Battle of Solferino

Battle of Solferino
Part of the Second Italian War of Independence

The Battle of Solferino, by Adolphe Yvon
Date24 June 1859
Location45°22′2″N 10°33′59″E / 45.36722°N 10.56639°E / 45.36722; 10.56639
Result

Franco-Sardinian victory

Belligerents
France France
Kingdom of Sardinia Sardinia
Austrian Empire Austria
Commanders and leaders
France Napoleon III
Kingdom of Sardinia Victor Emmanuel II
Austrian Empire Franz Joseph I
Strength
France 82,935 infantry
9,162 cavalry
240 guns
Kingdom of Sardinia 37,174 infantry
1,562 cavalry
80 guns
Total:
130,833[1]
320 guns
119,783 infantry
9,490 cavalry
429 guns
Total:
129,273
429 guns[1][2]
Casualties and losses
France: 3,887 killed
Including 117 officers
8,530 wounded
1,518 missing[3]
Sardinia: 691 killed
Including 49 officers
3,572 wounded
1,258 missing[3]
Total:
c. 28,000
7,679 killed
Including 216 officers
17,567 wounded
9,290 missing
Total:
c. 40,000[3]

The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied French army under Napoleon III and the Piedmont-Sardinian army under Victor Emmanuel II (together known as the Franco-Sardinian alliance) against the Austrian army under Emperor Franz Joseph I. It was the last major battle in world history where all the armies were under the personal command of their monarchs.[4] Perhaps 300,000 soldiers fought in the important battle, the largest since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. There were about 130,000 Austrian troops and a combined total of 140,000 French and allied Piedmontese troops. After the battle, the Austrian emperor refrained from further direct command of the army.

The battle led the Swiss Jean-Henri Dunant to write his book A Memory of Solferino. Although he did not witness the battle (his statement is contained in an "unpublished page" included in the 1939 English edition published by the American Red Cross), he toured the field following the battle and was greatly moved by what he saw. Horrified by the suffering of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield, Dunant set about a process that led to the Geneva Conventions and the establishment of the International Red Cross.

  1. ^ a b Brooks 2009, p. 61.
  2. ^ Fink, Humbert (1994). Auf den Spuren des Doppeladlers. Berlin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ a b c Osterreichischen Militarischen Zeitschrift: Der Feldzug des Kaisers Napoleon 3. in Italien im Jahre 1859 (1865) (German translation of Campagne de l'Empereur Napoleon III en Italie.)
  4. ^ Evans, Richard J., The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815–1914, Penguin: London, 2017, p. 242.