Guisan, Henri

Guisan, Henri

▪ Swiss military leader
born Oct. 21, 1874, Mézières, Switz.
died April 8, 1960, Lausanne

      Swiss military leader and national hero; he was commander in chief of the Swiss Army during World War II.

      Guisan was educated at Swiss and foreign universities and graduated with a degree in agriculture. At the age of 30 he achieved the rank of captain in the Swiss Army (1904). After being promoted to colonel (1921), he was appointed commander of the 1st Division in 1926, of the II Army Corps in 1932, and of the I Army Corps in 1933.

      On the eve of World War II (August 1939), Guisan was elected general and commander in chief of the Swiss Army. His dramatic and inspirational speech to his officers (July 25, 1940) at the Rütli plateau—the historic site of the original Swiss pact of confederation in 1291—won him the allegiance of the entire nation. Anticipating possible aggression by the encircling Axis powers, he devised and implemented a plan of defense that forsook border areas in order to hold a mountain fortress core—the so-called réduit. The Axis powers decided not to attack Switzerland. Retiring from active service in 1945, Guisan was the next year made a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Military Science.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Henri guisan — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Guisan. Henri Guisan Naissance 21 octobre 1874 Mézières Décès 7 avril  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Henri Guisan — (monumento en Avenches) Nacionalidad …   Wikipedia Español

  • GUISAN (H.) — GUISAN HENRI (1874 1960) Fils d’un médecin, issu d’une ancienne famille terrienne du canton de Vaud, Henri Guisan se destine à l’agronomie et, à partir de 1897, exploite un grand domaine agricole. Devenu officier, il s’oriente de plus en plus… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Henri Guisan — General Henri Guisan Henri Guisan (* 21. Oktober 1874 in Mézières; † 7. April 1960 in Pully) war während des Zweiten Weltkriegs General und damit Oberbefehlshaber der Schweizer Armee. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Henri Guisan — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Guisan. Henri Guisan Naissance 21 octobre  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Guisan (Asteroid) — Asteroid (1960) Guisan Eigenschaften des Orbits (Simulation) Orbittyp Hauptgürtelasteroid Große Halbachse 2,527  …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Henri Dufour — Guillaume Henri Dufour Guillaume Henri Dufour (* 15. September 1787 in Konstanz; † 14. Juli 1875 in Les Eaux Vives, heute Gemeinde Genf) war ein schweizerischer Humanist, General, Politiker, Kartograf …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Henri Guisan — (21 October, 1874 7 April, 1960) was Commander in Chief of the Swiss Army during World War II. He was the fourth and the most recent man to be appointed to the rarely used Swiss rank of General, and was possibly Switzerland s most famous soldier …   Wikipedia

  • Guisan — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: François Guisan (1880–1953), Schweizer Jurist Henri Guisan (1874–1960), während des Zweiten Weltkriegs General und damit Oberbefehlshaber der Schweizer Armee Louis Guisan (1911–1998), Schweizer Politiker… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Guisan —   [gi zã], Henri, schweizerischer General, * Mézières (Kanton Waadt) 21. 10. 1874, ✝ Pully (Kanton Waadt) 8. 4. 1960; Diplomlandwirt; 1939 45 General und Oberkommandierender der schweizerischen Armee; gab im »Rütli Rapport« (25. 7. 1940 die… …   Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”