Flag of Switzerland late 13th or early 14th century. Its symbolism was described by the Swiss Federal Council in 1889 as representing "at the same the Christian cross symbol and the field sign of the Old Confederacy". As a national ensign, it was first used in 1800 during the Hundred Days by general Niklaus Franz von Bachmann, and as regimental flag of all cantonal troops from 1841. The federal coat of arms ("eidgenössisches Wappen") was defined in 1815 for the Restored Confederacy as the white-on-red Swiss cross in a heraldic shield. The current design was used together with a cross composed of five
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement other places. In order to avoid this confusion the protected symbol is sometimes referred to as the "Greek Red Cross" (now Hellenic Red Cross); that term is also used in United States law to describe the Red Cross. The red cross of the Saint George cross extends to the edge of the flag, whereas the red cross on the Red Cross flag does not. The Red Cross flag is the colour-switched version of the Flag of Switzerland. In 1906, to put an end to the argument of the Ottoman Empire that the flag took its roots from Christianity, it was