Swiss Guard

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Image:Swiss Guard.jpg Swiss Guards were Swiss mercenary soldiers that served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards and palace guards at foreign European courts from the late 15th century on. They were separate from regular Swiss mercenary troops of the line, who fought for various European powers until the 19th century, but who were not generally called "Swiss Guards".

Various "Swiss Guards" have existed. The earliest such detachment were the Guard of the Hundred Swiss at the French court (1497 – 1830); they were complemented in 1567 by a Swiss Guard regiment. The Papal Swiss Guard in the Vatican was founded in 1506; it is the only Swiss Guard that still exists. In the 18th century several other Swiss Guards existed for brief times at many European courts.

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Swiss Guards in France

Image:SapeurGardesSuisses.jpg There were two different corps of swiss mercenaries perfoming guard duties for the Kings of France : the Hundred Swiss (Cent Suisses), serving within the Palace as essentially bodyguards and ceremonial troops, and the Swiss Guards (Gardes suisses), guarding the entrances and outer perimeter. In addition the Gardes suisses served in the field as a fighting regiment in times of war.

The Hundred Swiss were created in 1496 by King Charles VIII. Their main role was the protection of the King indoor, what was called the garde du dedans du Louvre (the Louvre indoor guard), but in the earlier part of their history they accompanied the King on campaign. In the Battle of Pavia (1525) the Hundred Swiss of King Francis I were slain before Francis was captured by the Spanish. They shared the indoor guard with the King's Bodyguards (Gardes du Corps), which were Frenchmen.

As a result of the Everlasting Peace between Switzerland and France declared in 1516, Swiss mercenaries have played their most important roles in the military history of France. Francis I of France used some 120,000 Swiss mercenaries in his wars. In 1616 King Louis XIII distinguished a regiment of Swiss troops by the name of Swiss Guards, which served the primary purpose of protecting the doors, gates and outer perimeters of the royal palaces. This regiment was officially a regiment of the line, but it was generally regarded as part of the King's Military Household. During the 17th and 18th centuries the Swiss Guards maintained a reputation for discipline and steadiness in both peacetime service and foreign campaigning. Their officers were all Swiss and their rate of pay substantially higher than that of the regular French soldiers. Internal discipline was maintained according to Swiss codes which were significantly harsher than those of the regular French Army.

By the 18th century the Swiss Guards were brigaded with the Regiment of French Guards (Gardes françaises), with whom they shared the outer guard, and were in peace-time stationed in barracks on the outskirts of Paris. Like the twelve Swiss regiments of line infantry in French service the Gardes suisses wore red coats. The Swiss Guards had blue facings with white embroidery. The grenadier company were distinguished by bearskins while the other companies wore the standard tricorn headdress of the French infantry. The Guards were recruited from all the Swiss cantons. The nominal establishment was 1,600 men though actual numbers normally seem to have been below this.

Image:SwissGuardsatPrefettura.jpg

The most famous episode in the history of the Swiss Guards was their defense of the Tuileries Palace in central Paris during the French Revolution. Of the nine hundred Swiss Guards defending the Palace on August 10, 1792 more than six hundred were killed during the fighting or massacred after surrender. An estimated two hundred more died in prison of their wounds or were killed during the September Massacres that followed. Apart from about a hundred Swiss who escaped from the Tuileries, some hidden by sympathetic Parisians, the only survivors of the regiment were a 300 strong detachment which had been sent to Normandy to escort grain convoys a few days before August 10. The Swiss officers were mostly amongst those massacred, although Major Bachmann in command at the Tuileries was formally tried and guillotined in September, still wearing his red uniform coat. Two Swiss officers did however survive and went on to reach senior rank under Napoleon. There appears to be no truth in the charge that Louis XVI caused the defeat and destruction of the Gardes suisse by ordering them to lay down their arms when they could still have held the Tuileries. Rather, the Swiss ran low on ammunition and were overwhelmed by superior numbers when fighting broke out spontaneously after the Royal Family had been escorted from the Palace to take refuge with the National Assembly. A note has survived written by the King ordering the Swiss to retire from the Palace and return to their barracks but this was only produced after their position had become untenable. The regimental standards had been secretly buried by the adjutant shortly before the regiment was summoned to the Tuileries on the night of August 9th, indicating that the likely end was foreseen. They were discovered by a gardener and ceremonially burned by the new Republican authorities.

The heroic but futile stand of the Swiss is commemorated by Bertel Thorvaldsen's monument in Lucerne dedicated in 1821 and showing a dying lion collapsed across broken symbols of the French monarchy.

The French Revolution abolished mercenary troops in its citizen army, but Napoleon I and the Restoration Monarchy both made use of Swiss troops. Four Swiss infantry regiments were employed by Napoleon, serving in both Spain and Russia. Two of the eight infantry regiments included in the Garde Royale from 1815 to 1830 were Swiss and can be regarded as sucessors of the old Gardes suisse. When the Tuileries were stormed again, in the July Revolution (July 29, 1830), the Swiss regiments, fearful of another massacre, were withdrawn or melted into the crowd. They were not used again. In 1832 disbanded veterans of the Swiss and another foreign unit, the Legion de Hohenlohe, were recruited into the newly raised Legion Etrangere for service in Algeria.

The Swiss constitution, as amended in 1874, forbade all military capitulations and recruitment of Swiss by foreign powers, although volunteering in foreign armies continued until prohibited outright, in 1927.

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Papal Swiss Guard

Image:Vatican 2.jpg The Swiss Guard (Ger: Schweizergarde) as part of the Military of the Vatican City is an exception to the Swiss rulings of 1874 and 1927. It is a small force responsible for the security of the Apostolic Palace, the entrances to the Vatican City and the safety of the Pope. Its official language is German.

Pope Julius II in 1505 asked the Swiss Diet to provide him with a constant corps of 200 Swiss Mercenaries. In September 1505, the first contingent of 150 soldiers started their march towards Rome, under the command of Kaspar von Silenen, and entered the Vatican on January 22, 1506, today given as the official date of the Guard's foundation. "The Swiss see the sad situation of the Church of God, Mother of Christianity, and realize how grave and dangerous it is that any tyrant, avid for wealth, can assault with impunity, the common Mother of Christianity," declared Ulrich Zwingli, a Swiss Catholic who later became a Protestant reformer.

The force has varied greatly in size over the years and has even been disbanded. Its first, and most significant, hostile engagement was on May 6, 1527 when 147 of the 189 Guards, including their commander, died fighting the forces of Charles V during the Sack of Rome in order to allow Clement VII to escape through the Passeto di Borgo.

Today the Swiss Guard is not considered to belong to any larger force, but is instead the army of the sovereign state of the Vatican. The force is specifically limited to one hundred soldiers and consists of four officers, 23 NCOs, 70 halberdiers, 2 drummers, and a chaplain, all with an equivalent Italian army rank. Not only are the guards fully trained and equipped in modern tactics and weaponry, they also receive instructions in using the sword and halberd.

The guards must be Catholic males with Swiss citizenship who have completed basic training with the Swiss military and can obtain certificates of good conduct. Recruits must be between 19 and 30 years of age and at least 174 cm (5ft 9in) tall.

Qualified candidates must apply to serve. If accepted, new guards are sworn in every May 6 in the San Damaso Courtyard (Italian: Cortile di San Damaso) in the Vatican. (May 6 is the anniversary of the Sack of Rome.) The chaplain of the guard reads aloud the oath in the language of the guard (mostly German, some French, few Italian):

(German version) "Ich schwöre, treu, redlich und ehrenhaft zu dienen dem regierenden Papst [Name des Papstes] und seinen rechtmäßigen Nachfolgern, und mich mit ganzer Kraft für sie einzusetzen, bereit, wenn es erheischt sein sollte, selbst mein Leben für sie hinzugeben. Ich übernehme dieselbe Verpflichtung gegenüber dem Heiligen Kollegium der Kardinäle während der Sedisvakanz des Apostolischen Stuhls. Ich verspreche überdies dem Herrn Kommandanten und meinen übrigen Vorgesetzten Achtung, Treue und Gehorsam. Ich schwöre, alles das zu beobachten, was die Ehre meines Standes von mir verlangt."
(English translation) "I swear to faithfully, honestly and honorably serve the reigning Pope [name of Pope] and his legitimate successors, and to dedicate myself to them with all my strength, ready to sacrifice, should it become necessary, even my own life for them. I likewise assume this promise toward the members of the Sacred College of Cardinals during the period of the Sede Vacante of the Apostolic See. Furthermore, I pledge to the Commandant and to my other superiors respect, fidelity, and obedience. I swear to abide by all the requirements attendant to the dignity of my rank."

When his name is called, each new guard approaches the Swiss Guard's flag, grasping the banner in his left hand. He raises his right hand with his thumb, index, and middle finger extended along three axes, a gesture that symbolizes the Holy Trinity, and speaks:

"Ich, [Name des Rekruten], schwöre, alles das, was mir soeben vorgelesen wurde, gewissenhaft und treu zu halten, so wahr mir Gott und seine Heiligen helfen."
"I, [name of the new guard], swear to diligently and faithfully abide by all this which has just been read to me; may The Almighty and His Saints be my witnesses."

The term of service is between two and 25 years. The official dress uniform is of blue, red, orange and yellow with a distinctly Renaissance appearance. A common misconception is that the dress uniform was designed by Michelangelo. In fact, guard commander Jules Repond created the present uniforms in 1914, taking inspiration from the work of the painter Raphael. The working uniform is more functional and consists of blue coveralls and a black beret.

After the May 13, 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a much stronger emphasis has been made of the Swiss Guards' functional, non-ceremonial roles. This has included extended training in unarmed combat and with issue SIG P 75 pistols and Heckler & Koch submachine-guns.

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Estermann Killing

Image:Guardiesvizzere2.jpg On May 6, 1998, Alois Estermann, his Venezuelan wife Gladys Meza Romero and a Swiss Guard, Cédric Tornay, were killed. The Vatican's official report names Tornay as the murderer; his motive being that he was upset about a reprimand issued by Estermann for not returning to the barracks on time, and that he was not one of the guardsmen honored by the pope. Inquiries by Tornay's mother and French lawyers Jacques Vergès and Luc Brossolet have since countered the Vatican's report.

Ten hours before Colonel Alois Estermann was found dead, Pope John Paul II appointed him the 31st captain commander of the Swiss Guard. "It's an honour," Estermann told the Swiss newspaper Le Matin, "These are big responsibilities. But behind this choice, I see the will of God, who will help me accomplish my service well." Estermann had joined the Swiss Guard in 1980, and during the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II he jumped onto the moving Popemobile, shielding the pope with his own body.

As a result of the murder, some changes have taken place within the Swiss Guard, including new methods of candidate screening, a reform of the training and promotion procedures, and new recruiting campaigns. Pius Segmüller was appointed the new commander. The current commander is Elmar Mäder.

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Former Vatican Guards

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Other Swiss Guards

Swiss Guard units similar to the French ones existed at several other courts in the 18th century as well.

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References

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External links

de:Schweizergarde eo:Svisa Gvardio es:Guardia Suiza del Vaticano fr:Garde suisse gl:Garda Suíza Pontificia it:Guardia Svizzera Pontificia ja:スイス傭兵 he:המשמר השוויצרי nl:Zwitserse Garde nb:Sveitsergarden pl:Gwardia Szwajcarska pt:Guarda Suíça ru:Ватиканская гвардия sl:Švicarska garda sr:Ватиканска гарда fi:Sveitsiläiskaarti sv:Schweizergardet

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