43. MOVING FRONTLINES
While the rest of the army was occupied in the violent battle of the Tagliamento, Tancredi Saletta was able to reach Trento and enter the city which, at the news of the arrival of the Italians, rose up and expelled the Austrians in the same way as many cities in the Po Valley rose up during the War of Independence, allowing Saletta's troops to occupy the city and begin fortifying the area. Trento was built along the easiest road to descend to Italy from the Brenner Pass and therefore the Austrians would certainly try to take it back. These considerations led the Italian commander to leave the bulk of his forces along the Adige and to send the rest to ensure control of Trentino to cover the flank of San Marzano.
On the 26th the Prussian III Corps arrived near the Český ráj where, in the unconsciousness of the Prussian commander, about five Austrian divisions had gathered, sent to protect the eastern flank of Prague. The battle began immediately at the crack of dawn with an Austrian attack that was repulsed, albeit with many casualties, in the early afternoon. For the rest of the day none of the armies decided to do battle and therefore the Prussians took the initiative on the 27th by marching directly into the Český ráj, conquering the castles of Trosky and Waldstein, defended to the last man and taken only with help from the artillery. For the next three days, armies clashed in the wooded and hilly terrain of the region, ambushing and assaulting camouflaged trenches in the trees. The battle of Český ráj was the most violent of the entire war and ended in the destruction of three Austrian divisions and the capture of the remaining two, in the face of serious Prussian losses that considerably reduced the strength of the III Corps which had now paved the way for Prague, but they no longer had the strength to conquer it.
Prussian Troops rush an Austrian Position in the Český ráj
News of the defeat in the Ráj quickly reached Vienna. Maximilian, without listening to the assurances of his generals that they would win the war, ordered his diplomats to contact the European Great Powers, mainly France, to ask for a guarantee on the indissolubility of Austria in case of defeat. In the meantime, it was essential that the imperial army give the best proof of itself, so the inhabitants of Prague were conscripted to build trenches and fortifications around their city, knowing that they were the next target of two Prussian corps.
On 5 July the “
Firenze” infantry division was annihilated by an ambush by two Austrian brigades in Palmanova, stopping the Italian advance towards Gorizia and Udine, which remained firmly in Austrian hands. Unlike the Prussians, the Italians had advanced slowly due to the limited Friulian spaces and the large concentration of Austrian soldiers in the area, more than 120,000, which were more than enough to wage a defensive war against 180.000 Italians. On the 6th the "
Catania" division was heavily defeated in the battle of Tricesimo, putting an end to the advance of San Marzano in Friuli. Understanding that the Austrians were entrenched, the Italian general adivsed for a diversionary operation to take place, an idea that admiral Acton from the Navy quickly agreed.
