Chapter 48: Chapter 48 – Luring in the Sardinians

In Milan, the situation had become very unfavorable to Austria: the Austro-Sardinian War which was historically known as the “First Italian War of Independence” was definitely not as simple as what had been recorded in the history books. There were rebels within the city of Milan while invading Sardinian forces were marching towards Milan.

Two of the three divisions from the advance reinforcements sent by the Vienna government had stayed behind to suppress the rebellion in Venice, leaving just a single division to advance towards the front in Milan. Adding the soldiers already stationed in Milan, the total number of soldiers available to Marshal Radetzky were less than 30,000.

Thanks to the division of 15,000 soldiers which had reached Milan, Marshal Radetzky’s army was twice as strong as what it had been historically. Otherwise, the result would’ve been the same: the Austrian army would’ve been forced to retreat to give up Milan to prevent the enemy entering Venice and the rest of Austria.

 

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Milan HQ

Taking a closer look at the map on the table and considering the international situation, Marshal Radetzky made a surprising decision at the tactical meeting.

“Order the troops to be ready; we will give up Milan by the end of this month!”

“What?! Lord Marshal, you can't be serious?!” Major General Wenzel asked incredulously.

Marshal Radetzky replied calmly, “Major General Wenzel, I'm always serious during war, so let me assure you that I am very sure of what I am doing!”

“But Lord Marshal, we have not yet reached the point of needing to retreat. Once the rebellion in Venice is suppressed, our reinforcements will arrive, and it will be easy for us to block the Sardinians!” Major General Wenzel said, urgently.

Major General Wenzel was not the only one with this view, as many other senior officers present also found it hard to accept Marshal Radetzky’s plan: why should they retreat if they could win?

“The answer is quite simple; we can block the invasion of the Sardinians, but due to the internal troubles, we have no way to decisively defeat them. The rebels in Milan and the surrounding regions have colluded with the Sardinians, so if we focus our attention on a drawn-out battle with them, the rebellion will continue to grow.

There are also the political and economic aspects, but I don’t have the time to explain it to you. All you need to know is that His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince Regent, and the Cabinet have left me in-charge of the Italian front, so you need to stop asking questions and just do as I say!” Marshal Radetzky replied, sternly.

Giving up Milan and the region of Lombardy would put him under a lot of pressure and even cause a series of ripple effects. Under normal circumstances, no official would be willing to bear this kind of responsibility. Marshal Radetzky dared to do so because of the order from the Vienna government: “as long as they achieved the final victory, he need not care about the temporary losses of a few cities.”