Battle Of Varese Article Index for
Battle Of
Shopping
Varese
Website Links For
Battle
 

Information About

Battle Of Varese




  partof the Austro-Sardinian War
  caption Battle of Varese
  date 26 May 1859
  place Varese , Italy
  result Sardinian victory
  combatant1 Kingdom Of Sardinia
  combatant2 Austrian Empire
  commander1 Giuseppe Garibaldi
  commander2 Karl Urban
  strength1 3,000
  strength2 4,000<br>8 guns
  casualties1 22 dead, 62 wounded, 1 prisoner<br>Sardinians: 52 deads, wounded or prisoners
  casualties2


The Battle of Varese was fought on May 26 , 1859 at Varese ( Lombardy ). It was an engagement of the Austro-Sardinian War , fought between the Italian volunteers formation of the Hunters Of The Alps , led by Giuseppe Garibaldi , against Austrian troops. The Austrian defeat allowed the movement of the Hunters towards Como , and obliged the Austrians to keep troops on the northern part of the front.


The prelude

Garibaldi and his Hunters had moved and occupied Varese, in the night of 23 May . The Austrian commander in chief, Ferencz Gyulai , had sent the Urban division to settle the matter.

In the meantime, on 25 May , 500 Austrian riflemen, 130 Ulans, and two guns from Gallarate attacked a company led by Carlo De Cristoforis at Sesto Calende, but were rejected to Somma.


The encounter

On 26 May, at dawn, Urban arrived at Varese, where Garibaldi had already prepared the defence. The Italians were deployed as: one battalion ( Enrico Cosenz ) on the right, two battalions on the left ( Giacomo Medici ), one battalion in the middle ( Nicola Ardoino ); two reserve battalions, one at Varese ( Nino Bixio ), and one at Biumo Superiore.

The Austrians opened fire with the guns, then moved three columns against the enemy. Cosenz's battalion attacked the incoming Austrians, and routed them into the other columns, repulsing the Austrian attack with the help of the Medici battalion. Urban, overestimating the enemy forces, retreated on Malnate. Medici and Ardoino attacked the retreating Austrians, causing more losses.


REFERENCES