PETER LOEWENBERG
523
"that it will be respected to the end." He urged the Swiss not to listen
to those who spread despair and defeatism. He stressed the need for the
army being at its post rather than demobilizing. He was ordering the
army to new fortified positions, the Alpine
redllit nationate
on August 1st,
the national holiday commemoratin g the Oath at Rlitli in 1291. Ac–
cording to a later official handout, General Guisan said:
In 1939 the Federal Counci l entrusted the army with the task of pro–
tecting our centuries-old independence.
This independence has been respected, until now, by our
neighbors, and we will see to it that it will be respected to the end .
As long as in Europe millions stand under arms, and as long as im–
portant forces are able
to
attack us at any time, the army has
to
remain
at its post.
Come what may ["coute que coute"J, the fortifications you
have built preserve all their value. Our efforts have not been in vain,
since we still hold our destiny in our own hands. Don't listen to
those who, out of ignorance or evil intention, spread negative news
and doubt. Let us trust not only in our right but also in our strength,
which enables us, if everybody is possessed of an iron will,
to
defend
ourselves successfully.
On August 1st you will fully realize that the new positions that
I have ordered you
to
occupy are those in which your arms and your
courage in the new situation will be most effective for the defense
and the good of the country.
An extract of Guisan's speech was handed out as an Order of the
Day to be read to the troops. It was also in the press and on the radio.
The effect on Swiss morale was electrifYing. The German and Italian re–
action was a
del1larche
of protest notes in Bern on August 13, 1940, in
which the Axis powers objected to the Rlitli speech and viewed it as
"renewed agitation of Swiss public opinion against Germany and Italy."
The Reich took notice of it "with deep estrangement." General Guisan
could not have chosen a more evocative place to issue his call to the
Swiss people that the army shou ld not demobilize, but must remain at its
post to resist Axis aggression. We may concur with the evaluation of
Guisan's biographer, Willi Gautschi:
It is no exaggeration
to
say that a sort of Ri.itli miracle occurred. A
magic effect went out from Ri.itli. The speech of the General led to
the
jlllldalllelital cilallJ!.c
in the inner posture of a large part of the army
and the people: in place of defeatism and resignation a quiet and fa–
natic
deterlllillatioll
set in
to
meet, come what may, an ever-so supe–
rior attacker and, if necessary, to sell their own skin as costly as possi–
ble. The speech at Rlitli has with justice become a concept of a his-
