Osprey's Campaign title for the battle of Solferino (1859), which was the decisive action of the Franco-Austrian War. Fought near Lake Garda in northern Italy, it was the largest European battle since Leipzig in 1813 with over a quarter of a million combatants. In the presence of three crowned heads of state - Napoleon III of France, Emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria and Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia (later the King of all Italy) - the armies clashed in a bitterly fought contest that would leave more than 40,000 dead and give the battle a reputation for savagery that would inspire not only the formation of the Red Cross, but also the first Geneva Convention. As a crucial climax to the Second Italian War of Independence, this title covers the build-up to the battle, including actions at Montebello, Palestro and Magenta that led to the decisive moment of the campaign. Full-color battlescene artwork and detailed maps illustrate this comprehensive account of the commanders, armies, plans and aftermath of one of the bloodiest battles of the period.
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"This book by Richard Brooks covers the various battles fought during this campaign that let up to the final battle at Solferino. We get a good look at the opposing commanders through the eyes of those who wrote about them during this time and how their armies performed." - Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness, (September 2009)
About the Author
Richard Brooks is a freelance military historian with a BA in Modern History from Oxford University and an MSc in International Relations from Southampton University. With numerous published articles dating back to 1969 his recent work includes Cassell's Battlefields of Britain and Ireland (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2005) and The Royal Marines -1664 to the Present (Constable & Robinson, 2002).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
One-sided account,
By Milbuff (Europe) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Solferino 1859: The battle for Italy's Freedom (Campaign) (Paperback)
Having been looking forward to the publication of Osprey's new campaign title, I was deeply disappointed with the result. The author obviously didn't take the pains to consult German sources (not even secondary ones), thus producing a completely one-sided account. Moreover, Brooks keeps on repeating stereotypes, makes several factual errors and shows a pitiful lack of understanding of the Austrian army of the period. His very limited range of sources can also be seen in the illustrations, most of which again only represent the French/Italian perspective. Even though the maps and the battlescenes by Peter Dennis are very well-done as usual, the worth of this publication is at best doubtful. Unfortunately Osprey missed a great chance by not letting one of their accomplished writers, like David Hollins, Ian Castle or Simon Millar, familiar with German/Austrian sources, write this book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Army with the Most Colorful Uniforms Wins...,
By
This review is from: Solferino 1859: The battle for Italy's Freedom (Campaign) (Paperback)
It's refreshing to read a book about French military prowess and élan actually pulling off a victory and Solferino 1859 by Richard Brooks is that book. Unabashedly pro-French at times, this volume in Osprey's Campaign series still brings one of the long-forgotten battles of the mid-Nineteenth Century to life in vivid detail. The volume covers the entire campaign, involving France and Sardinia against Austria fought on the north Italian plain. While the war barely lasted two months, the author does a superb job pointing out its wider implications, ranging from technological innovations to changing tactical methods. Overall, this volume is well-researched (at least from the French side) and quite well-written and is one of the finer titles in the series.
Solferino 1859 is a very handsome volume in Osprey's campaign series, beginning with its eye-catching cover depicting French Zouaves and Chasseurs a pied in combat. This volume is very well supported by six 2-D maps (Italian campaign: theater of war and opening moves; the action at Montebello, 20 May 1859; the Allied turning movement, 28 May - 2 June; the Battle of Magenta, 4 June; the Battle of Solferino, approach to contact; the Sardinian assault on San Martino, 24 June) and three 3-D BEV maps (Magenta: the French pincers close in; French breakthrough at Solferino; the French stand on the Campo di Medole). The three richly-detailed color battle scenes by Peter Dennis are: street fighting in Magenta; French rifled field guns in action at Solferino, and an Austrian cavalry charge at Solferino. Both the French and Austrian uniforms are very colorful and shown to great affect in these battle scenes. The author also provides a short bibliography and three pages of notes on the battlefield today. The volume begins with a short but very pithy three-page introduction that aptly sums up the causes of the war and what each side hoped to achieve. The only disappointment in Solferino 1859 was the unusually short sections on opposing commanders and opposing forces, which barely total 7 pages. For example, the author does not provide any background on four of the five French corps commanders at Solferino. He does mention French artillery modernizations which contributed to their victory at Solferino, and their talent for skirmishing, but the Austrians and Sardinians are skimmed over quickly. The four-page order of battle is very detailed and goes down to battalion-level. The author also gives short shrift to the section on opposing plans and says that, "none of the three armies in the Italian campaign conducted the war in accordance with any consistent strategic scheme or plan." This is a bit too simplistic, given that the French movements of entire army corps by sea from Algeria and Toulon and then by the Italian rail system must have required considerable planning to have pulled off so smoothly and efficiently. Furthermore, while the Austrian logistics were consistently poor, the French were able to operate an army of almost 100,000 men in Italy and keep them fed and equipped. The campaign narrative proper covers 64 pages and begins with the fumbled Austrian effort to crush Sardinia-Piedmont before French intervention could arrive, then the arrival of the first three French corps at Genoa. Once the Allied forces were united and blocking the path to Turin, the Austrians began to back-pedal and the author covers several minor actions and the Battle of Magenta on 4 June 1859. Deciding to retreat toward their quadrilateral fortresses, the Austrians withdrew eastward but then reversed direction to take on the pursuing Allies near Solferino. The author neatly divides the action into three main chunks: the Sardinian attack in the north, the French breakthrough in the center and the French holding action in the south. The author sensibly makes good use of small tables to provide data on casualties and forces engaged. Period artwork and photos of the terrain today complement the text. The author sees three main reasons for the Austrian defeat at Solferino: their lack of a central reserve, poor offensive spirit and the unsuitability of the terrain for defense. Throughout the book, the author contrasts the fatal indecision and incompetence of the Austrian commanders versus the take-charge attitude of the French commanders. Given that these commanders include Marshalls MacMahon and Bazainne and the Emperor Napoleon III - well known for indecision in the Franco-Prussian War eleven years later - this portrayal is remarkable. In a nutshell, better French weapons, better leadership, better troop spirit and a bit of luck enabled the French to run rings around the larger Austrian army and achieve most of their objectives in a short campaign. The author then points out the implications of the war, such as the first use of railroads to move troops for operational purposes and the creation of the Red Cross. This book makes an excellent introduction to a study on the evolution of mid-Nineteenth Century tactics, particularly those interested in the technological and tactical aspects of the American Civil War (plus those readers who love Zouave uniforms). The author is probably unduly harsh at times on the Austrians - they did succeed in inflicting heavy casualties on the French and it was no easy win - but no matter how you slice it, their battlefield performance was poor in 1859 and again in 1864 and again in1866.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
When Mediocres Clash,
By
This review is from: Solferino 1859: The battle for Italy's Freedom (Campaign) (Paperback)
The Kingdom of Sardinia saw the wide scale European uprisings of 1848 as an opportunity to drive the weakened Austrians out of northern Italy. However, their dreams were soon dashed by the skilled generalship of Field Marshal Joseph Radetsky. For the next decade, Sardinia licked its wounds and searched for a big friend whom they could take to their fight with Austria. The support of the ambitious Napoleon III allowed Sardinia in 1859 to provoke the Austrians into a foolish invasion. The Austrians ill conceived attack was the critical event that led to the eventual political reunification of the Italian Peninsula.
"Solferino 1859" is a well written account of the campaign waged on the plains of Lombardy with its culmination at the twin bloody battles of Magenta and Solferino. In 1859, most military observors believed France had the best army in Europe and Austria, the second best. The Prussian Army was seen as little more than a well organized militia. Ten years later, both France and Austria's martial reputations would be in serious decline after the drubbings they received at the hands the Prussians. The seeds of their perciptious declines can be clearly seen in this campaign. At the end of day, the French and Sardinians are the victors not because of any great strategic or tactical skill. They win because they are just slightly more competent than their incompetent Austrian foes. When reading any book in the Osprey Campaign Series, one never knows what they are going to get. Sometimes, the volumes are a really well written and a pleasure to read. Other times, they can be excrutiatingly boring and pedantic. Fortunately, Richard Brooks is a good writer and "Solferino 1859" is an easy to follow account of the campaign. However, what keeps me from giving this review five stars is that Brooks does not do a good job of selling the story. Why should a reader invest the time and money into reading an account of a campaign whose hallmarks were blunders and overall mediocrity? As a military campaign, the Franco Austrian struggle was unremarkable. But as a political story, Sardinia's use of France to help launch the Risorgimento is a fascinating tale. "Solferino 1859" would have worked better if Richard Brooks could have found a way to integrate the politics into the campaign.
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