The Second War of Italian Unification 1859–61

Frederick C. Schneid

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781849088534
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Italian History
• Index: History

The culmination of decades of nationalist aspiration and cynical Realpolitik, the Second War of Italian Unification saw Italy transformed from a patchwork of minor states dominated by the Habsburg Austrians into a unified kingdom under the Piedmontese House of Savoy. Unlike many existing accounts, which approach the events of 1859–61 from a predominantly French perspective, this study draws upon a huge breadth of sources to examine the conflict as a critical event in Italian history. A concise explanation of the origins of the war is followed by a wide-ranging survey of the forces deployed and the nature and course of the fighting – on land and at sea – and the consequences for those involved are investigated. This is a groundbreaking study of a conflict that was of critical significance not only for Italian history but also for the development of 19th-century warfare.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chronology
• The Risorgimento as war and revolution, 1815–49
• The Italian Kingdoms, France, and Austria
• Revolutions, plots, and planning
• The Second War of Italian Unification, 1859–61
• Giuseppe Cesare Abba and Garibaldi’s Thousand
• The threat of a general European war
• An anonymous Neapolitan account
• From Villafranca to Gaeta
• Conclusion and consequences
• Select bibliography
• Index
• Imprint