Author:
Schneid, Frederick C.
ImprintBotley, Oxford : Osprey Publishing, 2012.
Description95 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm.
Note:Introduction -- Chronology -- Background to War: The Risorgimento as war and revolution, 1815-49 -- Warring Sides: The Italian Kingdoms, France, and Austria -- Outbreak: Revolutions, plots, and planning -- The Fighting: The Second War of Italian Unification, 1859-61 -- Portrait of a Soldier: Giuseppe Cesare Abba and Garibaldi's Thousand -- The world around War: The threat of a general European War -- Portrait of a Civilian: An anonymous Neapolitan account -- How the War Ended: From Villafranca to Gaeta -- Conclusions and Consequences.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (pages 92-93) and index.
Note:"The culmination of decades of nationalist aspiration and cynical Realpolitik, the Second War of Italian Unification saw Italy transformed from a patchwork of minor states dominated by the Habsburg Austrians into a unified kingdom under the Piedmontese House of Savoy. Unlike many existing accounts, which approach the events of 1859-61 from a predominantly French perspective, this study draws upon a huge breadth of sources to examine the conflict as a critical event in Italian history. A concise explanation of the origins of the war is followed by a wide-ranging survey of the forces deployed and the nature and course of the fighting -- on land and at sea -- and the consequences for those involved are investigated. This is a groundbreaking study of a conflict that was of critical significance not only for Italian history but also for the development of 19th-century warfare."--publisher's web site.
