(E.I. Game) Garibaldi Sails to Sicily

[Risban]

Italy was in a time of renewal and unification. The Risorgimento was in full swing, with the United Provinces of Central Italy formally joining the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia to form the Kingdom of Italy. The Savoyards immediately moved the Seat of Government to Florence, declaring it the new capital of the Kingdom, while the Seat of the King remained in Turin. Now the Savoyards set their eyes on the Two Sicilies and the weakened, hated king currently ruling it. Camillo di Cavour, Prime Minister of the new kingdom, was a very sly and intelligent man. He convinced Victor Emmanuel II--King--to openly support revolutionary leader Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was preparing his 'Red Shirts', a force of a mere thousand men, to invade Sicily and liberate it from the clutches of King Francis II di Borbon Two Sicilies.

The Bourbon King was weak and uneducated; he had been on the throne for only one year. A distant cousin to Victor Emmanuel II, Francis ruled under the ugly memory of his father, who had bene nicknamed 'King Bomba' by his own people for his despotic and explosive acts. Francis' prime minister, after realizing the importance of the Franco-Piedmontese victories in Lombardy, urged the king to sign an alliance with Count Cavour, which he did in an effort to save himself from external forces. But it would be internal forces that would trouble Francis II; on June 7th of 1859, Francis' Swiss Guard mutinied against him and almost killed him. A Neopolitan general gathered his forces and shot all of the mutineers, effectively destroying the strongest part of the military of the Two Sicilies. With his people growing more and more rebellious, Francis' prime minister proposed a Constitution to save the dynasty from being overthrown; upon Francis' refusal, the prime minister resigned. And thus Francis II's problems began.

Revolutionary parties had started forming in the Two Sicilies in 1859, led by Rosalino Pilo and Francesco Crispi. They were plotting to overthrow the Bourbons on the island of Sicily. The two had spoken with famed hero Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was in Genoa, Piedmont, gathering his forces together to invade the island. With the alliance between Piedmont and Naples having ended upon the Neopolitan unwillingness to enter into an alliance that would work to effectively remove the Papal States from controlling a section of Italy, the Savoyard King could pledge his support to Garibaldi. And he did so.

Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Genoa with 1,000 of his magnificent Red Shirt soldiers. He also had the support of an additional 1,200 Piedmontese soldiers to aid him. He landed in Marsala, western Sicily, and began his invasion. It would be an incredibly east liberation of Sicily; most of the island would support the charismatic Garibaldi over their weak Bourbon.

((Okay. All of this is historical, except for the Piedmontese support. With the addition of Piedmontese aid to Garibaldi, this should probably go a little easier. Someone can feel free to RP Francis' response. Note that Francis has no where near the adequate amount of forces to save Sicily. His only support at the moment is in Naples-- the Neopolitan Royalists. The majority of Sicily is very anti-Naples.
http://www.answers.com/topic/francis-ii-of-the-two-sicilies
For reference))

[Risban]

((Continuing. Note that all I am posted is historical, and most of what I am posting is actually quoted from a history))

Recap:
In the meantime, Garibaldi, a native of Nice, was deeply resentful of the French annexation of his home city. He hoped to use his supporters to regain the territory. Cavour, terrified of Garibaldi provoking a war with France, convinced Garibaldi to turn his forces to Sicily, instead. On [March] 6, 1860, Garibaldi and his cadre of about a thousand Italian volunteers (called I Mille), steamed from Quarto near Genoa, and after a stop in Talamone on [March] 11 landed near Marsala on the west coast of Sicily. [They were soon joined by 1,200 Piedmontese forces.]


"Near Salemi, Garibaldi's army attracted scattered bands of rebels, together defeating the opposing army at Calatafimi on the 13th. Within three days, the invading force had swelled to [5,200] men. On [March] 14, Garibaldi proclaimed himself dictator of Sicily, in the name of Victor Emmanuel. After waging various successful but hard-fought battles, Garibaldi advanced upon the Sicilian capital of Palermo, announcing his arrival by beacon-fires kindled at night. On [March] 27, the force laid siege to the Porta Termina of Palermo, while a mass uprising of street and barricade fighting broke out within the city."

Deeming Palerno insurgent, Neopolitan General Lanza attacked Palermo with 25,000 men, furiously bombarding the city nearly to ruins. However, with the intervention of Piedmontese naval forces and an addition 5,000 troops, an armistice was declared, making the Neopolitan forces departure and the formal surrendering of Palermo to Garibaldi and his much smaller army.

"This resounding success demonstrated the weakness of the Neapolitan government. Garibaldi's fame spread and many Italians began to consider him a national hero. Doubt, confusion and dismay overtook the Neapolitan court — the king hastily summoned his ministry and offered to restore an earlier constitution, but these efforts failed to rebuild the peoples' trust in Bourbon governance."

Garibaldi now gathered his forces in preparation to assault the citadel at Messina and cross the Straits of Messina to overcome King Francis II in Naples.

[Risban]

((Due to the time that has passed, to sum this up, the Italian Peninsula (minus Venetia) is united now under the House of Savoy as the Kingdom of Italy. A lot of this is historical text.))


Six weeks after the surrender of Palermo, Garibaldi attacked Messina. Within a week its citadel surrendered. Having conquered Sicily, Garibaldi proceeded to the mainland, crossing the Straits of Messina with the Neapolitan fleet at hand. The garrison at Reggio Calabria promptly surrendered. Progressing northward, the populace everywhere hailed him and military resistance faded. At the end of [April] he was at Cosenza, and on [May] 5 at Eboli, near Salerno. Meanwhile Naples had been declared in a state of siege, and on [May] 6 the king of Naples gathered the 4,000 troops still faithful to him and retreated over the Volturno river. The next day Garibaldi, with a few followers, entered Naples, whose people openly welcomed him.

Though Garibaldi had easily taken the capital, the Neapolitan army had not joined the rebellion en masse, holding firm along the Volturno River. Garibaldi's irregular bands of about 25,000 men could not drive away the king or take the fortresses of Capua and Gaeta without the help of the Sardinian army.

However, the only way for the Sardinian army to reach Naples was to cross through Papal Lands. Thumbing his nose at the Holy See, Garibaldi proceeded to proclaim a Kingdom of Italy from Rome, the capital city of Pope Pius IX. Many Catholics saw this as a threat against the domain of the Catholic Church and eagerly sent money and volunteers to the Papal Army, which was led by French exile General Louis Lamoricière. The French had protected the Vatican from secularist uprisings in the past, but with French power broken, such a quick response to a removal of the Church from power of the Papal States was unrealistic, particularly since Count Cavour and King Victor Emmanuel had managed to finnegle the French into supporting Piedmont-Sardinia by handing them Savoy and Nice.

It was in this situation that a Sardinian force of two army corps, under Fanti and Cialdini, marched to the frontier of the Papal States, its object being not Rome but Naples. The Papal troops under Lamoricière advanced against Cialdini, but were quickly defeated and besieged in the fortress of Ancona, finally surrendering on [May] 29. On [June] 9, Victor Emmanuel II arrived and took command. There was no longer a papal army to oppose him, and the march southward proceeded unopposed.

Garibaldi distrusted the pragmatic Cavour, particularly due to Cavour's role in the French annexation of Nice, Garibaldi's birthplace. Nevertheless he trusted Victor Emmanuel. When the king entered Sessa Aurunca at the head of his army, Garibaldi willingly handed over his dictatorial power. After greeting Victor Emmanuel in Teano with the title of King of Italy, Garibaldi entered Naples riding beside the king.

The progress of the Sardinian army compelled Francis II to give up his line along the river, and he eventually took refuge with his best troops in the fortress of Gaeta. His courage boosted by his resolute young wife, Duchess Marie Sophie of Bavaria, Francis mounted a stubborn defense that lasted three months. But European allies refused him aid, food and munitions became scarce, and disease set in, so the garrison was forced to surrender.

The fall of Gaeta brought the unification movement to the brink of fruition — only [the city of] Rome and Venetia remained to be added. On February 18, 1861, Victor Emmanuel assembled the deputies of the first Italian parliament that acknowledged his supremacy at [Florece], and in their presence assumed the title of King of Italy. In March the parliament declared Rome Capital of Italy.

People in the streets of Rome, Turin, Florence, and Naples celebrated, festivals and parades flooding the cities. They chanted "L'Italia è fatta, L'Italia è fatta" (Italy is made, Italy is made) and praised their king, Victor Emmanuel II, and their Prime Minister, Camillo Cavour, and their general, Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Pope Pius IX, throwing a bit of a fit, declared himself a 'Prisoner of the Vatican' and locked himself away, refusing to speak at first to the new Italian Government. Victor Emmanuel, however, claimed there was a need to cooperate with the Church and had begun urging the cardinals of Italy to try convince the Pope to enter into talks with the Italian government.

The Italian Senate and office of the King still met in the temporary capital of Florence, not entering the city of Rome itself yet as it wanted to speak to the Pope first. Garibaldi, a rigorous opponent of Papal power like his old friend Mazzini, preached invasion of the city of Rome and removal of the Pope from power completely, but Cavour and Victor Emmanuel restrained the Italian hero. The King wanted to peacefully acquire the City of Rome and thus was negotiating with the Pope.
Garibaldi grew more and more frustrated, and only time would tell what he would do next.