The Battle of Palestro was fought on 30–31 May 1859 between the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

and the combined forces of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

-Piedmont and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The Franco-Piedmontese forces were victorious. It was fought just south to

Palestro Palestro is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pavia. It is located on the banks of the river Sesia. History Although located in area settled by Celts, Etruscans, ancient Rome, Romans and Lombards, Palestro is mentioned for the first time ...

, a town in what is now the

province of Pavia The province of Pavia ( it, Provincia di Pavia) is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy; its capital is Pavia. , the province has a population of 548,722 inhabitants and an area of ; the town of Pavia has a population of 72,205. ...

in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It was believed that the Battle of Palestro was the last European battle in which a European Monarch rode into battle, that being King

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...

, who directly entered the fray with the Austrians.The Battle of Palestro
/ref>

Background

Ferenc Gyulay Count Ferenc Gyulay de Marosnémethi et Nádaska (, 1 September 1799 – 1 September 1868), also known as Ferencz Gyulai, Ferencz Gyulaj, or Franz Gyulai, was a Hungarian nobleman who served as Austrian Governor of Lombardy-Venetia and command ...

, anticipating an advance on Milan, but unsure of the route, had placed his VIII and IX Korps south of the

Po river The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...

from

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

. Gyulay had assigned Zobel's VII Korps responsibility for the

Sesia The Sesia (Latin ''Sesites'' or ''Sessites'') is a river in Piedmont, north-western Italy, tributary to the Po. Geography Its sources are the glaciers of Monte Rosa at the border with Switzerland. It flows through the Alpine valley Valsesia an ...

sector. However, on 30 May, four Piedmontese divisions had established a bridgehead across the Sesia, occupying Palestro, Vinzaglio, and

Confienza Confienza is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southwest of Milan and about 50 km northwest of Pavia. Confienza borders the following municipalities: Casalino, Grano ...

. This included

Enrico Cialdini Enrico Cialdini, Duca di Gaeta (8 August 18118 September 1892) was an Italian soldier, politician and diplomat. Biography He was born in Castelvetro, in the province of Modena. In 1831 he took part in the insurrection at Modena, fleeing afterw ...

's 4th Division,

Giovanni Durando Giovanni Durando (23 June 1804 – 27 May 1869) was an Italian general and politician. Biography Born at Mondovì, in what is now the province of Cuneo, he entered the Royal Guard corps of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1822. In the 1830s, after hav ...

's 1st Division, and Mollard's 3rd Division.

François Certain de Canrobert ) is most senior serving (oldest or responsible) and leading figure in a particular function of society (religious, education, diplomatical, governmental). In this case, the Dean is referring to de Canrobert, at the époque, as the most senior fi ...

's III Corps,

Adolphe Niel Adolphe Niel (4 October 180213 August 1869) was a French Army general and statesman. He was born at Muret, Haute-Garonne and entered the École Polytechnique in 1821. Niel entered the engineer school at Metz, became lieutenant in the Engineer ...

's IV Corps, MacMahon's II Corps, and the Imperial Guard advanced in support of the Piedmontese.

Battle

On 31 May, Zobel counterattacked with two of his VII Korps divisions, and Szabo's brigade from II Korps, which was repulsed. A defining moment came when the

3rd Zouaves The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

, accompanied by

, crossed the canal, attacking the Austrian left flank, forcing their withdrawal toward

Robbio Robbio is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southwest of Milan and about 45 km west of Pavia. It is part of Lomellina traditional region. Robbio borders the ...

. The 4th Piedmontese Division under general

took position between Palestro and the road to Robbio, with the 10th Infantry Regiment on his left, the 9th Regiment defending Cascina San Pietro, and the 3rd

Zouaves The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

Regiment on his right flank, on an island in the river known as Sesietta. The Piedmontese at Cascina San Pietro were also under heavy attack from Austrian troops from

Rosasco Rosasco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southwest of Milan and about 45 km west of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 691 and an area of 19.8& ...

. The situation was solved by the rushed attack of the 3rd

Regiment under Colonel Chabron, who attacked the left flank of the Austrian contingents. The Zouaves were able to reach the enemy's artillery, defended by the 7th Tirolese Hunters Regiment. Then they launched a bayonet attack against the four infantry battalions of the 12th Regiment "Archduke William". Zouaves de la Garde pendant la campagne d'Italie

Zouaves de la Garde pendant la campagne d'Italie

According to Frederick Schneid, "The allied army was now in force on the east bank of the Sesia in

Lomellina The Lomellina (Western Lombard: Ümlína/Lümelína) is a geographical and historical area in the Po Valley of northern Italy, located in south-western Lombardy between the Sesia, Po and Ticino rivers. It is one of three areal divisions of the ...

. Applying Jomini's advice, the divisions of the Piedmontese Army comprised the blocking force, permitting the French army to march unimpeded to

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

.''

Aftermath

Emperor

Franz Josef Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

and

Feldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

Heinrich von Heß Heinrich Hermann Josef Freiherr von Heß (alternatively: von Hess) (17 March 1788, Vienna – 13 April 1870, Vienna), was an Austrian soldier and field marshal, who entered the army in 1805 and was soon employed as a staff officer on survey wo ...

had arrived from Vienna in time to witness Gyulai's defeat, and the 2nd Army's retreat into Lombardy. On 3 June, Gyulai was ordered to take any and all action to defend the frontier. Gyulai thus held the line from Magenta to

Abbiategrasso Abbiategrasso, formerly written Abbiate Grasso. (local lmo, Biegrass ; lmo, label=Milanese, Biaa ), is a ''comune'' and town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy, situated in the Po valley approximately from Milan and f ...

References

External links

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Battles of the Second Italian War of Independence, Palestro 1859

1859 in the Austrian Empire 1859 in France 1859 in Italy May 1859 events Palestro