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Chapter 38 The Legions Advance
Chapter 38 The Legions Advance
"I truly am glad that we were able to resolve this whole crisis quickly without it being dragged for several years. War is a terrible thing after all."- Pope Pius IX 1847
"Some may call me an heretic and an traitor to the cause for this. But if I don't take action now the Pope will gain control of all of Italy and the House of Savoy will forever be lost to the tides of history."- King Charles Albert 1852
"While we are not truly united yet, this is a far better start then I could ever have hoped to achieve on my own."- Giuseppe Garibaldi 1847
At the beginning of the Lombard-Venetian War for Independence, many outsiders were skeptical of the Italian league's ability to combat the Austrian Empire. While historically many Italian states have banded together in alliances during Europe's largescale wars, such arrangements were only temporary and would soon fall to infighting and bickering over who would gain the most control and influence within Italy by the end of the conflict. Yet by September the Italian League had not only proved that it was united in its cause of nationalism, it had managed to beat back the mighty Austrian Empire in multiple battles, with the Italians liberating all of their desired land. Now with the Austrian Empire descending into further division and chaos a decision was needed to be made, seek peace now or prolong the war in order to obtain a greater position. On one side were the compromisers led by Pope Pius who sought to end any further unnecessary bloodshed and just retake Lombardy-Venetia so that work could immediately begin on reorganizing Italy and building up its national strength. On the other side were the Irredentionists led by Kings Charles Albert and Ferdinand, seeking for total unification of all Italian lands in Austria, though this was called more for personal gain of the kingdom's rather than true nationalism. Eventually it was agreed that the offense would continue into the Austrian Empire while peace negotiations were still pursued to end the war. This was done as no foreign presence had entered the war yet though it would soon be likely that either Britain or the new Second Republic of France would want to intervene to gain power and influence in the region. Requiring a quick and decisive conclusion of strength. The final chapter of the First Act of Italian Unification was about to begin.
For the Italian strategy there were two primary objectives that needed to be achieved in the next campaign; an invasion of Tyrol and an invasion of Dalmatia. Both parts of Austria had an substantial amount of Italian minorites and if conquered could give an future Italian nation an immense amount of power over the Medditerranean. The main problem was that King Charles Albert had already tried and failed to obtain these two territories. Thus, a plan was drawn up that would keep a large amount of the Italian forces put within Lombardy-Venetia while two armies were created with a minority of forces sent towards Tyrol under the comand of Garibaldi while a second force under General Veneziano was sent to the city of Trieste to finally cut off Austrian access to the sea so that the blockade could stand down and funding would divert to the armies. On Garibaldi's front was a long and tiring journey through the mountainside with his 25,000 men to liberate the mountain regions from the Germans. Tactically Tyrol initially held little of value as the nearby gold mines had long since been dried out. Strategically, Tyrol was needed in order to protect a future Italian state from the advances of a future resurgent Austria. Originally had Garibaldi marched months ago he would have met fierce resistance from the Austrians in defense of their native land, luckily for him most Austrian troops in the region were redirected to meet the threat of the new German Empire in the southern states. The main battle of note was the Battle of Tyrol on October 26th where Italian soldiers surrounded the provincial town and fought desperately to try and take it from the cities defenders of 7000 under the command of Colonel Hans von Mera. For around two weeks the Italians tried multiple times to assault the city, however it was well defended and the Native Austrians used the mountain terrain to their advantage in order to repulse multiple Austrian attacks. With much frustration at the lack of progress Garibaldi controversially ordered the entire town to be leveled with constant artillery bombardments in order to reduce the defenders to rubble. Over the next week the once peacefull mountain city was systematically destroyed with thousands of civilians dead, including many Italians. Finally on November 20th Colonel Maren surrendered in order to protect his men and the town from further loss. Losses of the battle range from 2367 Italians KIA, and 2589 WIA. For the Austrians it was 2944 KIA, 2102 WIA, and the rest taken as prisoners. The cities population would suffer a loss of over 5,000. For the next two months until the end of the war the Italian war would come to consolidate Tyrol and meet minor resistance from Austrian guerrilla forces.
Battle of Tyrol
Down south a force of 55,000 Italians were marching under General Veneziano to meet General Radetzky in the city of Trieste. For two weeks they had marched on the shoreline and from much aid by the Italian Navies were able to liberate much of the coast. This prompted Radetzky to gather all his remaining forces within the region to make a stand at Trieste in order to prevent the rest of the Empire, especially Vienna which was less than 300 miles away. Radetzky only had around 30,000 troops left to meet the enemy due to the Emperor's demands for the main forces to be sent to either Hungary or Germany. Desperate for help he called on reinforcements from the Croatians to double the army so that they may also protect their homeland, this action would ironically give much aid to the Hungarians in the coming months. On October 5th a large and epic battle began to wage in the Second Battle of Trieste which would come to become one of the most remembered engagements in Italian history. For days on end the city of Trieste came under immense destruction as the army of the Italian Leauge came in waves of multiple assaults in what was the single largest battle since the Napoleonic Wars. Constant artillery and canon fire rained down from the heavens for hours as the Italian Navy would help the Italians to gain control of the seaboard and constantly harassed the cities defenders. Epic cavalry charges were run through the streets with many being slaughtered by well positioned barricades. The Austrian and Croation defenders for their part never relented easily as they fought to the last breath and would often charge in suicide attacks instead of surrendering to the enemy. Even General Radetzky was seen personally leading into the fray, hacking Italian soldiers left and right with his sabre while he also fired upon many with his pistol. After five days of bloody attrition General Veneziano would call his men to retreat on the 10th, leaving a battered but still held city to the Austrians. Tactically the battle was an obvious Austrian victory, but strategically the battle would go to the Italians. Though the Italians suffered around 25,000 casualties the Austrians suffered far more with over 40,000 casualties, virtually eliminating around 2/3rds of the army. When Emperor Franz Joseph heard of the results of the battle he was furious instead of pleased, he then ordered for Radetzky to withdraw into main Austria to Vienna some semblance of support against the Hungarians and Italians. Radetzky pleaded not to go as the battle and the war could eventually be won. Franz Joseph would have none of it. The Empire bled too much for the sake of two Italian kingdoms, it was time to make peace in somewhat favorable terms while they could so that the focus could be shifted on Austria's position in Germany and their rightful rule of the lands of the crown of St. Stephen. So Radetzky begrudgingly withdrew on October 24th while new negotiations were being discussed for the fate of Italy.
Battle of Trieste
When peace negotiations began in Geneva everyone knew that victory belonged to the Italian League, the question was how much and exactly who would gain the power. A few hardliners among the Sardinians and the Republicans pushed for a march into Vienna in order to extract total terms for the victory. The Papal delegation firmly disagreed with this plan as too many lives were lost and they should not fall into the sins of greed lest all of their gains be for nought. The Sicilians wanted for peace to come quickly as King Ferdinand and the Neapolitan's were on the verge of reconquering the main Sicilian Island. The middle Italian states just wanted for peace. There was also the question of who exactly the new territories would go to. Would they be divided by contribution, given Independnece, or totally annexed by a neighboring nation. By Christmas Eve terms were finalized and through much compromise and negotiations the Treaty of Geneva was finalized. The terms are as followed:
View attachment 295322
Map showing the aftermath of the Lombard-Venetian War of Independence.
"I truly am glad that we were able to resolve this whole crisis quickly without it being dragged for several years. War is a terrible thing after all."- Pope Pius IX 1847
"Some may call me an heretic and an traitor to the cause for this. But if I don't take action now the Pope will gain control of all of Italy and the House of Savoy will forever be lost to the tides of history."- King Charles Albert 1852
"While we are not truly united yet, this is a far better start then I could ever have hoped to achieve on my own."- Giuseppe Garibaldi 1847
At the beginning of the Lombard-Venetian War for Independence, many outsiders were skeptical of the Italian league's ability to combat the Austrian Empire. While historically many Italian states have banded together in alliances during Europe's largescale wars, such arrangements were only temporary and would soon fall to infighting and bickering over who would gain the most control and influence within Italy by the end of the conflict. Yet by September the Italian League had not only proved that it was united in its cause of nationalism, it had managed to beat back the mighty Austrian Empire in multiple battles, with the Italians liberating all of their desired land. Now with the Austrian Empire descending into further division and chaos a decision was needed to be made, seek peace now or prolong the war in order to obtain a greater position. On one side were the compromisers led by Pope Pius who sought to end any further unnecessary bloodshed and just retake Lombardy-Venetia so that work could immediately begin on reorganizing Italy and building up its national strength. On the other side were the Irredentionists led by Kings Charles Albert and Ferdinand, seeking for total unification of all Italian lands in Austria, though this was called more for personal gain of the kingdom's rather than true nationalism. Eventually it was agreed that the offense would continue into the Austrian Empire while peace negotiations were still pursued to end the war. This was done as no foreign presence had entered the war yet though it would soon be likely that either Britain or the new Second Republic of France would want to intervene to gain power and influence in the region. Requiring a quick and decisive conclusion of strength. The final chapter of the First Act of Italian Unification was about to begin.
For the Italian strategy there were two primary objectives that needed to be achieved in the next campaign; an invasion of Tyrol and an invasion of Dalmatia. Both parts of Austria had an substantial amount of Italian minorites and if conquered could give an future Italian nation an immense amount of power over the Medditerranean. The main problem was that King Charles Albert had already tried and failed to obtain these two territories. Thus, a plan was drawn up that would keep a large amount of the Italian forces put within Lombardy-Venetia while two armies were created with a minority of forces sent towards Tyrol under the comand of Garibaldi while a second force under General Veneziano was sent to the city of Trieste to finally cut off Austrian access to the sea so that the blockade could stand down and funding would divert to the armies. On Garibaldi's front was a long and tiring journey through the mountainside with his 25,000 men to liberate the mountain regions from the Germans. Tactically Tyrol initially held little of value as the nearby gold mines had long since been dried out. Strategically, Tyrol was needed in order to protect a future Italian state from the advances of a future resurgent Austria. Originally had Garibaldi marched months ago he would have met fierce resistance from the Austrians in defense of their native land, luckily for him most Austrian troops in the region were redirected to meet the threat of the new German Empire in the southern states. The main battle of note was the Battle of Tyrol on October 26th where Italian soldiers surrounded the provincial town and fought desperately to try and take it from the cities defenders of 7000 under the command of Colonel Hans von Mera. For around two weeks the Italians tried multiple times to assault the city, however it was well defended and the Native Austrians used the mountain terrain to their advantage in order to repulse multiple Austrian attacks. With much frustration at the lack of progress Garibaldi controversially ordered the entire town to be leveled with constant artillery bombardments in order to reduce the defenders to rubble. Over the next week the once peacefull mountain city was systematically destroyed with thousands of civilians dead, including many Italians. Finally on November 20th Colonel Maren surrendered in order to protect his men and the town from further loss. Losses of the battle range from 2367 Italians KIA, and 2589 WIA. For the Austrians it was 2944 KIA, 2102 WIA, and the rest taken as prisoners. The cities population would suffer a loss of over 5,000. For the next two months until the end of the war the Italian war would come to consolidate Tyrol and meet minor resistance from Austrian guerrilla forces.
Battle of Tyrol
Down south a force of 55,000 Italians were marching under General Veneziano to meet General Radetzky in the city of Trieste. For two weeks they had marched on the shoreline and from much aid by the Italian Navies were able to liberate much of the coast. This prompted Radetzky to gather all his remaining forces within the region to make a stand at Trieste in order to prevent the rest of the Empire, especially Vienna which was less than 300 miles away. Radetzky only had around 30,000 troops left to meet the enemy due to the Emperor's demands for the main forces to be sent to either Hungary or Germany. Desperate for help he called on reinforcements from the Croatians to double the army so that they may also protect their homeland, this action would ironically give much aid to the Hungarians in the coming months. On October 5th a large and epic battle began to wage in the Second Battle of Trieste which would come to become one of the most remembered engagements in Italian history. For days on end the city of Trieste came under immense destruction as the army of the Italian Leauge came in waves of multiple assaults in what was the single largest battle since the Napoleonic Wars. Constant artillery and canon fire rained down from the heavens for hours as the Italian Navy would help the Italians to gain control of the seaboard and constantly harassed the cities defenders. Epic cavalry charges were run through the streets with many being slaughtered by well positioned barricades. The Austrian and Croation defenders for their part never relented easily as they fought to the last breath and would often charge in suicide attacks instead of surrendering to the enemy. Even General Radetzky was seen personally leading into the fray, hacking Italian soldiers left and right with his sabre while he also fired upon many with his pistol. After five days of bloody attrition General Veneziano would call his men to retreat on the 10th, leaving a battered but still held city to the Austrians. Tactically the battle was an obvious Austrian victory, but strategically the battle would go to the Italians. Though the Italians suffered around 25,000 casualties the Austrians suffered far more with over 40,000 casualties, virtually eliminating around 2/3rds of the army. When Emperor Franz Joseph heard of the results of the battle he was furious instead of pleased, he then ordered for Radetzky to withdraw into main Austria to Vienna some semblance of support against the Hungarians and Italians. Radetzky pleaded not to go as the battle and the war could eventually be won. Franz Joseph would have none of it. The Empire bled too much for the sake of two Italian kingdoms, it was time to make peace in somewhat favorable terms while they could so that the focus could be shifted on Austria's position in Germany and their rightful rule of the lands of the crown of St. Stephen. So Radetzky begrudgingly withdrew on October 24th while new negotiations were being discussed for the fate of Italy.
Battle of Trieste
When peace negotiations began in Geneva everyone knew that victory belonged to the Italian League, the question was how much and exactly who would gain the power. A few hardliners among the Sardinians and the Republicans pushed for a march into Vienna in order to extract total terms for the victory. The Papal delegation firmly disagreed with this plan as too many lives were lost and they should not fall into the sins of greed lest all of their gains be for nought. The Sicilians wanted for peace to come quickly as King Ferdinand and the Neapolitan's were on the verge of reconquering the main Sicilian Island. The middle Italian states just wanted for peace. There was also the question of who exactly the new territories would go to. Would they be divided by contribution, given Independnece, or totally annexed by a neighboring nation. By Christmas Eve terms were finalized and through much compromise and negotiations the Treaty of Geneva was finalized. The terms are as followed:
- The Italian League shall transform into an official Italian Confederation with a similar structure set up to the Previous German Confederation.
- Lombardy was to be partitioned between the Papal States and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, the Kingdom of Venice would be created as an autonomous Republic of Venice within the Papal States.
- Financial compensation would be given to the other members of the league totaling $10,000,000 reichsmarks to be paid by 1852.
- A Parliment would be formed on March 31st 1852 of the Italian League states to decide on the state of further unification.
- Austria would not be permitted to retain any naval vessels in its lands, Croatia would be an exception.
- No aid would be given to the Hungarian rebellion or the newly formed German Empire by the Italian League.
- The rights of all remaining Italians in the Empire would be recognized and Italian made a legal language.
- South Tyrol would be partitioned between Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and the Papal States
View attachment 295322
Map showing the aftermath of the Lombard-Venetian War of Independence.
- Kaiser Chris
- Word Count: 1.8k