1859 conflict between Sardinia (with France) and Austria
Second Italian War of Independence
|
---|
Part of the wars of
Italian unification
and the
French-Habsburg rivalry
|
Napoleon III
at the
Battle of Solferino
, by
Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier
, oil on canvas, 1863
|
|
Belligerents
|
---|
France
Sardinia
|
Austria
|
Commanders and leaders
|
---|
Napoleon III
P. de MacMahon
Victor Emmanuel II
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Alfonso La Marmora
|
Franz Josef I
Ferenc Gyulay
Ferdinand Maximilian
Ludwig von Benedek
Karl von Urban
|
Strength
|
---|
: 128,000
312 guns
Sardinia
: 56,000
90 guns
[1]
|
: 198,000
824 guns
|
Casualties and losses
|
---|
: c. 11,000 killed or died of wounds
1,128 missing
17,054 wounded
2,040 disease related deaths
Total
:
25,720 casualties
: 1,533 killed
3,572 wounded
1,268 missing
[2]
Total
:
unknown
|
: c. 23,000 killed or died of wounds
[2]
Total
:
unknown
|
The
Second Italian War of Independence
, also called the
Sardinian War
, the
Austro-Sardinian War
, the
Franco-Austrian War
, or the
Italian War of 1859
(Italian:
Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana
; German:
Sardinischer Krieg
; French:
Campagne d'Italie
),
[3]
was fought by the
Second French Empire
and the
Kingdom of Sardinia
against the
Austrian Empire
in 1859 and played a crucial part in the process of
Italian Unification
.
A year prior to the war, in the
Plombieres Agreement
, France agreed to support Sardinia's efforts to expel Austria from Italy in return for territorial compensation in the form of the
Duchy of Savoy
and the
County of Nice
. The two states signed a
military alliance
in January 1859. Sardinia mobilised its army on 9 March 1859, and Austria mobilized on 9 April. On 23 April, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Sardinia demanding its demobilization. Upon Sardinia's refusal, the war began on 26 April. Austria invaded Sardinia three days later, and France declared war on Austria on 3 May.
The Austrian invasion was stopped by the arrival of French troops in Piedmont that had begun in late April. The Austrians were defeated at the
Battle of Magenta
on 4 June and pushed back to
Lombardy
, where the Franco-Sardinian victory at the
Battle of Solferino
on 24 June resulted in the end of the war and the signing of the
Armistice of Villafranca
on 12 July.
Austria ceded Lombardy to France, which, in turn, gave it to Sardinia. Exploiting the collapse of Austrian power in Italy, Sardinia annexed the
United Provinces of Central Italy
, consisting of the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
, the
Duchy of Parma
, the
Duchy of Modena and Reggio
and the Papal Legations, on 22 March 1860. Two days later, Sardinia ceded
Savoy
and
Nice
to France at the
Treaty of Turin
as compensation for its assistance.
Background
[
edit
]
The Piedmontese, following their defeat by Austria in the
First Italian War of Independence
, recognized their need for allies. That led Prime Minister
Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour
to attempt to establish relations with other European powers, partially through Piedmont's participation in the
Crimean War
. In the
peace conference
at
Paris
after the Crimean War, Cavour attempted to bring attention to efforts for Italian unification. He found Britain and France to be sympathetic but refusing to go against Austrian wishes, as any movement towards Italian independence would threaten Austria's territory of
Lombardy?Venetia
. Private talks between Napoleon III and Cavour after the conference identified Napoleon as the most likely candidate to aid Italy although he was still uncommitted.
On 14 January 1858,
Felice Orsini
, an Italian, led an attempt on Napoleon III's life. The
assassination attempt
brought widespread sympathy for the Italian unity and had a profound effect on Napoleon III himself, who now was determined to help Piedmont against Austria to defuse the wider revolutionary activities, which governments in Italy might later allow to happen. After a
covert meeting
at
Plombieres
on 21 July 1858, Napoleon III and Cavour signed a secret treaty of alliance against Austria on 28 January 1859.
France would help Piedmont-Sardinia, if attacked, to fight against Austria if Piedmont-Sardinia gave
Nice
and
Savoy
to France in return. The secret alliance served both countries by helping with the Sardinian-Piedmontese plan of unification of the
Italian Peninsula
under the
House of Savoy
. It also weakened Austria, a fiery adversary of Napoleon III's
French Second Empire
.
Cavour, being unable to get French help unless the Austrians attacked first, provoked Vienna by a series of military maneuvers close to the border. Sardinia mobilised its army on 9 March 1859. Austria mobilised on 9 April 1859 and issued an ultimatum on 23 April demanding the complete demobilisation of the Sardinian Army. When it was not heeded, Austria started a war against Sardinia on 26 April.
The first French troops entered Piedmont on 25 April, and France declared war on Austria on 3 May.
[4]
Opposing forces
[
edit
]
The French Army for the Italian campaign had 170,000 soldiers, 2,000 horsemen and 312 guns, half of the whole French army. The army, under the command of Napoleon III, divided into five corps: the I Corps, led by
Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers
; the II Corps, led by
Patrice de MacMahon
; the III Corps, led by
Francois Certain de Canrobert
, the IV Corps; led by
Adolphe Niel
, and the V Corps, led by prince
Napoleon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte
. The
Imperial Guard
was commanded by
Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angely
.
Napoleon III participated in the war and showed up on the battlefield in the belief that it would motivate the French people during the war. That would prove successful.
The Sardinian Army had about 70,000 soldiers, 4,000 horsemen and 90 guns. It was divided into five divisions, led by Castelbrugo,
Manfredo Fanti
,
Giovanni Durando
,
Enrico Cialdini
and
Domenico Cucchiari
. Two volunteer formations, the
Cacciatori delle Alpi
and the
Cacciatori degli Appennini
, were also present. It was led by
Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy
, supported by
Alfonso Ferrero la Marmora
.
The Austrian Army fielded more men with 220,000 soldiers, 824 guns and 22,000 horsemen. It was led by
Field Marshal
Ferenc
Graf
Gyulay
.
The newly-formed
United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia
also supported the Franco-Italian alliance. Their ruler,
Alexandru Ioan Cuza
, was given 10,000 rifles and ammunition by Napoleon III. Napoleon III, with his unwavering and very genuine sympathy, also sent a military mission to
Bucharest
. Encouraged, Cuza formed a new military camp at
Ploie?ti
. As a result, Austria had to keep 30,000 troops in
Transylvania
, which could ill be spared from Italy.
[5]
The French Army, under
Marshal Francois Certain Canrobert
, moved into
Piedmont
in the first massive
military use of railways
. The Austrian forces counted on a swift victory over the weaker Sardinian Army before French forces could arrive in Piedmont. However, Count Gyulai, the commander of the Austrian troops in
Lombardy
, was very cautious and marched around the river
Ticino
in no specific direction until he crossed it to begin the offensive. Unfortunately for him, very heavy rains began to fall, which allowed the Piedmontese to flood the rice fields in front of his advance and slowed his army's march to a crawl.
The Austrians, under Gyulai, captured
Novara
on 30 April and
Vercelli
on 2 May and advanced on
Turin
from 7 May onward. The Franco-Sardinian move to strengthen the
Alessandria
and
Po
bridges around
Casale Monferrato
forced the Austrians to halt their advance on 9 May and to fall back on 10 May. Napoleon III left Paris on 10 May, landed at Genoa on 12 May and arrived in Alessandria on 14 May.
Napoleon then took the command of the operations of the war, whose first major clash was the
Battle of Montebello
on 20 May, between the Austrian IX Corps led by
Karl von Urban
(under the general command of Stadion) and
Forey
's division, part of the French I Corps under marshal d'Hilliers. The Austrians retreated after 9 hours of fight when the Sardinian Cavalry under
De Sonnaz
arrived, which made Gyulai even more cautious.
Napoleon III crossed the Ticino river after the Battle of Turbigo and entered Lobardy. He head on with part of his force and sent many other troops to the north to flank the Austrians. The Austrians planned a resistance before Milan, however they were defeated the
Battle of Magenta
on 5 May, which caused Gyulai to retreat east of the river Mincio to the
quadrilateral fortresses
, where he was relieved of his post as commander by the Emperor
Franz Josef
, who assumed the command himself.
The Piedmontese-French army had taken
Milan
and slowly marched further east to finish off Austria before
Prussia
could get involved.
During the retreat, the Austrians won one of their only victories of the war, when Karl von Urban defeated Giuseppe Garibaldi at the
Battle of Treponti
.
The Austrians found out that the French had halted at
Brescia
and decided that they should counterattack along the river Chiese. The two armies met accidentally around
Solferino
, which precipitated a confused series of battles.
A French corps held off three Austrian corps all day at Medole and kept them from joining the larger battle around Solferino, where, after a day-long battle, the French broke through.
Ludwig von Benedek
with the Austrian VIII Corps was separated from the main force and defended
Pozzolengo
against the Piedmontese part of the opposing army. It was successful, but the entire Austrian army retreated after the breakthrough at Solferino and withdrew back into the Quadrilateral.
[6]
Meanwhile, in the north of Lombardy, the Italian volunteers of
Giuseppe Garibaldi
's
Hunters of the Alps
defeated the Austrians at
Varese
and
Como
, and the Piedmontese-French Navy landed 3,000 soldiers and conquered the islands of
Losinj
(Lussino) and
Cres
(Cherso), in
Dalmatia
.
[7]
Peace
[
edit
]
After the Battle of Solferino, a cease fire is accorded on the 8 July. The two emperors meet on 11 July at Villafranca di Verona and the armistice is signed on the following day - the
Peace of Villafranca
.
Napoleon III signed the armistice with Austria at Villafranca for a combination of reasons. The Austrians had retreated to
the Quadrilateral
, which would be very costly to overrun. His absence in France had made the country vulnerable to attack. His actions in Italy were being criticised in France. He did not want Cavour and Piedmont to gain too much power, mostly at the expense of his men. He feared involvement of the German states. Most of
Lombardy
, with its capital,
Milan
, except only the Austrian fortresses of
Mantua
and
Legnago
and the surrounding territory, was transferred from Austria to France, which would immediately cede the territories to Sardinia. The rulers of Central Italy, who had been expelled by revolution shortly after the beginning of the war, were to be restored.
Manfredo Fanti
, who led the Sardinian troops in the Battle of Palestro
The agreement, made by Napoleon behind the backs of his Sardinian allies, led to great outrage in Piedmont-Sardinia, and Cavour resigned in protest. However, the Villafranca terms never took effect. Although they were reaffirmed by the final
Treaty of Zurich
in 11 November, the agreement had become a dead letter. The central Italian states were occupied by Piedmont, which would not restore the previous rulers, and France was unwilling to force them to do so.
The Austrians were left to look on in frustration at the French failure to carry out the terms of the treaty. Austria had emerged triumphantly after the suppression of liberal movements in 1849, but its status as a great power on the European scene was now seriously challenged and its influence in Italy severely weakened.
The next year, with French and British approval, the central Italian states (
Duchy of Parma
,
Duchy of Modena
,
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
, and
Papal States
) were annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia, and France took its deferred rewards of
Savoy
and
Nice
. The last move was vehemently opposed by Italian national hero Garibaldi, a native of Nice, and directly led to
Garibaldi's expedition to Sicily
, which would complete the preliminary
Unification of Italy
.
[8]
The annexation of Nice to France caused the
Nicard exodus
, or the emigration of a quarter of the
Nicard Italians
to Italy,
[9]
and the
Nicard Vespers
.
During the war,
Prussia
also mobilized 132,000 men, but never joined the fighting. The weaknesses laid bare during the mobilization caused the Prussian Army to initiate military reforms.
[10]
These reforms were the basis for Prussia's rapid victories over
Austria in 1866
and
France in 1870-71
, which led to a united Germany under Prussian dominance.
[11]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Micheal Clodfelter. "Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Reference to Casualty and Other Figures, 1500?2000", 4th Edition. 2017. Page 181.
- ^
a
b
Clodfelter, p. 181
- ^
Arnold Blumberg,
A Carefully Planned Accident: The Italian War of 1859
(Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1990); Arnold Blumberg, "Russian Policy and the Franco-Austrian War of 1859",
The Journal of Modern History
,
26
, 2 (1954): 137?53; Arnold Blumberg,
The Diplomacy of the Austro-Sardinian War of 1859
, Ph.D. diss. (Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 1952).
- ^
"Second War of Italian Independence, 1859?61"
.
www.historyofwar.org
.
Archived
from the original on 13 April 2021
. Retrieved
30 March
2018
.
- ^
R. W. Seton-Watson, Cambridge University Press, May 21, 2015,
A History of the Roumanians
, pp. 302-303
- ^
Administrator.
"La Seconda guerra d'indipendenza"
.
www.150anni-lanostrastoria.it
.
Archived
from the original on 25 April 2021
. Retrieved
30 March
2018
.
- ^
Luigi Tomaz,
In Adriatico nel secondo millennio
, Presentazione di Arnaldo Mauri, Think ADV, Conselve, 2010, p. 411.
- ^
Sapere.it.
"La seconda Guerra d'Indipendenza e la spedizione dei Mille ? Sapere.it"
.
www.sapere.it
.
Archived
from the original on 1 February 2021
. Retrieved
30 March
2018
.
- ^
"
"Un nizzardo su quattro prese la via dell'esilio" in seguito all'unita d'Italia, dice lo scrittore Casalino Pierluigi"
(in Italian).
Archived
from the original on 19 February 2020
. Retrieved
14 May
2021
.
- ^
Engels, Friedrich.
Preußische Militarfrage und die Deutsche Arbeiterpartei
. Hamburg 1865 (Meißner); reprint Berlin 1974 (Dietz).
- ^
Lohner, Henry.
Wie wird man schnell reich?
Norderstedt 2011; S. 78;
ISBN
978-3-8423-7334-1
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Blumberg, Arnold
.
A Carefully Planned Accident: The Italian War of 1859
(Susquehanna University Press. 1990). Pp. 238.
- Bossoli, Carlo .
The War in Italy: the Second Italian War of Independence, 1859
(1860), illustrated;
online free
- Carter, Nick. "Hudson, Malmesbury and Cavour: British Diplomacy and the Italian Question, February 1858 to June 1859."
Historical Journal
40#2 (1997): 389?413.
in JSTOR
- Coppa, Frank J.
The origins of the Italian wars of independence
(1992).
- Schneid, Frederick C.
The Second War of Italian Unification 1859?61
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012).
- Thayer, William Roscoe (1911).
The Life and Times of Cavour vol 1
.
old interpretations but useful on details; vol 1 goes to 1859;
volume 2 online covers 1859?62