Editing Battle of Solferino (section)

==Battle==
[[File:Carta Battaglia Solferino.jpg|thumb|350px|19th century map of the battle]]
The Battle of Solferino was a decisive engagement in the [[Second Italian War of Independence]], a crucial step in the Italian [[Risorgimento]]. The war's geopolitical context was the nationalist struggle to unify Italy, which had long been divided among France, Austria, Spain and numerous independent Italian states. The battle took place near the villages of [[Solferino]] and [[San Martino della Battaglia|San Martino]], Italy, south of [[Lake Garda]] between [[Milan]] and [[Verona, Italy|Verona]].

The confrontation was between the Austrians, on one side, and the French and Piedmontese forces, who opposed their advance. In the morning of 23 June, after the arrival of emperor Franz Joseph, the Austrian army changed direction to counterattack along the river [[Chiese]]. At the same time, Napoleon III ordered his troops to advance, causing the battle to occur in an unpredicted location. While the Piedmontese fought the Austrian right wing near San Martino, the French battled to the south of them near Solferino against the main Austrian corps.

===Opposing forces===
{{further|Solferino order of battle}}
The Austrian forces were personally led by Emperor Franz Joseph, consisting of the 1st Army, containing four corps (II, III, IX and XI) under [[Franz Graf von Wimpffen|Franz von Wimpffen]], and the 2nd Army, containing four corps (I, V, VII and VIII) under [[Franz Schlik|Franz von Schlick]].<ref name=FS/>

The French army at Solferino, personally led by Napoleon III, was divided in four Corps plus the Imperial Guard. Many of its men and generals were veterans of the [[French conquest of Algeria]] and the [[Crimean War]], but its commander-in-chief had very limited military experience of note. The Sardinian army had four divisions on the field.

Although all three combatants were commanded by their monarchs, each was seconded by professional soldiers. Marshal [[Jean-Baptiste Philibert Vaillant]] served as Chief of Staff to Napoleon III, while Victor Emmanuel was accompanied by his Minister of War, Lieutenant General [[Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora]]. The Austrian high command was hindered by the rivalry between the Chief of Staff, [[Heinrich von Heß]], and the Emperor's Adjutant General [[Karl Ludwig von Grünne]].

===Battle commences===
[[File:Accampamento di Piemontesi.jpg|thumb|300px|Photo of the Piedmontese camp made one day before the battle at Solferino]]
According to the allied battle plan formulated on 24 June, the Franco-Sardinian army moved east to deploy along the right river banks of the [[Mincio]]. The French were to occupy the villages of Solferino, [[Cavriana]], [[Guidizzolo]] and [[Medole]] with, respectively, the 1st Corps ([[Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers|Baraguey d'Hilliers]]), 2nd Corps ([[Patrice de MacMahon|Mac-Mahon]]), 3rd Corps ([[François Certain Canrobert|Canrobert]]), and 4th Corps ([[Adolphe Niel|Niel]]). The four Sardinian divisions were to take [[Pozzolengo]]. After marching a few kilometers, the allies came into contact with the Austrian troops, who had entrenched themselves in those villages. In the absence of a fixed battle plan, the fighting which took place was uncoordinated, which is why so many casualties occurred, and it fell into three separate engagements, at Medole (south), Solferino (centre) and San Martino (north).

===Battle of Campo di Medole===
[[File:Battaglia Medole Quagliara.jpg|thumb|300px|Battle of Campo di Medole]]
The battle started at Medole around 4&nbsp;am. Marching towards Guidizzolo, the 4th Corps encountered an Austrian infantry regiment of the Austrian 1st Army. General Niel immediately decided to engage the enemy and deployed his forces east of Medole. This move prevented the three corps (III, IX and XI) of the Austrian 1st Army from aiding their comrades of the 2nd Army near Solferino, where the main French attacks took place.

The French forces were numerically inferior to the Austrians'. The 4th Corps contained three infantry divisions under de Luzy, [[Joseph Vinoy|Vinoy]] and [[Pierre Louis Charles de Failly|Failly]] and a cavalry brigade. Niel, holding a thin line of {{convert|5|km|mi}} in length, was able to stop the Austrian assaults on his position by ably warding off attacks and counterattacking at opportune moments. 

According to Schneid, "By early afternoon, the Austrian attack had failed and Niel pushed beyond Robecco and Casa Nova halfway to Guidizzolo. At 3:00 pm General Renault's division of Canrobert's III Corps arrived at Robecco. Niel, now reinforced, launched a coordinated attack on Guidizzolo." However, the arrival of the Austrian III and XI Korps stopped the French assault, and after two hours, Niel withdrew.<ref name=FS/>

===Battle of Solferino===
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Bossoli, Carlo - Battle of Solferino.jpg
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 | caption1 = French infantry advances (by [[Carlo Bossoli]])
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 | caption2 = Sardinian troops charge at San Martino<br /> (by Luigi Norfini)
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Around 4:30&nbsp;am the advance guard of the 1st Corps (three infantry divisions under [[Elie Frédéric Forey|Forey]], [[Paul de Ladmirault|de Ladmirault]], and [[François Achille Bazaine|Bazaine]], and a cavalry division under Desvaux) came into contact with the Austrian V Corps under Stadion near [[Castiglione delle Stiviere]].

Around 5&nbsp;am 2nd Corps under Mac-Mahon (two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade under La Motterouge, [[Claude Théodore Decaen|Decaen]] and Gaudin) encountered Hungarian units posted near Ca’Morino (Medole). The Austrian forces were three corps strong (I, V and VII) and positioned on the towns of Solferino, Cavriana and Volta Mantovana. The Austrians were able to hold these positions all day against repeated French attacks.

According to Schneid, "Stadion received reinforcements from Clam Gallas' I Korps but Napoleon III fed the Imperial Guard divisions into the combat and by 2:00 pm the cemetery and town were surrounded.<ref name=FS/>

Near 3&nbsp;pm the French reserves, formed by Canrobert's 3rd Corps and the Imperial Guard under [[Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély|Regnaud]], attacked Cavriana, which was defended by the Austrian I Corps under [[Eduard Clam-Gallas|Clam-Gallas]], finally occupying it at 6&nbsp;pm and thereby breaking through the Austrian center. This breakthrough forced a general retreat of both Austrian armies.

===Battle of San Martino===
On the northern side of the battlefield the Sardinians, four divisions strong, encountered the Austrians around 7&nbsp;am. A long battle erupted over control of Pozzolengo, San Martino and Madonna della Scoperta. The Austrian VIII Corps under [[Ludwig von Benedek|Benedek]] had 39,000 men and 80 guns and was repeatedly attacked by a Sardinian force of 22,000 men with 48 guns.<ref>Vittorio Giglio, ''Il Risorgimento nelle sue fasi di guerra'', Vol. I, Milano, Vallardi, 1948, p. 320</ref> The Austrians were able to ward off three Sardinian attacks, inflicting heavy losses upon the attackers; at the end of the day Benedek was ordered to retreat with the rest of the Austrian army, but ignored the order and kept resisting. At 8:00 pm a fourth Sardinian assault finally captured the contested hills, and Benedek withdrew.<ref>Piero Pieri, ''Storia militare del Risorgimento; guerre e insurrezioni'', Turin, Einaudi, 1962, p. 618</ref> The main Sardinian contribution in the overall battle consisted in keeping Benedek's corps deeply engaged throughout the day and preventing the sending of two brigades as reinforcement to the force attacked by the French in Solferino.<ref>Piero Pieri, ''Storia militare del Risorgimento; guerre e insurrezioni'', Turin, Einaudi, 1962, p. 617.</ref>

===Results===
The battle was a particularly gruelling one, lasting over nine hours and resulting in over 2,386 Austrian troops killed with 10,807 wounded and 8,638 missing or captured. The Allied armies also suffered a total of 2,492 killed, 12,512 wounded and 2,922 captured or missing. Reports of wounded and dying soldiers being shot or [[bayonet]]ted on both sides added to the horror. In the end, the Austrian forces were forced to yield their positions, and the Allied French-Piedmontese armies won a tactical, but costly, victory. The Austrians retreated to the four fortresses of [[Quadrilatero|the Quadrilateral]], and the campaign essentially ended.