In the City of Geneva on the other side of the Swiss Confederation from where the Royal Austrian Army currently occupied, various high-ranking noblemen were gathered to discuss the reality of the war they were facing.
These men in their entirety spoke the German language and were considerably closer to the Austrians ethnically than they were to their Italian masters. As vassals of the Holy Roman Empire, they held a high degree of autonomy. With this in mind, they decided to exercise their right to negotiate their surrender to the Kingdom of Austria.
Adelbrand von Salzburg, General of the Austrian Army, tasked with invading the Swiss Confederation, had sent his demands to the remaining leaders of the Swiss Confederation. The terms that Adelbrand had made were simple; the Austrian Army would only yield their conquest if the Swiss Confederation in its entirety agreed to annexation by the Austrian Crown, where it would be reformed as the Grand Duchy of Switzerland.