Radetzky's Marches Read online

  The battles around the city continued throughout the day, though due to the rain, generally with less fury. The Imperial troops remained for the most part on the defensive. Repeated attempts by the insurgents to break through to the Porta Ticinese, in the south of the city, were unavailing. In the north of the city, the struggle continued over the gates there. The police stations were gradually taken one by throughout the struggle, the police themselves generally remaining loyal to the last.

  So ended the third, and for the Milanese, most dangerous day; since the walls and gates continued to be occupied by the enemy, and the shortage of food was beginning to be felt by them.

  Day 4

  March 21st

  The arrival, from Turin, of Count Martini, with King Carlo Alberto’s offer of support, should the Lombards require it, dramatically altered the situation. Martini, who had a nightmarish time getting into the city, was finally able to report this to the War Council. The King requested a formal appeal for help from the Milanese. To many republicans, this was a red rag to a bull. Cattaneo was furious, but Casati prepared a Proclamation to that effect, which was posted throughout the city, and, by means of balloons, hundreds more were floated out into the countryside. The news of the Piedmontese intervention rapidly spread, and was a great boost to the morale of the citizens.

  The Milanese began to move onto the offensive. At around 11:00, the Engineer Barracks, just north of the Cathedral, was attacked by a force led by Augusto Anfossi. The defenders comprised one company of IR Geppert, commanded by Lieutenant Steiner, perhaps 160 men. The struggle was fierce, and Anfossi himself was killed, shot in the forehead. He was replaced by a daring young man, Luciano Manara. The attackers were also animated by a partially disabled beggar, Pasquale Sottocorni, who, with some turpentine, managed to set fire to the gates of the Barracks. It was stormed, and Steiner captured, along with those of his men who were unable to flee. The insurgents were also able to take the San Francesco Barracks, just under a kilometre west of the Cathedral. The struggle for the Porta Ticinese continued, as on the previous day, as did that around the northern and eastern gates. Manara, Enrico Dandolo, and Emilio Morosoni were already standing out as firebrands of the rebellion.

  As the insurgency continued to gain momentum, another proposal for a truce was put forward, this time by the foreign Consuls in the city. Marshal Radetzky accepted the measure, but at a meeting of the insurgents in the Casa Vidiserti, the proposal was voted down. When this was announced to a large crowd which had gathered outside, it was greeted with triumphant shouts of “WAR, WAR!”.

  The storming of the Engineer Barracks, Milan, March 21st 1848 (Margola)

  The news that Piedmontese forces would soon cross the Ticino, together with tidings of further risings across the north of Italy made any remaining chance of holding of the city impossible. Radeztky now knew this, though he had few verifiable details.

  Day 5

  March 22nd

  After over 48 hours without supplies of food, it had become imperative for the Milanese to force one of the city gates. The difficulty of doing so was that the attackers, as had been shown, were vulnerable in the open. Fortunately, a way of providing cover for the volunteers had been worked out. Professor Antonio Carnevali, a veteran of the army of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (many of whom would be prominent in this campaign), and former instructor at the Pavia Military Academy, had developed what became known as ‘mobile-barricades’, based around fascines lashed together to form cylinders. These would prove crucial.

  While fighting at the Porta Ticinese continued, an effort against to force the Porta Comasina, the most northerly gate, from outside the city failed. The leader of the attempt, 40 year old Girolamo Borgazzi, was killed. An attack upon the Porta Romana likewise failed.

  The Porta Tosa proved to be the decisive gate. It was here that the mobile barricades were to prove their worth. They, along with the situation there, are described by Torelli:

  One of the places where the fire was more intense was the Tosa Gate. I went to this place, and saw that the ‘mobile barricades’ had already been built here. The ‘mobile barricades’, which were very useful, were an idea of a certain painter, whose name I can’t recall. They were formed with rolled twigs: they were two to three metres in width, and more than a metre thick. They were very useful in that sector, because the street near the Tosa Gate is very large, and it wouldn’t be possible to build barricades stretching from one side of the street to the other. We put the ‘mobile barricades’, where necessity arose, and then pushed them ahead. When I arrived, the last ‘mobile barricades’ were moving toward a main gate which, from the wood-shed of an orphanage called ‘dei Martinitt’, led to the above-mentioned street near the Tosa Gate. This orphanage was the last big building on the road to the ramparts; beyond it, there were only gardens.

  An intense fire of grapeshot came from this rampart in front of the orphanage, aimed at the orphanage itself, but it didn’t cause great damage. At the first floor of the orphanage there were great rooms and big windows, provided with iron grills. On the lower floor, just in front of the wall against which the fire of the grapeshot was more intense, there was the above-mentioned wood-shed.10

  With the aid of two small cannon, the attack, led by Manara, and sheltered by five mobile barricades, was successful, and the Porta Tosa taken. The Comasina Gate also fell. The news spread around the city like wildfire. Around midday, Radetzky ordered Major-General Wohlgemuth, with Grenadier Batallion Freysauff, and two companies of Kaiser Jäger, accompanied by four 12 pounder cannon, and two rocket tubes, and Major-General Clam, with six companies of IR Prohaska, and four and a half of IR Geppert, to retake the the lost gates, and stabilise the situation. After hard fighting, and further reinforcements, this was achieved.

  At 14:00, the Marshal held a Council of War to consider the situation. The Brigade of General Maurer arrived around the city about noon, as ordered. That of Strassoldo arrived subsequently. The situation was clearly most serious, and information limited. Certainly rebellion was widespread, and unquestionably, the Piedmontese Army was about to join the conflict. There was no possibility of retaining the city under the present circumstances. The Army would retreat that night.

  To Count Ficquelmont, Radetzky now reported that the city could not be held in the prevailing climate. His report began, “This is the most terrible decision of my life; but I can no longer hold Milan. All the country is in revolt. I am threatened from the rear by the Piedmontese. They can cut all the bridges at my back, and I have no beams to repair them, nor have I sufficient means of transport. I do not know anything about what is happening behind the army.”11

  During the evening, troops assembled in the Castle, withdrawing from positions not necessary to cover the retreat. Beginning at 21:00 the retreat began, and the very tired and wet troops began to march out of the city. The retreat was conducted in five columns, in good order, and the columns included many accompanying families, and other civilians, as well as wounded and prisoners. There were, additionally, large baggage, and munitions trains. All of this took place under the cover of a fierce bombardment from the castle, to distract attention. The scheme worked. Only at the Porta Comasina, the most northern city gate, was there any serious clash. The heavily barricaded railway station just outside this gate, interfering with the communications between brigades Clam and Wohlgemuth, had to be stormed by four companies of grenadiers and one of Ottochaner Grenzer, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Freysauff.12 The Austrians continued their march towards Lodi. Luigi Torelli, who, with friends had planned an attack on an Austrian post at midnight, saw them go:

  It was almost evening and, from the hills, it was possible to see an unusual movement toward the bastions. The soldiers were preparing to retreat which started after 9:00 PM from different gates: from Porta Nuova, from Porta Orientale, and from Porta Tosa. The gates were defended by guns, especially Porta Tosa. During the afternoon, our men had seized it, and consequently it was named Porta Vittoria
. But later, the Austrians had come back with the artillery and reconquered it. Since they were retreating, the bulk of the forces toward Lodi, and since Porta Tosa is the most direct way to go towards that city, obviously they reinforced this position greatly, and from here, they maintained an endless fire during the passage of the troops. They fired towards the main street, on the right and on the left, and towards the mobile barricades, which I have mentioned above.

  One of the last houses of the main street, which was very close to the gate itself, was on fire, and we saw a terrible and solemn spectacle. The fire lit up the bastion and the street around Porta Tosa, as well as the gate itself. The guns were firing at random all along the main street. From the barricades around the ‘Martinitt’ we fired back against the soldiers, but with little effect, because the distance was remarkable. The bells were pealing.

  It was a great last act of the drama of the Five Days. In this last hour of the fifth day, we lost a victim: a man, not very young, advancing beyond the barricades was struck in the head and died. I was there, at the same barricade, and sheltered the corpse under some roofing, to prevent his body from being torn to pieces by the shells.

  Then I looked at my watch, and realised that it was almost time for me to go to the rendezvous at the San Lorenzo columns. First, I decided to go to the Taverna House beforehand, to tell the story of the events around Porta Tosa.13

  The question of losses during The Five Days is difficult. Austrian casualties from the 18th to the 22nd inclusive, are given by Hilleprandt as five officers and 176 men killed, 11 officers and 230 men wounded, and 180 men missing, a total of 602. This number, therefore, surely excludes a large number of men who must, in the context of a civil insurrection, have suffered minor or relatively minor injuries. In addition, there were certainly some officers taken prisoner. Casualties amongst the Milanese and their allies are much more difficult to assess. Hilleprandt gives figures of 424 dead, “more than” 600 wounded, and some 300 prisoners, many of the latter later being exchanged for Imperial prisoners/hostages. Ulloa gives the same figures for the dead and 600 wounded, the fatalities being 350 men, 40 women and 34 children.14

  To the old Field Marshal, it must have seemed that the entire world was shaking to pieces. Nevertheless, amazingly, he never lost his nerve or his strength. His duty remained clear before him, and nothing would stand in the way of that duty. The decision to retreat from Milan had been made. The point at issue was, where to? That question could only be answered when accurate information on events elsewhere could be gathered and assessed. Much would depend upon the actions, or lack of them, of his subordinates. Radetzky knew that the overall picture was far from good. It was, however, much worse than he realised.

  Venice

  Venice, the Capital of the Veneto, and the Imperial jewel in the crown of the Adriatic, like Milan, became increasingly restless under Imperial rule. The situation there was, however, very different. Here, the issue of a form of home rule was largely considered preferable, and, indeed, had been proposed in 1815. Nothing, however, actually happened, and the issue became the prime objective of a Venetian lawyer, Daniele Manin. At a Congress of Scientists, held in the city in September 1847, there was much discussion of politics, although this was forbidden by the police.

  Manin continued to agitate, each step carefully made legally, to the fury of the authorities. From the late summer, he had been working in concert with a foremost liberal and academic, Niccolò Tommaseo, a republican from Dalmatia. The heady ideas of Pius IX were everywhere applauded. On December 30th, Tommaseo gave a speech to a prominent audience on the ‘State of Italian Literature’. It turned out to be an attack on the stifling censorship of the authorities, resulting in a petition against it. On January 8th, 1848, in a detailed petition, he demanded immediate local rule, based upon the agreements of 1815. This was too much for the authorities. Manin and Tommasseo were arrested and thrown into prison on January 18th. Their trial, held in camera, was slow, but, in the end, on March 9th, the case against them was found unproven. When the Chief of Police, Baron Call, was informed of this, he was furious. The men continued to be held.

  In the meanwhile, news of the revolt in Paris reached Venice on March 1st. The Hungarian Governor, 47 year old Count Alajos Palffy, maintained his normal affability, almost as if the situation was perfectly normal. Palffy’s uncertainty and hesitation would prove to be of considerable importance during the next few days.

  Palffy’s military commander, 65 year old FML Count Zichy, brother in law to Prince Metternich, had a comparatively small force in the city, and the landward bridgehead of Mestre. It comprised the brigade of Major-General Culoz, I & II/IR Kinsky, III/IR Wimpffen, the four companies of Grenadier Battalion Angelmayer. Also present was I/ Peterwardeiner Grenzer, Major Waldberg, with one company of II, and the four companies of 5th Garrison Battalion, and the Naval Infantry Battalion, Major Buday, all of these troops other than the Grenzer and Regiment Kinsky being Italian. With sundry other detachments, the force totalled some 7,000 men. He did not consider that he had enough troops, and had asked for more on several occasions in letters to both Marshal Radetzky, and to the War Minister, Count Fiquelmont.

  Venice was also an important base for the Imperial Navy (of which the Naval Infantry Battalion was a part), and possessed its largest dockyard, the Arsenal. The great majority of the naval officers, as well as the men, were Italian. The commander of the fleet was Vice-Admiral Anton Ritter Martini. His immediate deputy, in charge of the Arsenal, was (Naval) Captain Marinović, a hard disciplinarian and duty-fixated officer.

  Disturbances in Venice – Main and Tommaseo freed

  As in Milan, although discontent had been widespread for some time, it was the news from Vienna that lit the fuse of rebellion in Venice. The first stories of the overthrow of Metternich began circulating on Thursday, March 16th, and that evening, a large and excitable crowd gathered in St. Mark’s Square. A number of prominent citizens present agreed that a great demonstration should take place at midnight, in the square, with further instructions to be given that evening in the Fenice theatre. The authorities promptly closed the theatre, so that the proposed gathering was postponed by the organisers, to take place, instead, the next day. In practice, events overtook them.

  The next morning, the Austrian-Lloyd postal steamer Venezia, from Trieste, appeared in the Lido15. Her arrival was eagerly awaited by a large gathering, and a mass of gondolas were rowed out to meet her. Once within hailing distance, the occupants of the vessels were able to glean the news from Vienna, with concessions granted by Kaiser Ferdinand. Little information, however, was imparted as to the chaotic state of affairs in that city. Rowing hard for St. Mark’s, no doubt with the stories growing by the second, the gondoliers and their passengers imparted these tidings to the masses of people waiting there.

  The crowd rapidly swept the short distance to the front of the Governor’s Palace, shouting for the release from prison of Manin and Tommasseo. As word spread, the crowd grew ever larger, screaming, ‘Free Manin and Tommasseo!’ Count Palffy, gazing at the scene through the window with the Military Governor, Zichy, a fellow Hungarian, was unsure what action to take. He addressed the mass of people in the square, informing them that he had no power to free the men, but that he would take up the matter with the authorities in Vienna. For an hour, until 11:00, he indulged in the utterly pointless exercise of arguing with a crowd. By then, elements of that gathering had had enough. A group of young men, led by Manin’s 16 year old son, Giorgio, left the square, and headed for the prison.

  Matters quickly flew out of control. As the young men hammered at the prison gate, the governor asked Manin to leave the prison. Ever the lawyer, the latter refused, unless he was officially released. Meanwhile, in St. Mark’s Square, the mood had soured considerably, and Palffy, sensing the threat of violence, conceded Manin’s freedom. Soon after, Manin and Tommasseo appeared in the square, on the shoulders of their liberators. Manin was passed through to the front of the e
xcited mass, directly below where Palffy stood. Matters could now move precisely as Manin dictated. Should he wish an immediate and bloody revolt, he had but to order it. He did not do so. Instead, he made a very short speech, in which he called for order, but ended with the words that, in certain circumstances, rebellion could be “… a right and a duty...”.16 The popular man of the people was then taken, by a large section of the crowd, to his home and family, where he would plan what would prove to be, given the weak opposition, a relatively quiet revolution. Many people, however, remained in the square.

  With Manin absent, the excited crowds still in St. Mark’s were left leaderless. Attempts were made to fraternise with the Italian troops present, and to bait the others, on this occasion, with little success with either. Around 15:00, on orders from Zichy, a force of three companies of IR Kinsky, three more of grenadiers, and two of Peterwardeiner Grenzer were brought into the square.

  They were greeted by the sight of three tricolour flags, which had been hoisted on the high flag poles in front of St. Mark’s Basilica. Two of these were quickly hauled down. The third, however, proved impossible to remove. Scuffles soon developed between the citizens and the troops, and the square was cleared with fixed bayonets. A few casualties were caused, the British Consul giving the number as two wounded, and one trampled to death by the crowd. The citizens retaliated by hurling tiles at the troops. Later, around 15:00, the troops were withdrawn to barracks, and the city, though tense, passed a largely quiet night, other than an attack upon a patrol of 12 men of IR Kinsky, in the Ghetto section of the city17. Manin had, in the meanwhile, requested the formation of a Civic Guard from the Governor, a request Palffy passed on, via envoys, to the Viceroy, whom he believed to be in Milan, but who had actually travelled to Verona that same day.