249. Glory and other things
“- Get me the best of the best!
- They are licking their wounds!
- Then get me the best of the worst!”
animated version of ‘Three Musketeers’ with dogs and cats
“If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your mission properly."
David Hackworth
“War is hell."
Sherman
“His stupidity was so dazzling that there was every reason to hope that in a few decades he would get to the Theresian Military Academy or the Ministry of War.”
J. Gashek, ‘Good soldier Schweik’
With the French Empire being established Emperor Oscar I had few things to consider. To prevent possible speculations, no
he was not going to try limiting growing size of the crinolines even if the trend started causing noticeable problems in transportation and the public places.
The reasons had been obvious:
- The fashion kept stimulating the French metallurgy and textile industry and even gave a boost for a brand-new rubber production (a material seemingly useless outside crinoline construction, at least so far nobody could find an alternative big-scale application to it).
- The Empress, being brought at a very conservative court, was all for improving the public morale and considered the crinolines as an important factor in minimizing the occasional affairs. Unlike the conventional skirt, the crinoline required considerable space and effort to come to a desirable point and then to put things back to order (unless, of course, the pair was ready to engage in a rather complicated acrobatics) and as a result indirectly encouraged steadier relations allowing to arrange for a proper logistics.
- An attempt to interfere legislatively in the issues of fashion, especially the female fashions, could easily result in a revolution or at least a very bloody revolt and a newly-established Empire still was too fragile to risk such a possibility.
So, the crinolines were officially approved and the Empress even established a record appearing in a theater wearing crinoline of more than 7 meters around thus both defying the “scientific” opinion that 6 meters was an absolute practical maximum and squeezing His Imperial Majesty to the very corner of the Imperial box.
No, the issues to consider were much more practical. Here they are in an order of importance:
- The name. Of course, “Oscar” was definitely fine for a President and could be considered as a far-fetched vision of his great father who anticipated eventual close relations with the Baltic League decades before they did happen. But wouldn’t it be a little bit too “foreign” for a founder of the French imperial dynasty? Being Joseph François Oscar, he was contemplating for a while one of two other names but “Joseph” sounded too Austrian (even it was after his uncle, a famous politician) and “François” could produce association with François I and his military failures and François II, which would be probably even worse. So, after a prolonged consideration and discussion with the trusted advisors he decided to stick to “Oscar”. At least his elder son was a conventional “Charles”.
- The glory. The “emperor” kind of implied some military glory and his exploits in this area were in the past and in Africa. Something more local and preferably both glorious and low risk would be welcomed. Fortunately, the occasion presented itself without him even trying.
In 1861 the secret Plombières (verbal) Agreement had been made between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Piedmont. By this agreement France promised Piedmont to help in removing Austrian influence from the Italian peninsula. The idea was quite popular in France even if very few really cared about the future of the Italian peninsula after the Hapsburgs are out. The trade relations did exist and it was not expected that it is going to make much of a difference if there is a single Italian state or few of them. The Hapsburgs were considered a traditional enemy of France and if France could not directly attack them (the minor naval encounter did not count) in 1849, now could be a good time.
Oscar’s personal friend, Jacques Alexandre Bixio, travelled to Turin and was able to pass to his friend, the Piedmontese chief minister, French proposals for an alliance of the two states against Austria. The agreement would be reinforced through the marriage of
Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy, daughter of the Piedmontese King,
Victor Emmanuel II, to Prince Charles Bernadotte. Exchange of the unofficial visits was going for a while and when all points had been clarified Oscar met with Cavour discretely at
Plombières-les-Bains, a once fashionable health resort in the small ravine of
Augronne in the
Vosges, reassuringly far from Paris or Turin, and off the beaten track of those following international diplomacy and politics. Oscar began by stating that he was determined to support Piedmont-Sardinia with all his strength in a war against Austria, on the condition that the war was not in support of a revolutionary cause and could be justified in diplomatic terms and, more importantly, before public opinion in France and in Europe. So the whole thing had to be provoked by Austria.
Eventually, the formal alliance of the mutual defense had been signed and the marriage was celebrated at Turin between Prince Napoléon Bonaparte and Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy.
Following a series of provocative military movements near the Austro-Piedmontese frontier by Piedmont-Sardinia, and having become aware of the Franco-Sardinian alliance, the Austrians took the initiative by issuing the Ultimatum of Vienna on 23 April 1862. The Austrian ultimatum required the total demobilisation of the Piedmontese army. By failing to comply with this demand, the Piedmontese triggered a declaration of war by Austria, thereby fulfilling the French condition that their support for Piedmont-Sardinia would be contingent on Austria being the aggressor in any war. Upon Sardinia's refusal, the war began on 26 April. Austria invaded Sardinia three days later.
The French newspapers properly presented the subject to the public and everybody was enraged about the Austrian boorish behavior. Few Austrian visitors, upon being identified, had been kicked from the “establishments” by the dames of a negotiable virtue: unlike insignificant thing like virtue, their patriotism was not negotiable. With these shows of a wide public support duly reported to him by Minister of Interior, Oscar signed declaration of war with the Hapsburg Empire on 3 May.
With the great Fieldmarshal Radetzky being dead, the Austrian troops in Italy had been under command of Gyulay, the “hero of the lost battles” of Hungarian War. He was “the best of the worst” that Hapsburg monarchy had at that time.
The French Army for the Italian campaign had 170,000 soldiers, 2,000 horsemen and 312 guns. Oscar was in charge. in the belief that it would motivate the French people during the war. That would prove successful. Even more successful proved to be French field artillery and Minie rifles.
So was the less advertised fact that the real field command was in the hands of Marshal François Marcellin Certain de Canrobert, Mac Mahon and other quite competent professionals.
Seriously, the French still considered élan on the battlefield to be more important than rifle training, and the bayonet was still the weapon most to be relied upon in deciding the issue. However, their light infantry units had been very efficient both in the aimed shooting and in the fast maneuvers. Tactically, the offensive was now carried out in deployed line, reinforced either at the centre or on either flank by battalions in company column. Following Jomini’s theories, any attack should be made en echelon using a V or “inverted V” formation. Light troops advanced in front of the attacking formation in skirmishing order.
The French cavalry, like most of their European counterparts, were still used for shock action and information gathering, although the latter was, to say the least, abysmally carried out by all three armies during the Italian campaign. The main role of mounted troops was in the attack, carried out by massed squadrons employing a “raking charge” when attacking enemy infantry in line; this called for them to approach the enemy from the right, that is on the sword or lance arm, so that they could avoid the destructive fire of the new rifled musket, and once closed on their opponents they were to ride along the front slashing and spearing, causing as much confusion as possible.
The French army took the field armed with 12 pound cannon, and the new 4 pound Beaulieu rifled guns, which far outclassed the Austrian smoothbore.
Administratively, the French army suffered from a rather chaotic mobilization and supply system but, still, the big number of troops had been raised and transported to the theater of war in a reasonably short time. But with no idea of how to deal with the mass movement of troops and supplies by rail or ship, with no forward planning being made beforehand, or study of the complexities of the logistics involved, it was only by sheer good fortune, coupled with the equally disorganised state of her opponent that the whole campaign did not turn into a fiasco.
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The army arrived in Italy well ahead of all the equipment and supplies needed for a campaign which had already begun –‘ the opposite,’ as the Emperor telegraphed to Marshal Randon, the new Minister of War, ‘of what we should have done.’ He added that he held the Ministry ‘very much to blame.’ But he himself shared with his ministers and officials the cheerful French belief that somehow things would sort themselves out. When he gave out his first orders, for the general advance of the Allied Army, and Marshal Baraguay-d’Hilliers protested that neither I nor II Corps had yet got artillery, he shrugged the matter off: ‘On s’organisera en route.’ That might have stood as the motto of the whole supply service, the “Intendence.” The ammunition and rations piled up at Genoa because there were no officers with experience or energy to get such large masses of material moving on the largely one-track railway lines. By local purchase or requisition, and with the help of hastily organised civilian transport columns, the army was somehow fed and kept on the move, though at the cost of great hardship to the troops.” By the time of the Battle of Solferino most of the French medical supplies still were piled on Genoa’s docks.
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The commanders and staffs were saved from total discredit only by the French genius for improvisation and the still greater incompetence of the Austrians.”
The Sardinian Army had about 70,000 soldiers, 4,000 horsemen and 90 guns. It was led by
Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, supported by
Alfonso Ferrero la Marmora.
Tactics for the infantry were along Austrian lines, although some changes were taking place in the use of company columns and more linear formations. Except for few Bersaglieri units, the infantry was armed with the old percussion muskets.
The cavalry consisted of dragoons, lancers, hussars and carabineers, and the lance itself may have been carried by the first rank of each squadron in all regiments. Battlefield tactics were the same as the French and Austrian, together with the failure in reconnaissance that plagued both those armies.
The artillery remained smoothbore, having 16 pound and 8 pound cannon and 15cm Howitzers mounted on the “Cavalli” gun carriage. The “voloira” or flying artillery consisted of light 6 or 8 pound cannon and was much the same as the French horse artillery.
Frederick Engels, one of the silliest “military writers” of all times [2] valued them highly because “….
with their tasteful dress, military bearing, well-knit but agile frames, and fine Italian features, they look better than any body of bigger men. …”
The Austrian Army formally fielded more men with 220,000 soldiers, 824 guns and 22,000 horsemen. It was led by
Field Marshal Ferenc Graf Gyulay. Gyulay had an advantage in experience, both personal and some of his troops, and disadvantage in pretty much everything else.
Allowing for the fact that the Austrians would be fighting the campaign over familiar ground, they nevertheless were at a distinct disadvantage when it came to mobilisation and supply. Their forces were stretched even during peacetime owing to the commitments of trying to cover their straggling empire. Divided into four Army Commands, the strongest was the 2nd Army with three under strength corps in northern Italy and along the coastal areas around the Adriatic Sea. Also, the Austrians had problems with the “real” strength of their available forces, and the numbers conjured up on paper. There were never more than some 220,000 men available in Lombardy, Istria and Dalmatia, and at the decisive battle of Solferino Franz Josef could scarcely scrape together 120,000 men.
The officers were not interested in any military innovations.
When asked by the Prussian military attaché in Vienna in 1854 if his Austrian colleagues were interested in Kriegsspiel, used to train Prussian staff officers, he found that once they became aware that it was not a game played for money they lost all interest.
The Austrian infantry were armed with the Lorenz rifled musket, but their Jäger battalions were the only ones who really became proficient in its use. This was to prove a great handicap as the new rifle could have given them the edge in defensive tactics, and could have been a decisive factor in breaking the French attacks had it been used in more skilled hands. But the Austrians still clung to outdated manoeuvres on the battlefield, preferring compact battalion columns and the bayonet to the detriment of all else.
The Austrian heavy cavalry still was good but seriously handicapped by an absence of the Hungarian horses it was traditionally using and most of the light cavalry was lost after 1850.
All Austrian artillery was smoothbore, consisting of 12 and 6 pound cannon plus howitzers almost unchanged since the early XIX century. In addition each field artillery battery had a rocket section attached to it, though exactly what these weapons actually achieved is debatable.
With the Austrians being noticeably worse off then their main opponent, the French, result was reasonably predictable, especially taking into an account that Gyulay always tended to err on a side of caution and missed an opportunity to beat the small Piedmontese army before the French arrived. On April 29th, with close to 120,000 men and over 300 cannon the Austrian commander crossed the Ticino River and spread out his men along the Sesia, pushing troops out as far as Vercelli. Here he wasted precious time for no apparent reason. He was aware that the French were already pushing forward towards the Mont St. Cenis pass, as well as sending troops to the port of Genoa in steamships. This threat alone caused Gyulai to become obsessed with any turning movement that might occur on his left flank.
Thus when the French Emperor arrived to take command, he had at his disposal close to 200,000 men against Gyulai’s 120,000. Over the course of campaign Gyulai received some reinforcements but their precise numbers are unknown.
Few bloody encounters followed with the Austrians retreating until they reached a final battlefield near the village of Solferino. There are arguments about the numbers engaged on both sides one of them being 120,000 effectives, with 500 cannon and French and Piedmontese up to 130,000 men, with 400 cannon. Oscar, Victor-Emmanuel and FJI had bee present on a battlefield.
On both sides the battle was remarkable by a faulty initial plans and a lack of coordination but the Austrian had been less coordinated than their French opponents but probably the Piedmontese were even less than the Austrians. Their chaotic attacks on the northern flank had been consistently repulsed by Benedek.
Eventually, the battle in the center ended up being a butchery in which “
Austrians and allies trampled one another under foot, slaughtered each other on a carpet of bloody corpses, smashed each other with rifle butts, crushed each other’s skulls, disembowelled each other with sabre and bayonet”.
Eventually, the French managed to push Austrians out of Solferino village and to start a general retreat. The allied losses are estimated at 17,000 and Austrian at 20,000. Oscar had enough and, without consulting his ally, he signed a peace with FJI by which Austria ceded Lombardy over to the French, who then turned it over to Victor Emmanuel, while Tuscany and Modena were restored to their former dukes. The Piedmontese felt themselves betrayed and their relations with France soured until VE, who completely ignored the treaty, except for getting Lombardy (😉) finally managed to unite the whole Italy with a complete French approval.
Oscar returned to France in triumph even of the empire did not get any territories for its efforts. But the whole thing was a “war for honor and liberty” so this was OK.
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[1] Sorry, but I had to postpone the 2nd Italian War for Independence by couple years. 😢
[2] The only reason why I did not write “the silliest” is because I’m not going to pretend that I read all or even most of them.
