The Battle of Varese was fought on 26 May 1859 at

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

(

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

). It was an engagement of the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

, fought between the Italian volunteers formation of the

Hunters of the Alps The Hunters of the Alps ( it, Cacciatori delle Alpi) were a military corps created by Giuseppe Garibaldi in Cuneo on 20 February 1859 to help the regular Sardinian army to free the northern part of Italy in the Second Italian War of Independen ...

, led by

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

, against Austrian troops. The Austrian defeat allowed the movement of the Hunters towards

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

, and obliged the Austrians to keep troops on the northern part of the front.

The prelude

Following the Battle of Montebello,

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

and

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 ...

decided Ferenc Gyulai was tied down at the Po. The Franco-Piedmontese forces were then moved from

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

and then to

Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...

. This strategic flanking movement from conducted from 27 May through 29 May 1859.

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 led the advance guard, supported by

Manfredo Fanti Manfredo Fanti (23 February 1806 – 5 April 1865) was an Italian general; he is known as the founder of the Regio Esercito. Biography Manfredo Fanti was born at Carpi (Emilia-Romagna) and educated at the military college of Modena. In 1831 he ...

and

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 ...

Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers Louis-Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers (6 September 1795 – 6 June 1878), 1st Comte Baraguey d'Hilliers, was a Marshal of France and politician. Baraguey d'Hilliers was born in Paris, the son of the French revolutionary general Louis Baraguey d'H ...

' I Corps and MacMahon's II Corps deployed along the Po, blocking the Austrians. On 23 May, Garibaldi took the Austrian garrison at

Sesto Calende Sesto Calende is a town and ''comune'' located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. It is at the southern tip of Lake Maggiore, where the Ticino River starts to flow towards the Po River. The main historical sight ...

In the meantime, on the 25 May, 500 Austrian riflemen, 130

Uhlans Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...

, and two guns from

Gallarate Gallarate (; Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction of railways to Va ...

attacked a company led by

Carlo De Cristoforis Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

, but were rejected to

Somma Lombardo Somma Lombardo is a town in the province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on 16 June 1959. Industry The airline Neos has its head office in the city. History The town was strategical ...

The encounter

On 26 May, Garibaldi took Varese and repelled an Austrian counterattack. Gyulai then sent

Karl von Urban Karl (Carl) Freiherr von Urban (born 31 August 1802 in Cracovia; died 1 January 1877 in Brno) was an Austrian ''feldmarschall-leutnant''. In command of a 1,500-strong force of Grenz infantry he suppressed the 10,000-strong revolt of the Székelys ...

's force of 11,000 north. On the 26 May, at dawn, Urban arrived at Varese, where Garibaldi had already prepared the defence. The Italians were deployed as: one battalion (

Enrico Cosenz Enrico Cosenz (12 January 18207 August 1898) was an Italian soldier born at Gaeta. As captain of artillery in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, Neapolitan army, he took part in the expedition sent by Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand II ag ...

) 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 Gerolamo "Nino" Bixio (, ; 2 October 1821 – 16 December 1873) was an Italian general, patriot and politician, one of the most prominent figures in the Italian unification. Life and career He was born Gerolamo Bixio in Genoa. While still a boy ...

), and one at the Biumo Superiore hill. 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 Malnate is a town and '' comune'' located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. It lies in a mountainous region approximately north of Milan, in the foothills of the Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, A ...

. Medici and Ardoino attacked the retreating Austrians, causing more losses.

Sources

{{coord, 45, 48, 31, N, 8, 50, 53, E, type:event_region:IT, display=title

Varese 1859 Varese 1859 1859 in Italy 1859 in the Austrian Empire May 1859 events