Hans Herzog (28 October 18192 February 1894) was a Swiss army officer, and was elected Switzerland's

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

during the Franco-Prussian War. Born in Aarau, he became an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

lieutenant in 1840, and then spent six years in travelling (visiting

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

among other countries), before he became a partner in his father's business in 1846. In 1847 he saw his first active service (as artillery captain) in the short Swiss

Sonderbund The Sonderbund War (german: Sonderbundskrieg, fr , Guerre du Sonderbund, it , Guerra del Sonderbund) of November 1847 was a civil war in Switzerland, then still a relatively loose confederacy of cantons. It ensued after seven Catholic canton ...

war. In 1860 he abandoned mercantile pursuits for a purely military career, becoming colonel and inspector-general of the Swiss artillery. In 1870 he was commander-in-chief of the Swiss army, which guarded the Swiss border, in the Jura, during the Franco-German War, and in February 1871, as such, concluded the Convention of Verrières with General Clinchant for the disarming and the interning of the remains of Bourbaki's army, when it took refuge in Switzerland. In 1875, he became the commander-in-chief of the Swiss artillery, which he did much to reorganize, helping also in the reorganization of the other branches of the Swiss army. He died in 1894 in his native town of Aarau.

Memorials

*"General Hans Herzog" (1915) by Hermann Haller, equestrian relief above portal, Aarau ''Herzogstrasse'' in Bern, ''General Herzog-Strasse'' in

Lenzburg Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Swiss canton Aargau and is the capital of the Lenzburg District. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neighb ...

, ''General-Herzog-Haus'' in Aarau and

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thou ...

are named for him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herzog, Hans 1819 births 1894 deaths People from Aarau Swiss generals