Battle of San Fermo
| date | May 26th and May 27th , 1859 |
|---|---|
| place | San Fermo in Italy |
| output | Sardinian victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 3,000 infantrymen | 4,000 infantrymen 8 guns |
| losses | |
|
13 killed and 60 injured |
68 dead and 264 injured |
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The Battle of Varese and San Fermo (today: San Fermo della Battaglia ) took place on May 26th and 27th, 1859 between Giuseppe Garibaldi's voluntary associations and Austrian associations under the command of Karl von Urban as part of the Sardinian War (also Second Italian War of Independence ) Varese and Como .
prehistory
After the Piedmontese had successfully repulsed Austrian attacks on the flank of the French army that had arrived in Italy at Montebello and Palestro on May 20 and 21, 1859 , Garibaldi's 3,000-man brigade of Alpine hunters (Italian: Cacciatori delle Alpi ) also became active was deployed north of the Piedmontese and French marching on Magenta and Milan . The advance on Varese and Lake Garda was blocked by an Austrian division that had already attacked a small Alpine fighter unit near Sesto Calende on May 25th. After Garibaldi had occupied the city of Varese, von Urban attacked the city with about 4,000 men on the morning of May 26th. Garibaldi had barricades erected in the north , four battalions were in the east, and two more were in reserve . A first attack was unsuccessful for the Austrians, who then retreated towards Malnate after a determined counterattack by the Alpine troops. An Austrian rearguard on the mountain ranges of San Salvatore was also driven out after two hours of fighting.
Course of the fighting
On the morning of May 27, Garibaldi advanced from Varese to Como , where the Austrians had holed up with reinforcements. The Austrian positions ran west of Como from the mountain ranges of San Fermo to Civello in the south. The reserve was in Lucino. Around 4 p.m. Garibaldi attacked with one regiment in the south, while the other two were deployed on the mountain ranges in the north. At San Fermo the alpine hunters initially failed, but a second attack brought success. After the loss of San Fermo, the Austrian associations withdrew to Rondineto, where they failed to counter-attack with reinforcements from Brescia . After the other alpine hunter associations had taken all other opposing positions, they penetrated through the Porta Sala in Como at around 9:30 p.m., while the Austrians withdrew at the same time through the Porta Torre from the city towards Camerlata. Until the early morning of May 28th, the Alpine hunters occupied this place too. The following day the Alpine hunters supported the inhabitants of Lecco in their revolt against the Austrian garrison.
On May 31, von Urban temporarily penetrated Varese again with a surprise maneuver. Because she had celebrated Garibaldi's alpine hunters in the days before, Urban imposed a fine of three million lire on the city and confiscated 3,000 cows. Since the sentence could not be served, Urban shot at the city and took hostages. When Garibaldi and his alpine hunters heard of the events in Varese, they turned back and prepared to recapture the city. Due to renewed fighting in Como, however, this plan was changed. Garibaldi marched via Uddero and Ruggiate to Como and then on to Bergamo , which the Austrians had already given up by June 8th because they had lost a decisive battle against the French at Magenta on June 4th, 1859 . On Bergamo's station grounds , Garibaldi tried to surprise an Austrian train with 1,500 soldiers brought from Brescia . Since the Austrians found out about these plans, they got out in Seriate. There they were attacked by Captain Bronzetti's Alpine Hunter Company, who captured some of the Austrian soldiers while the rest withdrew to Brescia.
consequences
The alpine hunters marched into Brescia on June 13 and later covered the left flank of the Piedmontese and French on Lake Garda . At Solferino and San Martino there were decisive battles that enabled Italy to be liberated from Austrian rule.
See also
literature
- Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck , Erich Lessing : The K. (below) K. Army. 1848-1914. Prisma, Gütersloh 1980, ISBN 3-570-07287-8 .