Sonderbund. Troops from Uri seized the undefended St. Gotthard Pass in the early days of November. They thereby succeeded in keeping the connection between central Switzerland and the Valais open via the Furka Pass. But contrary to triumphant proclamations in the Sonderbund newspapers, the action failed to effectively separate the federal troops under Luvini in the Ticino from those in the Grisons under Eduard de Salis-Soglio (the brother of the insurgent commander), because the San Bernardino Pass remained open to the Confederates. The first deaths of the war occurred on November 4, when an officer and a soldier from Uri were killed by the Ticinesi. On November 7, Sonderbund forces under direct command of Jean-Ulrich de Salis-Soglio and von Elgger prepared to launch a second offensive into the Freiamt region of Aargau. After destroying a bridge over the river Reuss, they entered Aargau on November 12 in order to split the federal forces into two halves and relieve Fribourg, which was surrounded by Confederate territory. But after a few advances, they were stopped by Ziegler and retreated with losses into the canton of Lucerne. The Fribourg campaign On 9 November, Dufour launched the first offensive against Fribourg, in accordance with his general plan. Dufour chose Fribourg as his first target in part because it was geographically isolated from the other rebel cantons and in part because it was close to Bern. The former factor made it easier to confront than the other members of the Sonderbund; the latter meant that it posed a threat to the Federal Diet if it was not neutralized immediately. Moreover, Fribourg's capture would allow Dufour to concentrate his forces in the center of the country. By 10 and 11 November, federal troops seized the city of Estavayer-le-Lac, the enclaves of Fribourg in the canton of Vaud, and most of the district of Murten without resistance. The Fribourgeois troops under Colonel Philippe de Maillardoz retreated to defend the capital. The siege and surrender of Fribourg The Fribourgeois commander was led to anticipate an attack from the direction of Bern by the advance of a Bernese reserve division, which had been ordered to pretend to attack with a maximum of noise. Meanwhile, Dufour brought a battery of 60 guns into position, with which he intended to bring down the fortifications of the city of Fribourg. On the morning of 13 November, with the assault ready to begin,