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Chapter 54 Fall of Sardinia
Chapter 54 Fall of Sardinia
"You expected Pius to come and take over your capitol, but it was me Napoleon!"- Emperor Napoleon III 1852
"Why the hell are the French on our borders?"- King Charles Albert 1852
"With the so called Sardinian Heresy coming to an end, it is clear that Europe is entering a new era. No longer is our continent divided by monarchies and thrust into petty conflicts of glory. Rather, we are entering an age where the people shall lead the state and the struggle of an nation shall directly determine society into the coming future. Our own revolution is a byproduct of this as Hungary is now taking a new direction as a sovereign nation whose decisions shall come to impact the world stage and give birth to new ideas and movements. It is a rather interesting time to be alive, is it not?"- President Lajos Kossuth 1852
At first glance it would make little sense why Emperor Napoleon III decided to intervene in the Sardinian Heresy. The war was one that was strictly fought for the future of Italy and Sardinia-Piedmont had up until that point not done anything to antagonize France. While France was a Catholic nation, there was a sizeable protestant minority and liberal faction that would be against entering wars for the sake of religion. There were also other potential conflicts at the time such as how the Crimea War was starting and the fact that the Second French Colonial Empire was beginning to form. Lastly, Charles Albert had even offered a full alliance to Napoleon that would gain him an important regional ally, which was valuable with France's until then isolation in Europe. So why intervene? To answer that question we must first look into the policies of Napoleon. When Napoleon came to power he was at a precarious balance. While he was chosen to become Emperor with a large majority in a referendum (something historians have recently proven to be forged) he still faced a huge amount of opposition from France's many factions. Napoleon had to balance out the interests of the liberals and the conservatives within parliament in order to secure his reign. Any time Napoleon chose to take one action, he instantly angered the other, and there were few centrist policies that he could focus on. France was also in a state of mild decline when Napoleon took power. While France had regained some standing with the internal projects of Charles and the foreign success of Louis Phillipe, it was nowhere near the once held glory of the Napoleonic era that was required to "Make France Great Again". France's main enemy Britain was now a superpower, their neighbor Germany was unified and on the rise, and new players were starting to enter the colonial game. Napoleon had to do something in order to please both sides of the aisle as well as gain prestige and power abroad. At first Napoleon was interested in potentially disputing Russia's claim to protection of Christians in the Ottoman Empire as well as its rights in the middle east. Russia was a rising rival and doing so could pave the way for a potential alliance with Britain and maybe a truce with Germany. And then Charles's offer came. When Napoleon read this he smiled in glee as he found the perfect opportunity that he had been looking for. The Pope was very popular in France as the liberals praised his reforms, while the conservatives admired his pious (pun intended) manner in leading the Church. Supporting Pius in gaining control of Italy would not only boost Napoleon's popularity, but gain him a very powerful ally in the Mediterranean and the Middle East to counter the Ottomans. Another factor that played in was the potential land grabs. Sardinia-Piedmont had held some French land through the years in the form of Savoy and Sardinia was a key port in the Mediterranean. Grabbing these territories would directly benefit Metropolitan France unlike the colonies, and add new potential industry to the economy. After hearing of the plan Napoleon then gave a vague reassurance of some support while secretly meeting with his Marshals and preparing for an attack. Napoleon mobilized the French military with the excuse of launching a new expedition into Africa, something that was actually believable given their investments in Algeria. Napoleon then waited the first few months to see who would have the upper hand. When the Italian Confederation pushed the Sardinian armies back into their borders, Napoleon gave the go ahead for Operation Visigoth. The Fall of Sardinia began.
Planning of Operation Visigoth
The general details of Operation Visigoth can be divided into two plans; the amphibious assault on Sardinia, and the land invasion directly to Turin. On the land route came three routes into Sardinia; Nice, Savoy, and Central straight to Turin. All three army groups had their objectives with the most immediate attention given down south so that the coast could be secured and the French Navy would uphold naval supremacy. Overall a grand total of 175,000 men were being used in this campaign. In the Mediterranean, the island of Sardinia would be directly assaulted with a French contingent of 50,000 landing in the city of Porto Torres. The French Fleet would the further reinforce the Italian blockade and begin to eliminate any ships that would try to escape. With the introduction of the French fleet, all Sardinian ships in sea tried to head back into port or risk being caught by the already spread French Armada, something that was highly unlikely as France had deployed a majority of their European and African ships to the theater. In the first two weeks of action, 26 Sardinian ships would be destroyed while the French lost 7. Due to the nature of the suprise attack and the general direction of the Sardinian generals towards the east (along with their low preparedness), the French Army was able to make for extremely rapid progress in their campaign. The first week was very successful as the French Army had been able to advance 100 kilometers and was able to capture the city of Nice and Savoy with little resistance. Their next moves were to send the central forces on a direct march for Turin while 1/3rd of the northern group and 1/5th of the southern group would support them using pincers in a flanking manner to surround the capitol. The southern army was ordered to continue its mission and head straight for Genoa in order to take out their primary port city. Back on Sardinia, the French army had made successful landings and were soon able to occupy the entire island by the beginning of December, the only exception being the islands capitol Caligari, which immediately began a siege that would last until the end of the war. The only major battle of note on the island was the Battle of Sassari where a French division of 15,000 men had taken on the 5,000 men garrison of the city where they had been training the majority of recruits that would go to the mainland. The battle was almost completely one sided as the French professionals had largely swept the reserve force with ease due to their training and discipline. During this time, a Sicilian force of 10,000 men came unto the island and headed for Cagliar in the Battle of Cagliari, a tactical draw with the equal 10K men stationed there, but a strategic victory as it had kept the main force bottled up while the French moved further south to reinforce. On December 3rd the Battle of Turin would commence and for the next two weeks, would see a large and fierce battle be fought in the capitol as the remaining guard and whatever reservists could be mustered, fought to keep their Kingdom intact from the French invaders, while French Marshal Jacque Leroy de Saint Arnaud chose to destroy many sections of the city and force the populace into submission by ruining infrastructure and denying any supply lines that could go through enemy lines. Turin wasn't in the French plans anyway, why would they care if it took damage.
Napoleon III overseeing the invasion
With the entry of the French into the war came with it a massive change in the front on the East. On November 4th, all available mainland European Sardinian units had been sent to the border in order to defend the Kingdom and possibly create a defensive network that would hold out until the Italian Confederation lost a battle of attrition, or a new opening could be created for a counterattack. When the French invasion happened, Charles Albert was torn as his duty as the monarch demanded that he send men back west in order to secure the capitol from the French. Yet, any forces he sent back west would just be an invitation for the Italians to come rolling in. The situation was only made worse as the Italian Nationalist movement intensified and many areas would openly rise in revolt with the arrival of the French, either for religious reasons or to secure their land for the incoming Italian liberators so that the French could not take it in a treaty. It was a practical lose-lose situation. It was just a manner of how much damage was to be done on Sardinia and its enemies. Reluctantly, Charles sent 40% of his army to the west under the command of his son Victor Emmanuel so that the French could somehow be held off. This only created an opening for the Italians as after 9 days of organization to adjust to the French entry and draw up new plans, the official invasion commenced on the 13th with the Italian army coming in floods to reach Turin first. At this point the eastern front was an gathering of 105,000 Italians versus 48,000 Sardinians. Perhaps if the Sardinians had an elite professional army like Germany then the situation could've fallen into their favor. This was unfortunately for them, unable to happen as the superior Papal/Sicilian forces were able to overwhelm and mow down formation after formation of Sardinian troops. Sensing that the end was nigh, Sardinian forces started to surrender en masse while some even defected to the cause of the nationalists, begging forgiveness for the Pope for going against the Church. With the huge amount of success due to numerical, qualitiative, and moral superiority, the Italians moved in a rate that could be said to be even faster than their French counterparts. The Battle of Genoa took place on November 28th where the Italian army had been able to take over the last clear pocket of resistance by forcing the garrison to surrender after one day of fighting. Overall during this phase of the war; the Italians only suffered 2,034 KIA, 1,967 WIA. While the Sardinians had 6,843 KIA, 7,120 WIA, and 24,598 POW, with an extra 6,142 MIA (most presumably quitting or defecting). Meanwhile, the Italian fleet had gone on the full defensive and were mirroring their French counterparts by hunting down Sardinian ships in the Ligurian Sea. The Battle of the Ligurian took place all of November and ended up an immense Italian victory with 12 Sardinian ships and 4 Italian lost. The Italians would form Naval supremacy with their new French allies, further tightening the noose on Sardinia-Piedmont.
Liberation of Genoa
The overall end of the war came about with the conclusion of the Battle of Turin as the French Foreign Legion stormed the Royal Palace on the 17th, an event that signaled the remaining defenders that the battle was lost and the war over with the downfall of their government. When the legionnaires entered the palace, they came with a mission to search for the Sardinian King and capture him so that he could be brought to the negotiating table and end the war before 1853. A squad of legionnaires found Charles Albert in his office, though the condition they found him was one of death. Charles Albert had been assassinated at his desk with a bayonet stabbed in his back, while the words "AVE PIUS, HERETIC!" were written on the wall in Charles's own blood. A search for the assassin was commenced in the following weeks, although no official suspects were found. The Vatican has to this day denied any direct involvement and access to the Archives as not shown any answers. The only actual lead to historians was the account of one of the Palace maids who testified that before the killing, she had seen a suspicious large blond English priest travel through the Palace. Leading to many conspiracy theories as the governments of the United Kingdom and Britannia have denied any involvement. Whatever the case, the "heretic" who had caused the war was now dead and most of the country was overrun. Word had reached Victor Emmanuel of his father's death a day later when he was in hiding in Genoa. Victor emerged out into the city and requested for official peace talks to begin for the fate of Sardinia. The so called Christmas Conference, was held in Turin in the coming weeks and wouldn't be resolved until early next year. What it would lead to was the rise of the French Empire, and the final chapter in Italian Unification.
Aftermath of the Capture of Turin
"You expected Pius to come and take over your capitol, but it was me Napoleon!"- Emperor Napoleon III 1852
"Why the hell are the French on our borders?"- King Charles Albert 1852
"With the so called Sardinian Heresy coming to an end, it is clear that Europe is entering a new era. No longer is our continent divided by monarchies and thrust into petty conflicts of glory. Rather, we are entering an age where the people shall lead the state and the struggle of an nation shall directly determine society into the coming future. Our own revolution is a byproduct of this as Hungary is now taking a new direction as a sovereign nation whose decisions shall come to impact the world stage and give birth to new ideas and movements. It is a rather interesting time to be alive, is it not?"- President Lajos Kossuth 1852
At first glance it would make little sense why Emperor Napoleon III decided to intervene in the Sardinian Heresy. The war was one that was strictly fought for the future of Italy and Sardinia-Piedmont had up until that point not done anything to antagonize France. While France was a Catholic nation, there was a sizeable protestant minority and liberal faction that would be against entering wars for the sake of religion. There were also other potential conflicts at the time such as how the Crimea War was starting and the fact that the Second French Colonial Empire was beginning to form. Lastly, Charles Albert had even offered a full alliance to Napoleon that would gain him an important regional ally, which was valuable with France's until then isolation in Europe. So why intervene? To answer that question we must first look into the policies of Napoleon. When Napoleon came to power he was at a precarious balance. While he was chosen to become Emperor with a large majority in a referendum (something historians have recently proven to be forged) he still faced a huge amount of opposition from France's many factions. Napoleon had to balance out the interests of the liberals and the conservatives within parliament in order to secure his reign. Any time Napoleon chose to take one action, he instantly angered the other, and there were few centrist policies that he could focus on. France was also in a state of mild decline when Napoleon took power. While France had regained some standing with the internal projects of Charles and the foreign success of Louis Phillipe, it was nowhere near the once held glory of the Napoleonic era that was required to "Make France Great Again". France's main enemy Britain was now a superpower, their neighbor Germany was unified and on the rise, and new players were starting to enter the colonial game. Napoleon had to do something in order to please both sides of the aisle as well as gain prestige and power abroad. At first Napoleon was interested in potentially disputing Russia's claim to protection of Christians in the Ottoman Empire as well as its rights in the middle east. Russia was a rising rival and doing so could pave the way for a potential alliance with Britain and maybe a truce with Germany. And then Charles's offer came. When Napoleon read this he smiled in glee as he found the perfect opportunity that he had been looking for. The Pope was very popular in France as the liberals praised his reforms, while the conservatives admired his pious (pun intended) manner in leading the Church. Supporting Pius in gaining control of Italy would not only boost Napoleon's popularity, but gain him a very powerful ally in the Mediterranean and the Middle East to counter the Ottomans. Another factor that played in was the potential land grabs. Sardinia-Piedmont had held some French land through the years in the form of Savoy and Sardinia was a key port in the Mediterranean. Grabbing these territories would directly benefit Metropolitan France unlike the colonies, and add new potential industry to the economy. After hearing of the plan Napoleon then gave a vague reassurance of some support while secretly meeting with his Marshals and preparing for an attack. Napoleon mobilized the French military with the excuse of launching a new expedition into Africa, something that was actually believable given their investments in Algeria. Napoleon then waited the first few months to see who would have the upper hand. When the Italian Confederation pushed the Sardinian armies back into their borders, Napoleon gave the go ahead for Operation Visigoth. The Fall of Sardinia began.
Planning of Operation Visigoth
The general details of Operation Visigoth can be divided into two plans; the amphibious assault on Sardinia, and the land invasion directly to Turin. On the land route came three routes into Sardinia; Nice, Savoy, and Central straight to Turin. All three army groups had their objectives with the most immediate attention given down south so that the coast could be secured and the French Navy would uphold naval supremacy. Overall a grand total of 175,000 men were being used in this campaign. In the Mediterranean, the island of Sardinia would be directly assaulted with a French contingent of 50,000 landing in the city of Porto Torres. The French Fleet would the further reinforce the Italian blockade and begin to eliminate any ships that would try to escape. With the introduction of the French fleet, all Sardinian ships in sea tried to head back into port or risk being caught by the already spread French Armada, something that was highly unlikely as France had deployed a majority of their European and African ships to the theater. In the first two weeks of action, 26 Sardinian ships would be destroyed while the French lost 7. Due to the nature of the suprise attack and the general direction of the Sardinian generals towards the east (along with their low preparedness), the French Army was able to make for extremely rapid progress in their campaign. The first week was very successful as the French Army had been able to advance 100 kilometers and was able to capture the city of Nice and Savoy with little resistance. Their next moves were to send the central forces on a direct march for Turin while 1/3rd of the northern group and 1/5th of the southern group would support them using pincers in a flanking manner to surround the capitol. The southern army was ordered to continue its mission and head straight for Genoa in order to take out their primary port city. Back on Sardinia, the French army had made successful landings and were soon able to occupy the entire island by the beginning of December, the only exception being the islands capitol Caligari, which immediately began a siege that would last until the end of the war. The only major battle of note on the island was the Battle of Sassari where a French division of 15,000 men had taken on the 5,000 men garrison of the city where they had been training the majority of recruits that would go to the mainland. The battle was almost completely one sided as the French professionals had largely swept the reserve force with ease due to their training and discipline. During this time, a Sicilian force of 10,000 men came unto the island and headed for Cagliar in the Battle of Cagliari, a tactical draw with the equal 10K men stationed there, but a strategic victory as it had kept the main force bottled up while the French moved further south to reinforce. On December 3rd the Battle of Turin would commence and for the next two weeks, would see a large and fierce battle be fought in the capitol as the remaining guard and whatever reservists could be mustered, fought to keep their Kingdom intact from the French invaders, while French Marshal Jacque Leroy de Saint Arnaud chose to destroy many sections of the city and force the populace into submission by ruining infrastructure and denying any supply lines that could go through enemy lines. Turin wasn't in the French plans anyway, why would they care if it took damage.
Napoleon III overseeing the invasion
With the entry of the French into the war came with it a massive change in the front on the East. On November 4th, all available mainland European Sardinian units had been sent to the border in order to defend the Kingdom and possibly create a defensive network that would hold out until the Italian Confederation lost a battle of attrition, or a new opening could be created for a counterattack. When the French invasion happened, Charles Albert was torn as his duty as the monarch demanded that he send men back west in order to secure the capitol from the French. Yet, any forces he sent back west would just be an invitation for the Italians to come rolling in. The situation was only made worse as the Italian Nationalist movement intensified and many areas would openly rise in revolt with the arrival of the French, either for religious reasons or to secure their land for the incoming Italian liberators so that the French could not take it in a treaty. It was a practical lose-lose situation. It was just a manner of how much damage was to be done on Sardinia and its enemies. Reluctantly, Charles sent 40% of his army to the west under the command of his son Victor Emmanuel so that the French could somehow be held off. This only created an opening for the Italians as after 9 days of organization to adjust to the French entry and draw up new plans, the official invasion commenced on the 13th with the Italian army coming in floods to reach Turin first. At this point the eastern front was an gathering of 105,000 Italians versus 48,000 Sardinians. Perhaps if the Sardinians had an elite professional army like Germany then the situation could've fallen into their favor. This was unfortunately for them, unable to happen as the superior Papal/Sicilian forces were able to overwhelm and mow down formation after formation of Sardinian troops. Sensing that the end was nigh, Sardinian forces started to surrender en masse while some even defected to the cause of the nationalists, begging forgiveness for the Pope for going against the Church. With the huge amount of success due to numerical, qualitiative, and moral superiority, the Italians moved in a rate that could be said to be even faster than their French counterparts. The Battle of Genoa took place on November 28th where the Italian army had been able to take over the last clear pocket of resistance by forcing the garrison to surrender after one day of fighting. Overall during this phase of the war; the Italians only suffered 2,034 KIA, 1,967 WIA. While the Sardinians had 6,843 KIA, 7,120 WIA, and 24,598 POW, with an extra 6,142 MIA (most presumably quitting or defecting). Meanwhile, the Italian fleet had gone on the full defensive and were mirroring their French counterparts by hunting down Sardinian ships in the Ligurian Sea. The Battle of the Ligurian took place all of November and ended up an immense Italian victory with 12 Sardinian ships and 4 Italian lost. The Italians would form Naval supremacy with their new French allies, further tightening the noose on Sardinia-Piedmont.
Liberation of Genoa
The overall end of the war came about with the conclusion of the Battle of Turin as the French Foreign Legion stormed the Royal Palace on the 17th, an event that signaled the remaining defenders that the battle was lost and the war over with the downfall of their government. When the legionnaires entered the palace, they came with a mission to search for the Sardinian King and capture him so that he could be brought to the negotiating table and end the war before 1853. A squad of legionnaires found Charles Albert in his office, though the condition they found him was one of death. Charles Albert had been assassinated at his desk with a bayonet stabbed in his back, while the words "AVE PIUS, HERETIC!" were written on the wall in Charles's own blood. A search for the assassin was commenced in the following weeks, although no official suspects were found. The Vatican has to this day denied any direct involvement and access to the Archives as not shown any answers. The only actual lead to historians was the account of one of the Palace maids who testified that before the killing, she had seen a suspicious large blond English priest travel through the Palace. Leading to many conspiracy theories as the governments of the United Kingdom and Britannia have denied any involvement. Whatever the case, the "heretic" who had caused the war was now dead and most of the country was overrun. Word had reached Victor Emmanuel of his father's death a day later when he was in hiding in Genoa. Victor emerged out into the city and requested for official peace talks to begin for the fate of Sardinia. The so called Christmas Conference, was held in Turin in the coming weeks and wouldn't be resolved until early next year. What it would lead to was the rise of the French Empire, and the final chapter in Italian Unification.
Aftermath of the Capture of Turin
- Kaiser Chris
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