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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]
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).
Although apparently feeble, the Austrian moves were part of a larger offensive planned by Kuhn which aimed to outflank Garibaldi's positions from Lardaro and Bezzecca. On 16 July an Austrian column ousted the Italians from Cimego. Three columns were now encircling the Italians at Condino, but Garibaldi took advantage of his numerical superiority and the strength of his defensive position and was able to defeat the attack (on 16 July), which forced the Austrians to retreat to their starting positions.
In the following days the Italians marched northwards until, on 20 July, they occupied Bezzecca. As the Austrians had suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Sadowa, Kuhn had only a few days left before part of his troops would be sent to augment the defense of Vienna. Profiting from the situation, the Italians began to advance on the southern front too, when a division under Giacomo Medici was sent from Padua to fight its way to the city of Trento.
On 21 July, two Austrian columns clashed with the "Hunters of the Alps" at the Battle of Bezzecca. After some initial Austrian successes, Garibaldi's counterattacks finally forced them to retreat from Bezzecca, as well as from Cimego and Condino.
The Italian commander had now opened the road to Trento, while Medici had successfully swept the Austrian troops from the Valsugana, reaching Civezzano, not far from Trento, on 25 July. Kuhn was preparing to be besieged in Trento, and had received orders to concentrate on the defense of South Tyrol in case of further defeats.
On 25 and 26 July the Italians attacked near Riva del Garda, but were defeated. However, a truce signed on 24 July ended all operations. On 9 August the Italian troops received the order to leave Trentino, as a treaty of peace between Italy and Austria was forthcoming. Garibaldi, from the square of Bezzecca, replied with his famous: "Obbedisco" ("I shall obey"). Hostilities finally ceased with the Armistice of Cormons (12 August 1866).
The history of Tyrol, a historical region in the middle alpine area of Central Europe, dates back to early human settlements at the end of the last glacier period, around 12,000 BC. Sedentary settlements of farmers and herders can be traced back to 5000 BC. Many of the main and side valleys were settled during the early Bronze Age, from 1800 to 1300 BC. From these settlements, two prominent cultures emerged: the Laugen-Melaun culture in the Bronze Age, and the Fritzens-Sanzeno culture in the Iron Age.
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Italian Alps, particularly the Alpine sub-ranges of the Garda Mountains and the Brenta Group. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces of Brescia, Verona (south-east) and Trentino (north).
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The 1st Army was a Royal Italian Army field army, in World War I, facing Austro-Hungarian and German forces, and in World War II, fighting on the North African front.
The Battle of Custoza took place on the 24 June 1866 during the Third Italian War of Independence in the Italian unification process.
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The Battle of Varese was fought on 26 May 1859 at Varese (Lombardy). It was an engagement of the Second Italian War of Independence, fought between the Italian volunteers formation of the Hunters of the Alps, led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, against Austrian troops led by Karl von Urban. The Austrian defeat allowed the movement of the Hunters towards Como, and obliged the Austrians to keep troops on the northern part of the front.
The Battle of Bezzecca was fought on 21 July 1866 between Italy and Austria, during the Third Italian Independence War. The Italian force, the Hunters of the Alps, were led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, and had invaded Trentino as part of the general Italian offensive against the Austrian force occupying north-eastern Italy after the decisive Prussian victory of Battle of Königgrätz, which had led Austria to move part of their troops towards Vienna.
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The Third Italian War of Independence was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in Austria conceding the region of Venetia to France, which was later annexed by Italy after a plebiscite. Italy's acquisition of this wealthy and populous territory represented a major step in the Unification of Italy.
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