Armies of the Italian Wars of Unification 1848–70 (1): Piedmont and the Two Sicilies (Men-at-Arms)

Armies of the Italian Wars of Unification 1848–70 (1): Piedmont and the Two Sicilies (Men-at-Arms)

In the 1840s, post-Napoleonic Italy was 'a geographical expression'--not a country, but a patchwork of states. The north (Savoy/Piedmont, and Venice ) was ruled by Austria-Hungary, and most of the minor central states were more or less clients of Austria. From Naples, a Spanish-descended Bourbon monarchy ruled the south--'the Two Sicilies.' The European 'Year of Revolutions', 1848, saw popular uprisings against the regimes all over the peninsula. These were eventually crushed (First War of Independence, 1848–49); but they left King Victor Emmanuel of Savoy/Piedmont--and his able minister Cavour--determined to liberate and unify the country, while royal authority in the Two Sicilies was left deeply unpopular. Savoy/Piedmont endeavored to strengthen the relationship with France and Britain, by sending troops to fight alongside them in the Crimean War, 1854-56 and, as a result, it was actively supported by a French army in the Second War of Independence (1859), when the battles of Magenta and Solferino freed most of the north from Austrian rule. In the south, Garibaldi's 'Redshirts' led a successful rising against the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1860). Eventually the south voted to join the north in a unified kingdom (February 1861); nevertheless, northern troops had to enforce this by a ruthless occupation during the 1860s--a little-known campaign. GABRIELE ESPOSITO is a professor of modern history, a freelance researcher and an author of military history books, specializing in uniformology. His interests range from ancient civilizations to modern postcolonial conflicts including 19th-century Italian, Spanish and Latin American wars. His books and essays have been published by Pen & Sword, Winged Hussar and Libreria Editrice Goriziana and he contributes to a variety of specialist military-history journals. He has written various titles for Osprey including MAA 499 Armies of the War of the Triple Alliance 1864–70 and MAA 541 Armies of the War of the Grand Alliance 1688 – 97. Giuseppe Rava was born in Faenza in 1963, and took an interest in all things military from an early age. Entirely self-taught, Giuseppe has established himself as a leading military history artist, and is inspired by the works of the great military artists, such as Detaille, Meissonier, Röchling, Lady Butler, Ottenfeld and Angus McBride. He lives and works in Italy.