Battle of Custozza (1848)
| date | July 25, 1848 |
|---|---|
| place | Custozza , Italy |
| output | Victory of the Austrians |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Josef Radetzky |
|
| Troop strength | |
| around 33,000 men | around 22,000 men |
| losses | |
|
45 officers, 1,276 men (of which 44 officers and 854 men are dead or wounded, and 1 officer and 422 men are missing) |
34 officers, 1,105 men (thereof 34 officers and 835 men dead or wounded and 270 men missing) |
.svg){kind=small}
The first battle near Custozza was fought on July 25, 1848 during the first Italian War of Independence between the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and the southern army of the Austrian Empire . The Sardinian army encountered three Austrian corps under Field Marshal Josef Wenzel Graf Radetzky von Radetz (1766-1858) and was defeated.
prehistory
King Karl Albert of Sardinia-Piedmont tried to create an Italian nation-state under his leadership and first had to break the supremacy of Austria in northern Italy. War broke out on March 18 with the uprising in Milan. The Austrian Southern Army under Count von Radetzky had to evacuate Milan on March 22nd and at the beginning of May withdrew to the fortress line Peschiera - Mantua behind the Mincio before the advance of the superior Sardinians . On May 30, an Austrian attempt to evade the battle of Goito was recognized in time by the Sardinian corps leader General Bava and repulsed with strong artillery. The Austrians broke off the attack and went back to Verona , the fortress Peschiera had to capitulate to the Sardinians under the Duke of Genoa . On May 6, 1848, Radetzky was able to repel a strongly planned attack by the Piedmontese on the western fortress front in front of Verona in the battle of Santa Lucia . As early as April 19th, the Piedmontese made the first attacks on the forts of Mantua , which remained fruitless, and on the 21st of the month Lieutenant General d'Arco Ferrari closed the fortress. Due to repeated failures of the fortress leader FML Gorzkowski , a close separation was prevented and the connection with Verona and Legnago was largely kept open. On July 23rd, Karl Albert moved his main force south to attack the fortress. He extended his front to 60 kilometers and gave Radetzky the opportunity to attack the Sardinians separately. In the north stood the Austrian III. Corps under FML Graf von Thurn-Valsassina opposite the Sardinian north wing under Lieutenant General Sonnaz and tried to break up the enemy position via Rivoli on Castelnuovo . The Sardinians then reinforced the north wing by 20 battalions and 12 squadrons and weakened the central section.
Battles at Sona and Sommacampagna on July 23rd and 24th
Radetzky planned his main attack in the center and on July 23 attacked the enemy line between Sona and Sommacampagna . The Austrian I. and II. Corps left their positions between San Massimo and Santa Lucia with mass and advanced about 5 kilometers to the southwest in order to set up an encircling attack there. On July 23, the Austrian II Corps under FML Konstantin d'Aspre was able to storm the heights of Sommacampagna, the division of FML Wimpffen took hold of the heights at Madonna del Monte and took the enemy position at Sona. The Clam-Gallas brigade of the 1st Corps was able to occupy the highlands of Custozza without a fight. As a precaution, Radetzky had the Mincio crossings between Peschiera and Valeggio reinforced in order to eliminate the threat in the back. The I. Corps under FML Wratislaw secured at Monzambano and against Valeggio . The Sardinians, for their part, reinforced their eastern Mincio bridgehead near Valeggio. The I. Reserve Corps under FML von Wocher formed the army reserve in the center with 12,000 men and 76 cannons at Oliosi and covered the transition at Salionze with the advance guard. On July 24, the Austrian Simbschen Brigade attempted to climb the heights of Sommacampagna, but was attacked by the Sardinians from the Villafranca area and completely defeated. The heights of Custozza were lost again. Radetzky had to give up his plan of an attack over the Mincio to prevent the enemy from breaking through at Custozza. The Wohlgemuth Brigade was vacated by parts at the Mincio crossing at Salionze and extended the Austrian front to the west by occupying the heights at Prentino opposite the enemy line at Monzambano. In the north near Castelnuovo, the weak Corps Thurn, which stood against a Sardinian superiority, was reinforced with the Schwarzenberg Brigade . Radetzky's instruction to further strengthen the III. Corps was not met by the new fortress commander of Verona, FML Haynau . In his opinion, he sent the available Piret Brigade to the threatened position on Sommacampagna and reinforced the defeated remnants of the Simbschen Brigade, which had holed up with 1,200 men at San Giorgio near Salice. This instruction will play a decisive role in the victory at Custozza on the following day.
Battle of Custozza on July 25th
Radetzky had already recognized the day before that there were still strong Sardinian forces on the east bank of the Mincio and that they were advancing via Villafranca to the heights of Sommacampagna. He ordered the II Corps to oppose this danger with all their might. Count Wratislaw was to assert himself on the defensive with his Schwarzenberg division at Custozza and was additionally reinforced with the now freed Wohlgemuth Brigade. Between Oliosi and San Rocco di Palazzuolo, Wocher's reserve corps remained available as the main reserve and at the same time covered the rear of the attack. The Brigade Samuel Gyulay of the Wimpffen Division was strengthened by the Brigade Friedrich Liechtenstein and set up to recapture Monte Goido. The heights of Sommacampagna are recaptured after five rushes and the Sardinians are thrown back on Villafranca. At 10.30 a.m., a Sardinian counterattack under Lieutenant General Bava took place on Valeggio in intense heat. The attacking brigade Aosta was repulsed by Austrian artillery fire alone.
The aftermath at Volta on July 26th and 27th
Karl Albert ordered his troops to retreat to the western bank of the Mincio. At Goito the mass of the Sardinian army was concentrated with the remaining 30,000 men and 109 guns. On July 26th, Radetzky organized the pursuit of the enemy in Valeggio. The I. Corps under Wratislaw went at Monzambano over the Mincio and pursued Pozzolengo and Castigliano. The II. Corps under d'Aspre pursued via Valeggio to Volta. On the evening of July 26th, the corps under General de Sonnaz tried to turn the tide in the battle of Volta ; its counteroffensive from the heights near Cavriana brought initial successes against the Austrian division of Wimpffen. The continuation of the attack by the fresh Regina Brigade on the morning of July 27 was thwarted by the approach of the rest of the Austrian II Corps. New reinforcements arrived at Cavriana and forced the retreat of the Piedmontese. Panic now spread, the new defeat was visibly demoralizing, desertions increased.
consequences
After the defeat of Volta on July 27th, Karl Albert had to go back over the Oglio, on July 29th his army reached Cremona and on August 2nd Lodi . On August 6th, the Austrian II Corps moved into Milan, which had been evacuated without a fight. Radetzky's victory meant a severe setback for the Italian national movement and secured Lombardy until the next Sardinian attack in 1849. Radetzky's lightning campaign in March 1849 and the victory at Novara ensured that Lombardy remained with the Austrian imperial state until it was defeated at Solferino .
Trivia
On the occasion of the victory of Custozza, Johann Strauss composed the Radetzky March . In 1867, Custozzagasse in Vienna- Landstrasse (3rd district) was named after the two battles of Custozza.
See also
literature
- Franz Joseph Adolph Schneidawind : The campaign of the emperors. royal Austrian Army under the leadership of Field Marshal Count Radetzky in Italy in 1848 and 1849. Printed and published by U. Witting, Innsbruck 1853.
- FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Austro-Hungarian Army in Italy in 1848 , Typogr.-Literar.-Artist. Institution, Vienna 1860.
- Eusebio Bava: The struggle of Italy against Austria in 1848 , published by Franz Leo. Vienna, 1850.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Hermann Kunz: The campaigns of Field Marshal Radetzky in Northern Italy in 1848 and 1849 . Verlag von Arwed Strauch, Leipzig undated [1890], p. 92.
- ^ FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Austro-Hungarian Army in Italy in 1848, p. 373
- ^ FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army in Italy in 1848, p. 364
- ^ FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Austro-Hungarian Army in Italy in 1848, pp. 384-400