Battle of Santa Lucia
| date | May 6, 1848 |
|---|---|
| place | Santa Lucia (Verona) ; Italy |
| output | Defensive success of the Austrians |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| about 35,000 men, including in combat: 19,000 men with 63 guns | about 45,000 men, 28,000 of them in combat with 66 cannons |
| losses | |
|
72 dead, 190 wounded and 87 prisoners |
110 dead and 776 injured |
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The Battle of Santa Lucia on May 6, 1848 was part of the First Italian War of Independence . The Sardinian-Piedmontese troops tried to break through the western fortress front of Verona by an attack and were thrown back by the Austrian armed forces under Field Marshal Josef Radetzky , which were only half as strong . On the Austrian side, the II Corps under FML d'Aspre bore the brunt of the defense.
prehistory
After the unsuccessful battle of Pastrengo on April 30th, the Austrian Supreme Commander in Italy, Field Marshal Radetzky, gave up the idea of preventing the enemy from entering the Rivoli plateau . At the beginning of May Radetzky's army, without the Verona garrison, some 19,000 men strong, stood on the Rideau in a semicircle west of the fortress. King Charles Albert of Sardinia intended, after the success of his northern wing corps, to force the surrender of the enclosed forts of Peschiera and Mantua . Radetzky hoped that Peschiera could hold out into June, since the enemy did not yet have his siege equipment at their disposal. On the afternoon of May 5th, Karl Albert, in his quarters in Sommacampagna, in the presence of his generals, announced his next objective: the occupation of the enemy-occupied heights on the Rideau in front of Verona. The 1st Corps under General Bava , coming from Villafranca and Custozza , was to force the weakest point of the position - Santa Lucia - and from there roll up the whole position towards both flanks; the 2nd Corps under General de Sonnaz , advancing on the roads leading parallel and perpendicular to the position from Sommacampagna and Sona , for the time being only demonstrating against the right wing of the enemy. As early as the evening of May 5th, outposts reported that Sardinian columns had been deployed from the Villafranca plain on the heights of Sommacampagna and Sona.
Deployment of the imperial army
Behind an outpost line to the west of Verona, which runs from Corno via Camponi, Madonna di Dossobuono, Stivola, Vignial Tosi to Ca. Rosaldo ran, the main position of the Austrians was established between Croce Bianca via San Massimo and Santa Lucia to Roveggia. The outposts were instructed to withdraw immediately to the main position in the event of a stronger enemy attack and to reinforce the crew. Radetzky had to hold back ten battalions (Brigade Rath and Brigade Maurer) with around 11,000 men and 12 cannons in the city of Verona, the fortress commander FML Gerhardi had to reckon with an uprising of the local population at any time. The Rideau position was defended by the I. Corps on the left wing and II Corps on the right wing.
The I. Corps under FML Wratislaw covered the line from Roveggia via Chioda, Santa Lucia to Pellegrino. The Clam-Gallas and Strassoldo brigades lay on the Rideau from Tombetta to Santa Lucia; the Simbschen cavalry brigade stood as a reserve on the glacis of the fortress. The Schaffgotsche cavalry brigade remained in the camp in front of Porta Vescovo. Another 13 battalions of the 1st Corps (Brigade Wohlgemuth and Brigade Archduke Sigismund ) held the Adige line in a defensive position north of it. The Wohlgemuth brigade secured the Adige at Tanti Baleoni; Archduke Sigismund's brigade was in Parona.
The II. Corps under FML d'Aspre led on the Rideau from Santa Lucia to Chievo with the Brigades Gyulay , Liechtenstein and Taxis. The 2nd Corps occupied San Massimo with the Gyulay Brigade, the village of Santa Lucia with the Strassoldo Brigade and the Clam-Gallas Tombetta Brigade. In the center near Croce Bianca the Brigade Friedrich Liechtenstein defended, on the far right wing south to Chievo the Brigade Taxis followed. The line was well prepared for defense by infantry and could be effectively supported by a well-distributed artillery. The bulk of the Friedrich Liechtenstein Brigade was posted in front of Croce Bianca, and the Corps Leader d'Aspre also gave his command here personally. The Gyulai brigade occupied the farms of Cava and Colombara and at Pellegrino was in contact with the Strassoldo brigade of the 1st Corps, which was to the south.
The battle on May 6th
On May 6th at 7 a.m. the advance of the Sardinian-Piedmontese army began with a total of 51 battalions, 36 squadrons and 82 cannons, a total of about 45,000 men. About 33 battalions with 28,000 men and 66 cannons were involved in the actual battle with the Imperialists. The Sardinian 1st Corps advanced from the line Villafranca and Custozza, the 2nd Corps from the heights between Sona and Sommacampagna to the western apron of Verona.
To defend the Ride exhibition, Field Marshal Radetzky had 5th brigades (at the beginning there were only 13th battalions with 63rd guns, in the afternoon there were over 19,000 men in action). Radetzky observed the fighting from the Bastei San Spirito, the later Austrian Emperor Archduke Franz who was present received his baptism of fire as an observer in the following battle .
The morning fight
At 9 o'clock the Austrian outposts between Nova and Camponi were attacked and withdrew to the battle position of Santa Lucia. First the Sardinian 1st Division attacked, their points of attack were Croce Bianca in the north, San Massimo in the middle and the village of Santa Lucia in the south. The artillery stood in front of them, behind them the infantry and cavalry on both wings. On the left wing, the 3rd Division (General Mario Broglia di Casalborgone ) with the Savoy and Savona Brigade attacked Croce Bianca, in the middle the 1st Division (General Federico Millet d'Arvillars ) with the Aosta and Regina Brigade against San Massimo and Santa Lucia, on the right wing the 2nd Division (General Vittorio Garretti di Ferrere ) with the Acqui and Casale Brigade under Major General Marquis Giuseppe Passalacqua from the Villafranca area to the northeast to the Rideau. The Guard Brigade under the Duke of Savoy stood ready as a reserve, followed by the Cuneo Brigade. Another 8,000 soldiers - the 5th Division (General Giovanni Battista Federici , later Michele Bes ), meanwhile, separated the fortress of Peschiera further north with the Brigades Pinerolo and Piedmont.
The FML Karl Schwarzenberg division was the focus of the attack: the Clam – Gallas brigade stood at Tombetta, the Strassoldo brigade held Santa Lucia, the village was defended by two hunter companies belonging to Colonel Kopal, the d´Anthon grenadier battalion stood behind as a reserve. The Imperial II Corps was to the north with the FML division Fürst Friedrich Hannibal von Thurn und Taxis in defense: the Gyulai brigade defended at San Massimo, the Friedrich Liechtenstein brigade stopped at Croce Bianca, the Taxis brigade and the Simbschen cavalry brigade covered with 3 Battalions, 7 squadrons and 12 cannons partly on the Glacis of Verona the line between Chievo and the fortress.
At around 10 a.m., the Sardinian Brigade Aosta attacked Santa Lucia with momentum. FML Wratislaw was just in Parona to inspect the defensive work on the left bank of the Adige when the thunder of cannons announced the beginning of the battle. Immediately he went to Santa Lucia to organize his troops. The Savona Brigade also intervened on the left wing. The Strassoldo brigade held out here with twelve companies against three enemy brigades. The village was occupied by the 10th Hunter Battalion under Colonel Kopal as far as Pellegrino . The hunters had occupied the church, to the right of it the walled churchyard, and the flanking stone dam. They were attacked first and held out well with artillery, with two battalions for over three hours against three enemy brigades.
The afternoon fight
Around 12.30 p.m. General Bava started a new general attack on Santa Lucia: the Broglia Division led the Guard Brigade and part of the Regina Brigade forward on the left wing, the Aosta Brigade in the middle, and the Casale Brigade under Major General Passalacqua on the right.
FML Fürst Schwarzenberg gave two companies of the Prohaska Battalion the order to advance, he restored the battle, but could not take advantage of the success due to lack of reserves. Meanwhile, the Sardinians attacked Croce Bianca violently; but were received with the most violent fire, their columns were turned back at great loss. At around 1 p.m., copal hunters had to retreat due to a comprehensive maneuver by the Sardinians and evacuate the villages of Pellegrino and Santa Lucia. The loss of Santa Lucia also forced the Clam-Gallas Brigade, which was bared on its flank, to retreat behind the edge of the Rideau. After Santa Lucia came into the possession of the Sardinians after a fierce battle, they tried to advance between this point and San Massimo to the Rideau.
Also at around 1 p.m. the Sardinian 3rd Division under Lieutenant General Count Broglia with the Savona and Savoy brigades attacked the villages of Croce Bianca and San Massimo violently; but was repulsed twice by the Gyulai, Liechtenstein and Taxis Brigades with great losses. Broglia took the Savona brigade back, the battle was temporarily limited to artillery fire. The FML d´Aspre, who was hard pressed by Croce Bianca, asked Commander-in-Chief Radetzky whether he could go back to the fortress with his troops. Radetzky ordered to hold out and through the fortress commander of Verona, FML Gerhardi , brought together about nine battalions from the reserve and threw them on the beleaguered battle front.
At around 2 p.m., the division under FML Schwarzenberg with the Strassoldo Brigade, the 10th Jäger Battalion and a Grenadier Battalion d'Anthon behind Santa Lucia struggled to obtain the second ride exhibition. After the arrival of the Geppert battalion, the Schwarzenberg division tried to recapture the lost village of Santa Lucia. Major General Count Clam-Gallas formed two attack columns to counterattack, one via Palazzo and Colombara against the right wing of the enemy, the other had instructions to proceed via Roveggia. The brigade Strassoldo, which was waiting to attack the right flank of the enemy, was surprised on its left flank by strong enemy fire, with Major General Baron Ulysses Anton von Salis-Soglio and Lieutenant Colonel Kirchner seriously wounded. Now the Sardinians also attacked the part of the intact position of the brigade Strassoldo near Chioda, east of Santa Lucia, where a regiment of Italian descent from the Archduke Sigismund's brigade fought well, but finally had to retreat.
When Radetzky saw his left wing pushed back, two more battalions were sent to reinforce the beleaguered Clam-Gallas brigade. According to Radetzky's order, the Imperial II Corps had launched its counterattack at 4 p.m. with all its artillery - 36 pieces of artillery. The left wing of Karl Albert in front of Croce Bianca was thrown back and also had to evacuate the village of Santa Lucia on its southern wing, which had been shot in ruins. At 4.30 p.m., the Piedmontese had to retreat to their starting line before noon. Karl Albert had convinced himself of the impracticability of a frontal attack on the fortress of Verona, he had waited in vain for support from the Italian inhabitants of Verona. After the failure of his Brigade Savona, he had ordered the retreat, which the Brigade Cuneo had to cover. Schwarzenberg's division was again in possession of the position it had had that morning; their outposts remained closer to the Rideau when it got dark.
After 5 p.m. Field Marshal Lieutenant Baron d'Aspre had also received notification of the reoccupation of Santa Lucia, whereupon his troops also proceeded again. Major General Prince Friedrich Liechtenstein had thwarted the success of the main enemy attack through his orders with Croce Bianca. When the enemy had receded everywhere, the Austrian army moved back to its old line. Had the confusing terrain been easier to see, the opponent's panic might have been exploited and an effective pursuit could have been initiated.
Balance sheet and consequences
The Austrians' first tactical victory in this campaign gave the imperial family back their confidence. At the end of the day, the Sardinians had 110 dead and 776 injured, compared to 72 dead, 190 wounded and 87 prisoners among the Austrians. The losses of the Sardinian army particularly affected the Aosta, Savoy and Savona brigades that had been in action. Among the dead was Colonel Caccia, in command of the 5th Regiment of the Aosta Brigade. The Austrian 10th Jäger Battalion and the Archduke Sigismund Infantry suffered the heaviest losses, General Count Ulysses von Salis-Soglio and Lieutenant Colonel von Leutzendorf died a few days later of their wounds.
The battle of Santa Lucia was the first victory of the Austrian arms in this campaign, it was achieved against a strong superior force, but was not used due to the still unresolved dangers in the hinterland and to fewer reserves. Karl Albert called in reinforcements from the Tuscan and Neapolitan troops and on May 29, west of Mantua, launched another counterattack. The Italian allies bound the Austrians at Curtatone and Montanara, while the Sardinian 1st Corps was able to repel an Austrian encircling attack at Goito . As a result of this success, the Peschiera fortress was also surrendered by starvation.
literature
- Karl von Schönhals : Memories of an Austrian Veteran. Volume 1, JG Cottascher Verlag, Stuttgart 1852.
- FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Austro-Hungarian Army in Italy in 1848. Vienna 1860.
- War events in the Imperial Austrian Army . From the Imperial Royal Court and State Printing House, Vienna 1850.
- Events in Italy in 1848 and 1849. Printed and published by Friedrich Schultheiß, Zurich 1850.
- Wilhelm von Willisen: The Italian campaigns of the years 1848 and 1849. Verlag von Duncker and Humblot, Leipzig 1868.
- Hermann Kunz: The campaigns of Field Marshal Radetzky in Northern Italy in 1848 and 1849 . Published by Arwed Strauch, Leipzig approx. 1890.
Individual evidence
- ^ Karl von Schönhals: Memories of an Austrian Veteran. Volume 1, JG Cottascher Verlag, Stuttgart 1852, p. 218.
- ^ FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army 1848. Vienna 1860, p. 178 and 179.
- ^ FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Austro-Hungarian Army 1848. Vienna 1860, p. 181.
- ^ FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army 1848. Vienna 1860, p. 187.
- ^ FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army 1848. Vienna 1860, pp. 188 and 189
- ^ FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Austro-Hungarian Army 1848. Vienna 1860, p. 190.
- ^ FJ Grüll: Campaign of the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army 1848. Vienna 1860, p. 199.