Battle of Varese
Part of the Austro-Sardinian War
Places of the 1859 Austro-Sardinian War
Date: 26 May 1859 Location: Varese, Italy Result: Sardinian victory Casus belli: {{{casus}}} Territory changes: {{{territory}}}
Combatants
Kingdom of Sardinia	Austrian Empire
Commanders
Giuseppe Garibaldi	Karl Urban
Strength
3,000	4,000 8 guns
Casualties
22 dead, 62 wounded, 1 prisoner Sardinians: 52 deads, wounded or prisoners	?

The Battle of Varese was fought on May 26th, 1859 at Varese (Lombardy). It was an engagement of the Austro-Sardinian War, fought between the Italian volunteers formation of the Hunters of the Alps, led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, against Austrian troops. 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. Major places of the Austro-Sardinian war 1859 Austro-Sardinian War was fought by Napoleon III of France and Kingdom of Sardinia against Austria in 1859. ... Image File history File links Map of the major locations of the Austro-Sardinian war of 1859. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1859 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... See Edgar Varèse for the composer Varese is a city in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan. ... Casus belli is a Latin expression from the international law theory of Jus ad bellum. ... Kingdom of Sardinia, in 1839: Mainland Piedmont, with Savoia upper left (pink) and Nizza (Nice) lower left (brown) both now French, and Sardinia in the inset The Kingdom of Sardinia is a former kingdom in Italy. ... Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire until 1867 and of the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary until 1918. ... Garibaldi in 1866 Giuseppe Garibaldi (July 4, 1807 – June 2, 1882) was an Italian patriot and soldier of the Risorgimento. ... Major places of the Austro-Sardinian war 1859 Austro-Sardinian War was fought by Napoleon III of France and Kingdom of Sardinia against Austria in 1859. ... Combatants French Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Austrian Empire Commanders  ? Stadion Strength  ? 30,000 Casualties French: 81 dead, 492 wounded, 69 dispersed Sardinians: 52 deads, wounded or prisoners 1423 dead, wounded or prisoners The Battle of Montebello (1859) was fought on May 20th, 1859 at Montebello (Lombardy). ... The Battle of Magenta was fought on June 4, 1859 during the Franco-Austria, resulting in a French victory under Louis-Napoleon against the Austrians under General Gyulai. ... Combatants French Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Austrian Empire Commanders Napoleon III Victor Emmanuel II Franz Joseph Strength 118,600 about 100,000 Casualties 2,492 dead 12,512 wounded 2,922 captured or missing 3,000 dead 10,807 wounded 8,638 captured or missing The Battle of Solferino, also... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1859 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... See Edgar Varèse for the composer Varese is a city in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan. ... Lombardy (Italian: Lombardia) is a region in northern Italy between the Alps and the Po Valley. ... Major places of the Austro-Sardinian war 1859 Austro-Sardinian War was fought by Napoleon III of France and Kingdom of Sardinia against Austria in 1859. ... The Hunters of the Alps (Cacciatori delle alpi) was a special corp created by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1859 to help the regular army to free the northern part of Italy. ... Garibaldi in 1866 Giuseppe Garibaldi (July 4, 1807 – June 2, 1882) was an Italian patriot and soldier of the Risorgimento. ... Como is a city in Lombardy, Italy, 45 km north of Milan; the capital of the province of Como, it borders Lake Como. ...

The prelude

Garibaldi and his Hunters had moved and occupied Varese, in the night of 23 May. The Austrian commander in chief, Ferencz Gyulai, had sent the Urban division to settle the matter. May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ...

In the meantime, on 25 May, 500 Austrian riflemen, 130 Ulans, and two guns from Gallarate attacked a company led by Carlo De Cristoforis at Sesto Calende, but were rejected to Somma. May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ...

The encounter

On 26 May, at dawn, Urban arrived at Varese, where Garibaldi had already prepared the defence. The Italians were deployed as: one battalion (Enrico Cosenz) on the right, two battalions on the left (Giacomo Medici), one battalion in the middle (Nicola Ardoino); two reserve battalions, one at Varese (Nino Bixio), and one at Biumo Superiore. Nino Bixio (2 October 1821-1873) was an Italian soldier born on the 2nd of October 1821. ...

The Austrians opened fire with the guns, then moved three columns against the enemy. Cosenz's battalion attacked the incoming Austrians, and fleed them against the other columns, rejecting the Austrian attack with Medici battalion help. Urban, overestimating the enemy forces, retreated on Malnate. Medici and Ardoino attacked the retreating Austrians, causing more losses.