1946-1990: During the Cold War
During its first centenary, one of the characteristics of the RMS was remarkably stable, with only 3 editors-in-chief succeeded one another between 1856 and 1967. In the 13 years that followed, there were 3: Major Marcel Montfort, who died in May 1971; his son, the future Major Michel-H. Montfort, who was forced by his military duties to hand over to Colonel EMG Paul Ducotterd at the end of 1978.
After 1945, the content of thehe RMS is evolving. In the aftermath of the conflict, Swiss and foreign authors - mainly French and English - began to write about the RMS.cipalement – exploitent les expériences de guerre. Des Suisses, très différents, tant par leur grade que leur Arme, officiers de milice et instructeurs, se penchent sur des problèmes d’instruction et de technique de combat. L’Organisation des troupes 61, la création des divisions mécanisées suscitent des polémiques, également de nombreuses contributions sur l’engagement des chars et des formations blindées. Le divisionnaire Marcel Montfort fait régulièrement le point de la situation stratégique dans sa rubrique « A l’OTAN, quoi de nouveau ? » ; le brigadier Jean-Jacques Chouet prendra la relève avec « Tour d’horizon ». Les rubriques n’ont plus le rôle et la fréquence de la période précédente. Avec la disparition de Marcel Montfort et de Roland Ramseyer, qui a tenu pendant des années une « Chronique du tir », elles tendent à disparaître, à l’exception de la « Revue des revues » et de coups d’œil sur the RMS of the past. The editor-in-chief deplores the fact that he can no longer find people to run the columns, which are very time-consuming.aiteraient en particulier de problèmes d’instruction ou de conduite.
The number of authors who collaborate on a more or less regular basis is increasing.ent is also on the decline. Michel Montfort sometimes has to request texts as a matter of urgency. Junior or senior officers receive a telephone alarm from the editor-in-chief: "I need five pages by the end of the week. Pick a theme! Get to work! Good luck!" This isIt is to the great credit of his successor, Colonel EMG Paul Ducotterd, that he attracted submissions, most of them unsolicited, from around 150 authors - an invaluable list that he passed on to his successor. Through personal letters and countless requests, he also increased the number of subscribers.
French-speaking officers' societies become owners of the RMS
La RMS also underwent a major structural change. On the death of Roger Masson, in his carmne 1967, she is facing serious editorial and financial problems1. Thanks to the dedication of the new editor-in-chief, Divisionnaire Marcel Montfort et à la bienveillance de l’éditeur, la revue peut être sauvée. « A la suite de la cession de la Revue militaire suisse par son propriétaire, les Imprimeries Réunies S.A., à Lausanne, à la Société suisse des officiers, les sections et groupements régionaux de langue française ont décidé d’en reprendre, à leur compte, l’édition et la publication. A cet effet, les représentants des sections de Berne, Fribourg, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel et Genève de la SSO2 in Lausanne on 14 December 1968, founded the‘Association de la Revue militaire suisse (ARMS). Les officiers romands deviennent ainsi propriétaires et éditeurs de la Revue militaire suisse. Il faut espérer qu’ils auront à coeur son développement et sa prospérité. Et à ces préoccupations d’ordre pratique, ils sauront ajouter, nous en sommes certains, la responsabilité d’un passé de 114 ans. »
Au premier président de la nouvelle ARMS, le colonel EMG André Petitpierre, incombe la lourde mission de mettre sur pied l’Association et d’en définir la ligne de conduite. En première urgence, il s’agit, la rédaction et l’impression étant pour l’heure assurées, de trouver les moyens financiers destinés à compléter l’apport trop restreint des abonnements. Les sections romandes de la SSO vont participer – c’est encore le cas aujourd’hui – au financement de la RMSwhich also receives a subsidy from the Swiss Officers' Society.
Lors de son assemblée générale tenue le 25 juin 1975 à Lausanne, l’ARMS se dote d’un nouveau président en la personne du divisionnaire Denis Borel, suppléant du directeur de l’Office central de la défense. Il va poursuivre sur la lancée, essayer de faire passer la « RMS pour tous ». A l’instar de ce qui a été réalisé pour l’Allgemeine Schweizerische Militärzeitschrift en Suisse allemande, l’abonnement à la RMS would be compulsory for all members of the Swiss Officers' Society in French-speaking Switzerland. The project was revived several times, but never came to fruition. It wasn't until the early 1990s that the officers of the Canton of Vaud took the plunge and decided to automatically subscribe their members to the RMS. To replace their magazine Defencewhich is seriously in deficit and in debt, they can publish in each issue of the RMS a four-page feature. Officers in the French-speaking Valais region will follow in the footsteps of their comrades in Vaud in the early 2000s, and officers in Neuchâtel in 2017.
Major Eric Juvet having retired, Corporal Gérard Beaud, administrative manager at 24 Heures / Tribune de Genèvetakes over the logistics of the RMS the 1er He died at the end of 2001, having given the magazine the benefit of his professional experience for more than 25 years. At a moment's notice, Colonel EMG Jean-Claude Roch and his wife took over, keeping the reins short and firm during a difficult period.
Major General Borel is retiring as Chairman of the ARMS. His successor is Colonel EMG Louis Pittet, from Geneva, also took charge of the search for advertising and, for a time, ensured the financial health of RMS by setting up, on the model of football and ice hockey clubs, a group of sor "Two Hundred" support, which provides a good quarter of revenue. Suring his reign, the RMS changed its format and look in January 1991. Abandoning the "Sabretache" format, thethe format was changed to 17 x 24 cm, making for a more attractive layout and better integration of the illustrations. Captain Michel Stauffer, Director of the ERAG in Lausanne, played a major role in developing the layout. The aim is to reach a target audience of officers, from platoon leaders to corps commanders. Ideally, everyone should find at least one article of interest in each issue!
Despite a willingness to take account of the political and military situation, both internal and external, that has prevailed since the end of the Cold War, the RMS crosses a storm area. Les réformes « Armée 95 » et « Armée XXI », pleinement justifiées, réduisent le nombre des abonnés. Dans l’« Armée 61 » de 800’000 hommes, la revue pouvait compter sur des dizaines de milliers d’officiers romands, animés d’un fort esprit de corps et lecteurs plus assidus qu’aujourd’hui, qui faisaient service de 20 à 55 ans. Dans l’« Armée XXI », il n’en reste que 1500, dont la plupart rendent leurs effets à 35 ans. Ils ne souhaitent pas forcément se tenir informés après en avohave completed their military obligations. The percentage of officers in French-speaking Switzerland who subscribe to the RMS and who have never served in the armed forces has risen sharply.The number of subscribers has never exceeded 30 %, so it's safe to assume that there will only be 500 subscribers left once Army XXI has had its full impact. On the other hand, there will be no more support advertising.This can be explained by globalisation, the drive for profitability, cost accounting and management in foreign hands. RMS revenues in this area are falling.t of two thirds.
1 Annual costs in 1970 were around 70,000 francs for 12 issues, 125,000 francs in 1980 for 11 issues, and 185,000 francs for 8 issues in 2004. Editors have never received more than a modest allowance, and some authors have received very symbolic fees.
2 It was joined by the Bernese Jura Officers' Society, followed by the Jura Officers' Society in 1984, when the Republic and Canton of Jura became a sovereign state.
