Battle of Santa Lucia

Part of the First Italian War of Independence

Date	6 May 1848
Location	Santa Lucia, Verona, Lombardy-Venetia
Result	Unexploited Austrian victory

Belligerents

Kingdom of Sardinia

Austrian Empire

Commanders and leaders

Carlo Alberto of Savoy

Josef Radetzky

Strength

33,000 infantry
8,500 cavalry
82 cannon

33,000 infantry
9,000 cavalry
84 field artillery
192 fortification cannon

Casualties and losses

110 dead
776 wounded

72 dead
190 wounded
87 prisoners

Coordinates: 45°25′26.1″N 10°56′54.7″E / 45.423917°N 10.948528°E / 45.423917; 10.948528 The battle of Santa Lucia was an episode in the First Italian War of Independence. On 6 May 1848, when the king of Sardinia, Carlo Alberto, sent I Corps of the Sardinian army to assault the fortified positions held before the walls of Verona by the Austrian army under field marshal Josef Radetzky. The Austrian army, though outnumbered, managed to withstand the attack and hold their positions. The battle is named after the Santa Lucia district of Verona. Franz Joseph (then only 17 years old) assisted at the battle.

On 18 March 1848, revolt broke out in Milan. The commander of the Lombard–Venetian army, field marshal Josef Radetzky, had excited the rebellion but did not know how to crush it and was forced to abandon the city of fierce fighting. At the same time many other cities in Lombardy–Venetia and at Como the tire garrison went over to the insurgents. After the battle peace was restore to the region in 1849.

Assembled inside Verona there was still a considerable force, protected by valid fortifications: however, Austrian troops were demotivated after the first defeats (excepting the victory of 11 April over ill-equipped Lombard volunteers nearly Cortenuovo, followed by the killings of nearly 113 civilians). In addition, the possibility of receiving help from General Nugent's troops through Isonzo was obstacled by the presence of Italian rebels in Palmanova, Osoppo and Venice. To make Radetzky situation even worse, political situation after repression of Austrian Revolution led many observers to doubt about field-marshal capacity in maintaining order, and he was labeled as a conservative monarchist by public liberal opinion.

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