Invasion of Trentino (1866)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Invasion of Trentino was a series of military operations undertaken by the Kingdom of Italy against the Austrian Empire during the Third Italian War of Independence of 1866, which was part of the larger Austro-Prussian War.
At the outbreak of the Third Italian War of Independence (23 June 1866), Giuseppe Garibaldi received the order to take up positions with his volunteer force, the "Corpo Volontari Italiani", along the frontline between Lombardy and the southernmost part of the County of Tyrol, which today corresponds to the Italian province of Trentino.
Initially, Garibaldi could only muster four battalions, but in the end managed to obtain some 38,000 men, which were to face the roughly 15,000 Austrian regulars under General Baron Franz Kuhn von Kuhnenfeld. The Austrians were supported by their flotilla on Lake Garda.[1]
First actions
Garibaldi's men started the fights on 21 June 1866. After some initial minor clashes, they were, due to the Italian defeat at the Battle of Custoza, ordered to retreat to the southwestern tip of Lake Garda on 25 June. As the Austrians chose not to pursue them, Garibaldi renewed his advance on 3 July but was wounded during an attack on an enemy mountain position. Nonetheless, the advance of the "Cacciatori" (Hunters) was successful and on 12 July Storo and Condino were occupied.
Contemporarily, actions took place near the Tonale Pass, where 3,000 Austrians had established a defensive line between Vezza d'Oglio and Temù. During the battle of Vezza d'Oglio, on 4 July, the Austrians were dislodged from their positions by an attack of the Italian regular Bersaglieri infantry, which suffered heavy losses. On 2 July an Austrian column crossed the Stelvio Pass and captured Bormio and the Mortirolo Pass, but was later defeated by a force from the Italian National Guard (see Operations in Valtellina).
