Battle of Montebello (1859)

The Battle of Montebello was fought on 20 May 1859 at Montebello (in what is now Lombardy, northern Italy). It was a minor engagement of the Second Italian War of Independence, fought between Piedmontese cavalry and French infantry against Austrian troops. Because of this battle, the Austrian commander-in-chief was obliged to keep some troops to cover the southern part of the front.

For other battles with similar names, see Battle of Montebello (disambiguation).
Battle of Montebello
Part of Second Italian War of Independence

Battle of Montebello
Date20 May 1859
Location
Montebello, present-day Italy
Result Franco-Sardinian victory
Belligerents
 France
Sardinia		  Austrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Elie Frédéric Forey Philipp von Stadion und Thannhausen
Strength
6,600 infantry[1] 18,708 infantry[2]
600 cavalry
12 guns
4 rocket launchers
Casualties and losses
France:
81 killed
492 wounded
69 missing
Kingdom of Sardinia:
52 killed, wounded or prisoners
Total:
694		 331 killed
785 wounded
307 missing
Total:
1,423
Places of the 1859 Austro-Sardinian War.

Prelude

Feldzeugmeister Ferenc Gyulay, commanding the Austrian 2nd Army, deployed VII Korps along the Sesia, the II and III Korps at Mortara, VIII Korps at Pavia, and V Korps between Pavia and Mortara. Gyulay anticipated a Franco-Piedmontese offensive consisting of a flanking maneuver south of the Po. Marshal Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers' I Corps advanced from Voghera, while Garibaldi advanced from the north. Gyulai assumed they were pressuring his flanks in a manoeuvre sur la derriére.[3]

Battle

General Karl von Urban's IX Korps and Stadion's V Korps moved to stop the French offensive. On 20 May, in the first battle of the war, Forey's division, accompanied by three Piedmontese cavalry regiments commanded by General de Sonnaz, engaged the IX Korps at Montebello. After three hours, failing to stop Forey, Urban withdrew.[3]

Aftermath

On 21 May, Napoleon III received a telegraph stating, "The Austrians have attacked, on the 20th, with approximately 15,000 men the advanced posts of Marshal Baraguey d'Hilliers. They have been repulsed by Division Forey, which conducted itself admirably and liberated the village of Montbello, already famous..." Disconcerted, Gyulai deployed his corps further south.[3]

Austrian order of battle

FML Graf Stadion, commander of V Corps

  • 2 squadrons of 12th regiment Haller Hussars
  • Paumgarten division
    • Gaal brigade
      • 1/1st Liccaner Grenze
      • Regiment 3 Erzherzog Karl, 4 battalions
    • Prince Alexander von Hessen brigade
      • 4/Kaiser Jager Regt
      • Regiment 31 Culoz, 4 battalions
    • Bils Bde
      • 2/3rd Oguliner Grenze
      • Regiment 47 Kinsky, 3 battalions
    • 20 guns
    • elements Boer brigade (attached)
      • Regiment 49, 2nd battalion
      • Regiment 61, 1 battalion

(9,950 infantry, 230 cavalry and 20 guns)

  • Urban independent division (attached)
  • 2 squadrons of 12th regiment Haller Hussars
    • Schaffgottsche brigade
      • 3rd Jager Btn
      • Regiment 39 Don Miguel, 1 battalion
      • Grenadier Btn of Regiment 59 Raineri
      • Sluiner Grenz, 2 companies
    • Braum brigade
      • Regiment 40 Rossbach, 3 battalions
    • 12 guns
    • 4 rocket launchers

(6,700 infantry, 225 cavalry and 12 guns)

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Footnotes
  1. Brooks 2009, p. 29.
  2. Brooks 2009, p. 26.
  3. Schneid, Frederick (2012). The Second War of Italian Unification 1859-61. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 34–41. ISBN 9781849087872.

References
  • Brooks, R. (2009). Solferino 1859: The Battle for Italy's freedom. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-385-8.

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