A Hard

fought Battle.

Where was

The heads of the French columns advanced at 10.30 a.m. The first shots were fired on the roads which lead over the Ticino to the Naviglio. Wimpffen led his troops partly by the Buffalora road and partly by the railway; while the Zouaves, with two pieces of artillery, marched along the central causeway. The Austrians fired at the advancing troops, gradually retiring on the railway. The French skirmishers were stopped by a heavy fire, and Wimpffen found the Naviglio well defended. But Canrobert had not arrived, and nothing had been heard of MacMahon, so the Emperor suspended his attack and withdrew Wimpffen to a position 400 yards in advance of the Ticino. At midday the fire of MacMahon was heard on the left, and Wimpffen resumed his advance. He was, however, driven back over the Buffalora bridge.

Attacks on other quarters were repelled by the arrival of Austrian reinforcements; the battle swayed backwards and forwards, as the forces were relatively greater in number on either side. At 2 p.m. two points on the Naviglio were in possession of Mellinet's division, which, however, consisted of only 5,000 men, and had no reserve to support it. Nothing had been heard of Canrobert and Niel, and the advance of MacMahon had been arrested. The position was very critical, but just at this moment Picard's brigade, which formed part of Canrobert's division, arrived. They reached the bridge of San Martino at 2 p.m., and were able to support Wimpffen, who was in difficulties. They gained possession of the village of Ponte Vecchio and made numerous prisoners, but could not get any farther. However, at 3.30 p.m. the position of affairs was decidedly more favourable for the French.

At the same time the position of the Emperor was very serious. MacMahon? When asked for reinforcements, he replied, like Napoleon at Waterloo, that he had none to send. The French columns on the Ponte Nuovo were visibly thinned; they could not advance, and they would not retreat. For hours nothing had been heard of MacMahon on the left, and the enemy were beginning to press with terrible force on the right. Just at this moment MacMahon's cannon were again heard, and Canrobert came up in person to announce that reinforcements were at hand. MacMahon had crossed both the Ticino and the Naviglio at Turbigo, far away to the left, to attack the right flank of the Austrians, but had met with unexpected difficulties. Leaving Turbigo at 9.30 a.m., he advanced towards Buffalora and Magenta in two columns; but they were stoutly resisted by the Austrian reserves. The result

THE ALLIES ENTER MILAN

was that his advance was delayed for two hours, and that he was unable to rejoin the Emperor. He and his staff remained in a condition of feverish impatience, whilst the musketry and cannon fire sounded fiercely from the Naviglio, and the south wind brought the smell of powder to their nostrils. At last Espinasse and La Motterouge were able to advance to Magenta and, after heavy fighting and considerable loss, the junction of the two columns was effected about five in the afternoon.

At last MacMahon was able to re-form his lines and order the Results of advance from all sides on the bell tower of Magenta. His troops Magenta. marched forward, with drums beating and colours flying, and they found little resistance until Magenta was reached. Here every house was pierced for musketry, the streets were blocked with barricades, the gardens turned into redoubts, the churchyard and even the bell tower armed with artillery and riflemen. The battle raged with especial fury at the open space of the railway station, and here the gallant Espinasse was killed. No essential progress was made till the arrival of Trochu at the Ponte Vecchio at 7 p.m., and it was not till 9 that the field of battle was entirely in possession of the French. In the battle the Allies lost 4,500 men, of whom 100 were taken prisoners; the Austrians lost 10,000, of whom 5,000 were prisoners. MacMahon received the title of Duke of Magenta, which he had won by his successful exertions in marching the two divisions, and his wisdom in attacking the right and the reserve of the Austrians, by which many prisoners were made. After all, Magenta was very much a drawn battle. It was expected that the Austrians would renew the attack, but on June 5th Giulay ordered the retreat, the last order which he had the opportunity of giving, as he was immediately afterwards deprived of his command.

At midday on June 5th the Milanese discovered that there Triumphal were no more Austrians in the city, and the municipality sent the Entry into keys of the town to Victor Emmanuel. On June 7th MacMahon's Milan. corps began to march down the street, and on the following day the King and the Emperor made their entry in a delirium of enthusiasm. Napoleon exclaimed, "How much the people must have suffered!" On the same day he issued a proclamation to the Italian people, in which he said: "Providence sometimes favours nations as it does individuals, giving them the opportunity of becoming great in a single day; but only on the condition that they know how to profit by it. Your desire for independence, so long expressed, so often disappointed, will be fulfilled if you know how to show yourselves worthy of it. Let

Death of "Bomba."

Austrian

to the Quadrilateral.

all of you unite in one sole desire, the liberation of your country. Organise your military arrangements. Fly to the banner of Victor Emmanuel, who has so nobly prepared for you the way of honour. Remember that there can be no army without discipline, and burning with the sacred fire of patriotism, be soldiers to-day that to-morrow you may become the free citizens of a great country."

In fact, the liberation of Italy was progressing well, with greater rapidity than Napoleon III. either expected or desired. Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had left his country on April 29th. It was at this time ruled by Ricasoli, assisted by the baker Giuseppe Dolfi, of whom it was said that he could any day collect in the Piazza della Signoria 10,000 men who would do whatever he told them. The Duke went from Modena and the Duchess Regent from Parma as soon as the protecting Austrians were withdrawn and the Romagna demanded to be annexed to Piedmont. Farina was sent to administer Modena and Parma, and Massimo d'Azeglio the Romagna. Ferdinand II. of Naples-generally known as "Bomba "-died rather suddenly on May 22nd, and was succeeded by his youthful son. If he had joined Sardinia in the war against Austria he might have kept his throne, but his refusal rendered its forfeiture inevitable.

It was now evident that the Austrians intended to withdraw Withdrawal to the Mincio, where they would be defended by the famous The Quadrilateral of Mantua, Verona, Peschiera and Legnago. Emperor attempted to impede this movement by dispatching troops to Lodi, hoping they would reach the Adda before the rearguard of the enemy, and be able to divide his forces. The movement failed, for the rearguard reached Lembo a few hours before the French. Except a brush with Benedek at Melegnano, no engagement of any importance took place until the Battle of Solferino, fought on June 24th, 1859, which put an end to the war. This was fought in a space bounded to the north by Lago di Garda and the railway, on the south by the Oglio, on the west by the Chiese, and on the east by the Mincio, being about twenty miles long and twelve miles broad.

Battlefield

This historic area contains some of the most beautiful scenery of Solferino. in Europe. It is traversed by three ranges of hills, one below the other, each of which played a part in the battle, the most important being the southernmost range, which overlooks the Italian plain. On the northern range lie the villages of San Martino, Ostiglio and Feniletta, which lay within the operations of the Sardinian army; on the central range were Castelvenzago

THE AUSTRIAN PLANS

and La Madonna della Scoperta, and on the southern Vilsana, Fenile, Solferino and Cavriana. High in the midst rises the watch-tower of Solferino, which from its commanding view had obtained the name of La Spia d'Italia.

The plain below the hills is traversed by the high road leading from Castiglione to Mantua, on which lie Guidizzolo and Goito. The traveller proceeding along this road sees first the hamlet of La Fontana, then the village of Le Grote, half hidden under a fold of Monte Fenile, then some of the houses of Cavriana in the mountains, and then, at some distance, Volta with its conspicuous campanile. The fields are planted with rice, mulberries and maize. The wayfarer then reaches Guidizzolo, a large village, from which issue three carriageable roads, one to Volta, one to Cavriana, and one to Cenesara in the south. To the right of this great high road lie the villages of Carpenedolo, south-west of Castiglione, and Medole, to the west of Guidizzolo and Cenesara. The ground between Guidizzolo and Medole is covered with many houses, whose red-tiled roofs are visible through the trees, the hamlet of Rebecco forming the principal group. Still farther on the right are situated Acqua Fredda, the walls and towers of Castel Goffredo, and other villages.

Armies.

The French army consisted of five army corps and five Disposition Sardinian divisions, bringing up the strength of the Allies to of the seventeen divisions of infantry, five of cavalry, and a number of Opposing cannon, making a total of 160,000 men. The Austrian army had eight army corps of infantry and one corps of cavalry, making 124 battalions of infantry and sixty squadrons of cavalry, amounting altogether to about the same number of 160,000 men, under the personal command of the Emperor Francis Joseph. On the morning of June 23rd the headquarters of the Emperor of Austria were at Villafranca; those of the first army corps, under Stadion, were at Mantua; those of the second army corps, under Schlick, were at Custozza. The eighth army corps, under Benedek, forming the extreme right, was at Peschiera; the second, forming the extreme left, under Lichtenstein, at Mantua. The plan was that, on the morning of June 23rd the Austrians should advance from their positions to surprise the enemy, falling on their right flank and driving them towards the Alps, the decisive battle being left to the following day. According to this plan, they crossed the Mincio at six points and occupied, before the evening, a number of the villages already enumerated, Pozzolengo, Solferino, Cavriana, Guidizzolo, Rebecco and Medole, their advance posts being at Madonna della Scoperta, Le Grote and Castel Goffredo. It was

An

Unexpected Development.

The Battle

intended that the army should advance to the Chiese at 9 on the morning of June 24th.

Before this could be done the bulk of the allied army had crossed the Chiese, the intention of the French being to occupy the hilly country and to force a passage across the Mincio. On June 23rd the headquarters of the Emperor were at Montechiaro, and it was heard that on the following day the army would reach the Mincio, the headquarters being at Castiglione. The army was to begin its march at 2 p.m., in order to avoid the great heat of the sun. It thus happened that the two armies came into collision while they were preparing to make an offensive attack in opposite directions, neither being prepared to fight an immediate battle. The problem before both was to transform a line of march most rapidly into a line of battle.

Accordingly the Battle of Solferino may be divided into two of Solferino. periods, the first resulting from the fortuitous shock of the two hosts, neither of whom had expected to meet the other, the orders given for the march on either side having not yet been modified; the second period, beginning when the action became general, may be divided into two smaller sections, the attack of the French on the centre, and that of the Austrians on the left. The Sardinians and the eighth army corps under Benedek had, as it were, a battle to themselves. It will thus be seen that two armies, nearly equal in strength, marching towards each other in a front of equal length, without knowing each other's positions, met in the line marked by the villages of San Martino, Solferino, Guidizzolo and Medole.

Summary of the Battle.

The Austrian army tried at first to execute its original plan of turning the French right, and driving it towards the Alps, while the army of the Allies concentrated towards its centre. In this manner the positions of Solferino and San Casciano were attacked by three French corps and defended by three Austrian corps. The French succeeded in piercing the centre of the Austrian army, because their three corps attacked simultaneously, whereas the Austrian corps only came up one after the other. At the same time, the Austrian corps which had been intended to turn the French right were defeated by two French corps, because they could not succeed in acting together, and one corps, which was intended to strike a decisive blow, was never engaged at all. On the Austrian right the eighth corps succeeded in holding back the Sardinians till nightfall, but could not redeem disaster in other parts of the field. The capture of Cavriana finally put an end to the battle, and the Austrians retired behind the Mincio.