Third war of Independence

The absence of Venice and Rome of the Italy unified did not satisfy the Italian liberals. They did not share the attachment of the Italian government not to complicate the relationships to the other European powers.

In 1862, Giuseppe Garibaldi started from Genoa with volunteers to unload with Palermo and to try to release Rome, trustful in the neutrality of the King. Accompanied by 2.000 volunteers, it embarked with Catane to unload with Melito the August 24th and to join the Aspromonte. The general Cialdini however sent a division ordered by the colonel Pallavicino to stop the army of the volunteers.

At the time of the combat, Giuseppe Garibaldi was wounded and made captive with its men. Once guerri, one enabled him to turn over to its residence of Caprera.

The Third War of Indépendence (1866) finally made it possible the Italian regular army to fight for the release of the last territories of the peninsula under Austro-Hungarian domination. She united with the declaration of war, in particular thanks to the mediation of France of Napoleon III, after the Italian Government (under the control of the general Marmora) had concluded a military alliance with the Prussia from the baron Otto von Bismarck.

The two nations, which saw in Austria-Hungary an obstacle with their project of national unification, had a common objective. According to the Prussian plans, Italy was to occupy Austria on the southern face while moving right on Vienna. At the same time, strong of its naval superiority, Prussia was to threaten the Dalmatian coasts, thus diverting part of the Austrian forces of the theater of the war in Central Europe.

In the facts, the Italian military situation was strongly handicapped by the following factors:

the lack of cohesion enters the Sardinian Army and the Royales troops come from the recently annexed territories, had with the strong resistance met after the catch of Gaeta and started by the excessive hardness of the engagements in their final stage (see on this subject Messine and Civitella del Tronto).
the great competition enters the fleets joined together under the Regia Marina (Italian national marine), the navy génoise and Neapolitan being seldom laid out to be considered under the orders of somebody.
the unsolved problem of the supreme command, already source of conflict between the King and Cavour in 1859, had worsened because of the lack of scale of the successor of the count. The King, from which courage does not suffer any discussion, was however not suited to the supreme Command which he wanted however to exert.

Consequently, the defeats on the terrestrial and maritime face were almost inevitable. The defeats at the time of the battles of Custoza and Lissa marked with red iron this period felt like extremely negative, beyond even of the real range of the events.

Only military successes were obtained by the troops of volunteers, ordered by Garibaldi, who had stuck to the conquest of Venezia tridentina (corresponding to current the autonomous Province of Thirty).

In spite of the defeats, the Italian army succeeds in occupying the Austrian troops on the alpine face, thus allowing the powerful Prussian army to gain important battles over the German face. (The victory of Sadowa on July 3rd, 1866, works of the general Von Moltke appeared determining). In six weeks, Austria had to capitulate. On the Italian face, the war could continue only with the operations of Garibaldi in Trentin, but without the essential support of Prussia, the Italian staff preferred to order the retirement. With this order, Garibaldi answered with the laconic one and celebrates “I obeyed”.

As allied a soldier of France and Prussia, Italy was counted among the winners of the conflict. The successive peace treaties forced Austria to yield to alliance free-Prussian Venezia (the territory including/understanding the current Italian areas of Venezia and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, without the Province of Trieste), which was immediately yielded to the Kingdom of Italy). ----

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