Third Italian War of Independence
Third Italian War of Independence | |
---|---|
Part of the wars of Lombardy–Venetia | |
Result | Italian victory |
Territorial changes | Veneto, Friuli and Mantua annexed by Italy |
Prussia
- Austrian Empire
- Liechtenstein
- Victor Emmanuel II
- Giuseppe Garibaldi
- Alfonso La Marmora
Mincio Army
- 11 infantry divisions
- 1 cavalry division
Total: 120,000 men
Po Army
- 5 infantry divisions
Total: 80,000 men
Garibaldi's forces
- Volunteer battalions
Total: 20,000 men
Total: 220,000 menSouth Army
- V, VII, IX Corps
- 2 cavalry brigades
Liechtenstein Army
Total: 80 men
Total: 130,000–190,000 men11,197[1]
- 1,633 battle deaths
- 3,926 wounded
- 553 missing
- 5,085 captured
9,727[2]
- 1,392 battle deaths
- 4,471 wounded
- 691 missing
- 3,173 captured
The Third Italian War of Independence (
Background
The first attempt to seize Rome was orchestrated by
The increasing discord between
Italian armies, led by General Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora, were to engage the Austrians on the southern front. Simultaneously, taking advantage of their perceived naval superiority, the Italians planned to threaten the Dalmatian coast and to seize Trieste.[5]
Upon the outbreak of the war, the Italian military was hampered by several factors:
- The problematic amalgamation of the armies of the chain of command since former enemies were now serving together.[6]
- The resentment and bitter resistance in Southern Italyfollowed the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies by Italy.
- There was an even stronger rivalry between both navies that had formed the unified Italian navy, the Regia Marina.
War
Italian invasion
Prussia opened hostilities on 16 June 1866 by attacking several German states allied with Austria. Three days later, Italy declared war on Austria and started military operations on 23 June.
The Italian forces were divided into two armies. One, under La Marmora himself, was deployed in
.La Marmora moved first through Mantua and Peschiera del Garda but was defeated at the Battle of Custoza on 24 June and retreated in disorder back across the Mincio river. Cialdini, on the other hand, did not act offensively for the first part of the war by conducting only several shows of force and failing to besiege the Austrian fortress of Borgoforte, south of the Po.
Following the defeat at Custoza, the Italians reorganised in preparation for a presumed Austrian counter-offensive. The Austrians took that opportunity to raid Valtellina and Val Camonica (Battle of Vezza d'Oglio).
New Italian offensive
The course of the war, however, turned to Italy's favour by Prussian victories in Bohemia, especially the decisive
On 5 July, the Italian government received news of a mediation effort by Napoleon III for a settlement of the situation, which would allow Austria to receive favorable conditions from Prussia and, in particular, maintain Venice. The situation was embarrassing for Italy, as its forces had been beaten back in the only battle to date. As the Austrians were redeploying more and more troops to Vienna to defend it against the Prussians, La Marmora was urged to take advantage of his force's numerical superiority, score a victory and improve the situation for Italy at the bargaining table.
On 14 July, during a council of war held in Ferrara, the new Italian war plans were decided:
- Cialdini was to lead the main army of 150,000 troops through the Venetia, and La Marmora, with roughly 70,000 men, would tie down Austrian forces in the Quadrilatero.
- The Italian Navy, commanded by Admiral
- Garibaldi's volunteers (named Cacciatori delle Alpi), reinforced by a division of regular infantry, were to advance into Trentino, with the objective of capturing its capital, Trento.
Cialdini crossed the Po on 8 July and advanced to Udine on 22 July without encountering the Austrian Army.[5] In the meantime, Garibaldi's volunteers had advanced from Brescia toward Trento during the Invasion of Trentino and won the Battle of Bezzecca on 21 July. Both advances were overshadowed, however, by the unexpected defeat of the Italian Navy at the Battle of Lissa on 20 July.
On 26 July, a mixed Italian force of bersaglieri and cavalry defeated an Austrian force guarding the crossing of the
Aftermath
On July 1866, after the Prussian victory over Austria, the Armistice of Nikolsburg ended the hostilities between the two countries, provided that Italy obtained Venetia. The Austrians withdrew to the Isonzo River and left Venice to Italian hands.[8] France and Prussia pressured Italy to conclude an armistice on its own with Austria.[8] The Italian Prime Minister Bettino Ricasoli refused the call and insisted to obtain "natural" frontiers for Italy, including the cession of Venice and South Tyrol and that Italian interests in Istria were respected.[8] However, the Austro-Prussian armistice had strengthened Vienna's hand and Austrian admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff had taken command of the sea.[8] Eventually, the cessation of hostilities was agreed to at the Armistice of Cormons signed on 12 August, followed by the Treaty of Vienna on 3 October 1866.
The terms of the
The Treaty of Vienna confirmed the cession of the territory to Italy.
Meanwhile, an uprising also occurred in Sicily, the
See also
- First Italian War of Independence
- Second Italian War of Independence
- Austro-Prussian War
- Armistice of Cormons
- Garibaldi's Expedition against Rome
- Risorgimento
- Naval operations on Lake Garda, 1866
References
- ^ Clodfelter 2017, pp. 184.
- ^ Clodfelter 2017, p. 183.
- ^ Sons of Garibaldi in Blue and Gray: Italians in the American Civil War, Frank W. Alduino, David J. Coles, Cambria Press, New York 2007 p.36
- ^ The Austro-Prussian War: Austria's War with Prussia and Italy in 1866, Geoffrey Wawro, Cambridge University Press, 1996 p.43
- ^ a b c "Risorgimento nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". www.treccani.it. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "La Terza guerra d'indipendenza". www.150anni-lanostrastoria.it. Archived from the original on 2014-08-15. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "Sonderausstellung: '1866: Liechtenstein im Krieg – Vor 150 Jahren'". Lie:zeit (in German). 2016-05-11. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 9781135777159. Archivedfrom the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- ISBN 978-88-548-1733-3.
- ^ "(HIS,P) Treaty between Austria and Italy, (Vienna) October 3, 1866". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ a b Full text of "A Monograph on Plebiscites: With a Collection of Official Documents"
- ^ Cronaca della nuova guerra d'Italia del 1866. 1866. pp. 573–574.
- ^ "Le guerre d'Indipendenza". Treccani, il portale del sapere. Archived from the original on 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
Bibliography
- Clodfelter, M. (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015 (4th ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0786474707.