Battle of Custoza (1866)

Battle of Custoza

The charge of the 13th Regiment of Austrian Uhlans.

Date	24 June 1866
Location	Custoza, Venetia
Result	Austrian victory

Belligerents

Kingdom of Italy

Austrian Empire

Commanders and leaders

Alfonso La Marmora

Archduke Albrecht

Strength

120,000
Of which only 65,000 crossed the Mincio

75,000

Casualties and losses

8,147 total:
720 killed
3,112 wounded

4,315 captured

5,650 total:
960 killed
3,690 wounded

1,000 captured

8,147 total:
720 killed
3,112 wounded

5,650 total:
960 killed
3,690 wounded

The Battle of Custoza took place on June 24, 1866 during the Third Italian War of Independence in the Italian unification process.

The Austrian Imperial army, joined by the Venetian Army, jointly commanded by Archduke Albrecht of Habsburg, decisively defeated the Italian army, led by Alfonso Ferrero la Marmora and Enrico Cialdini, despite the Italians' strong numerical advantage.

In June 1866, the German Kingdom of Prussia declared war on the Austrian Empire. The recently formed Kingdom of Italy decided to seize the opportunity and allied with Prussia with the intention of annexing Venetia and thus uniting the Italian Peninsula. The Italians rapidly built up a military force that was twice the size of their Austrian counterparts defending Venetia.

Austrian South Army (Field Marschal Archduke Albrecht)

Italian Mincio Army (General Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora)

In the fourth week of May, the Italians divided their forces into two armies: the 11 division strong Army of the Mincio led by General Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora and accompanied by King Vittorio Emanuele II, and the 5 division strong Army of the Po, led by Enrico Cialdini. The Austrians, using the advantage of interior lines and the protection given by the Quadrilateral forts, concentrated against the Army of the Mincio and left a covering force against the Army of the Po.

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