[2] Swiss law does not establish the precise conditions when a General is to be elected, merely that the Federal Assembly may do so "as soon as an important number of troops are to be mobilised.

[2] Prior to the establishment of Switzerland as a federal state in 1848, Guillaume Henri Dufour was nominated by the Swiss Diet to serve as general in response to the invasion of Ticino during the Sonderbund War.

[4] During the 1850s, Dufour was called upon three more times to serve as General on behalf of the entire federal government: in 1849 to prevent possible incursions into Swiss territory during the Baden Revolution; in 1856, to pre-empt Prussian military intervention in the Neuchâtel Crisis; and finally in 1859, to keep belligerents in the Franco-Austrian War from entering Switzerland.

[3] The Sonderbund War marked the last time that a General was nominated for Switzerland to assume command of forces directly involved in armed conflict.

Although the head is addressed as Major General for the duration of his mandate, this is a courtesy translation of the rank designation of Divisionär, used within the Swiss Armed Forces.