who fought for the federalist troops in 1802, wrote in his diary that Bern opposed Schwyz’s proposal as it meant “abolishing all privileges and introducing a democratic constitution”. He said the people of Bern had not taken up arms “to introduce rural democracy and popular government”. In 1802 Bern wanted to turn back the clock and bring back unequal patrician rule. Fundamental differences were therefore already in evidence among the federalists even before the common enemy had been beaten.

Did the fall of Bern mean the collapse of the Republic?

Despite these tensions, the federalist army continued its advance. On 3 October it caught up with the Helvetic troops in Faoug on Lake Murten, where a battle took place and the Helvetic soldiers suffered a decisive defeat. The very next day, the federalist troops were stationed in front of Lausanne, where they stopped their advance and a ceasefire was reached. Why did the federalists not strike the decisive blow against the Helvetic Republic while in this auspicious position? Because the powerful French Republic intervened. The First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte, had sent an ambassador to the federalist generals, offering to personally act as mediator between the warring parties. The federalists realised straight away what this offer of mediation from France meant: an end to the revolt. If they refused the offer of mediation, France would stage a military intervention against them.

Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, knew exactly what was going on in the Helvetic Republic. — **Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, knew exactly what was going on in the u003cemu003eHelvetic Republicu003c/emu003e.** Wikimedia

Paris was kept updated on the events unfolding in the Helvetic Republic the whole time. After the fall of Solothurn and Bern, Napoleon Bonaparte felt compelled to intervene. If he didn’t want to lose his strategically important neighbour to the influence of the Habsburgs and Britain, he had to take action. Following the proclaimed mediation, French troops invaded Switzerland again on 15 October, and in December the mediation negotiations started in Saint-Cloud near Paris. During these negotiations, Napoleon set out his vision for a new Swiss Confederation, putting an end to the centralist structure and instead favouring a more federal approach. The cantons would be given equal status and subject territories and patrician rule would be consigned to the past. Napoleon Bonaparte brought back some long-standing federalist elements and maintained some reforms, and in so doing stabilised the situation in Switzerland.

On 19 February 1803, the Act of Mediation officially marked the end of the Helvetic Republic. Yet the outcome and aftermath of the Stecklikrieg would significantly shape Switzerland until 1848.

More of: Modern Age Politics War/battle

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