Hans Herzog (1819 – 1894)
200 years ago, on 28 October 1819, Hans Herzog, the son of Johann and Franziska Salomea Herosé, was born in Aarau, Switzerland. During the Franco-Prussian War, he exercised supreme command over the Swiss army from 19 July 1870 to 15 July 1871. Hans Herzog was the second general of modern Switzerland, and the 15th in the history of the Swiss Confederation.
After attending the cantonal school in Aarau and four semesters of lectures at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Geneva, Hans Herzog began to work in his father's textile company. A militia artillery officer, he became a member of the Federal Artillery Commission in 1852. In 1860 the Federal Council appointed him Federal Artillery Inspector. This job included the functions of Chief of Arms, Chief of Armament and Chief of War Material Management. Hans Herzog criticised the army's lacking readiness and its exaggerated formalism, and strove to simplify training by replacing formal exercises at the barracks with field exercises and to guarantee compliance with the general conscription principle.
Because the Prussian-German War was a threat to the Swiss boarders, Hans Herzog was appointed general and commander-in-chief of the Border Guard on 19 July 1870. After French General Charles Denis Bourbaki's army was shattered, the Federal Council planned to dismiss its troops in February 1871. General Herzog disregarded the Federal Council's request and sent the army to the French border. He feared that the Germans would chase the French troops across the border into Swiss territory, which might have drawn Switzerland into the conflict. Therefore, the Swiss troops were not demobilised until this critical situation had been resolved. Subsequently, General Herzog and Bourbaki's successor French General Justin Clinchant, signed an internment agreement under which the French laid down their weapons and were interned in Switzerland, which preserved Switzerland's neutrality. After the conflict had ended, Hans Herzog returned his mandate to the Federal Council on 15 July 1871.
In his final report on the Franco-Prussian war, Hans Herzog condemned serious shortcomings in the Swiss army's equipment. He remained in the army after the war and played a decisive role in expanding the Swiss fortresses. In 1875 he was promoted to Artillery Chief, a position he held until he died. In 1885 he commanded the first Swiss field exercise that opposed two divisions under open command. Hans Herzog died in Aarau on 2 February 1894.