From
Wikipedia:
Conrad Ulrich Sigmund
Wille (April 5, 1848 – January 31, 1925) was the General of
the Swiss Army during the First World War. Inspired by the
Prussian techniques that he had been able to observe at the
time of his studies in Berlin, he tried to impress the Swiss
Army with a spirit based on instruction, discipline and
technical control.
At the dawn of the First
World War, Switzerland confirmed its will to remain neutral
and to avoid the conflicts which were going to set Europe
ablaze. However, Switzerland was divided between the
German-speaking Swiss who favored the Central Powers, and
the French-speaking Swiss whose opinions tended to support
the Allied Powers. As a Germanic-speaking Swiss, and close
to Kaiser Wilhelm II, Wille benefitted from the pro-Germanic
current and the disparity within the Swiss Federal Council,
which counted only one member from the French areas. In
1914, at the outbreak of warfare, a general mobilization of
all military forces was issued. Wille, then a Colonel, was
named General of Switzerland by the Federal Parliament.
