was interested in acquiring Swiss money and the Swiss passes over the Alps, agreed with La Harpe's interpretation of the treaty. In late 1797, the Directory ordered Bern to restore the Pays de Vaud region to its former independence. The citizens of Pays de Vaud reacted to the French announcement with excitement and declared the creation of the Lémanic Republic. Bern, on the other hand, looked with dismay at these events, and in January 1798, sent Colonel Weiss with troops into the province. France replied by immediately sending portions of André Masséna's army under an officer named Mesnard from Italy to occupy the southern shore of Lake Geneva. As Mesnard marched into Vaud, Weiss retired to Yverdon without striking a blow. On 24 January 1798 at Lausanne, Mesnard proclaimed the independence of the Pays de Vaud and the Vaudois people under French protection. Mesnard dispatched an aide-de-camp with a message to Weiss, demanding that he leave Pays de Vaud. However, the messenger did not have the password and two of the hussars of the aide-de-camp's escort were shot by a Bernese outpost stationed a few miles from Yverdon. The shooting gave the French general an excuse to begin military operations against Bern outside the Pays de Vaud. He threatened the Bernese with resumed hostilities. Weiss, alarmed by his threats, evacuated the Pays de Vaud, although he had 20,000 men while the French had only 15,000. The French army, which had recently conquered Italy, was in a state of destitution and clothed in rags. The Swiss were ordered to reequip and support the allied army and were charged 700,000 francs for the services of the French army. The Bernese government called for military support from the other cantons of the Confederation and replaced Weiss with Erlach von Hindelbank, but the aristocrats of Bern quickly fell to squabbling among themselves. A majority in the Council was for negotiating peace, as well as awaiting the confederate reinforcements. In the hope of conciliating the French, they began to make some reforms in the government. However, their reforms only weakened confidence in the government and did not slow Mesnard's march. While the Bernese government opened negotiations with the Directory, a second army under Schauenburg was advancing from the north with 17,000 men detached from the army of the Rhine. With two armies in Switzerland, General Brune assumed command of the French army. He was instructed