the military organization of Italy, as its constitution is of that of
the modern Italian kingdom. The Piedmontese have long borne a high
reputation for their military qualities, a reputation shared by the
rulers of the house of Savoy (q.v.), many of whom showed special ability
in preserving the independence of their small kingdom between two such
powerful neighbours as France and Austria. During the wars of the French
Revolution Piedmont was temporarily absorbed into the French republic
and empire. The Italian troops who fought under Napoleon proved
themselves, in many if not most cases, the best of the French allies,
and Italy contributed large numbers of excellent general officers to the
_Grande Armee_.
After 1815 various causes combined to place Piedmont (Sardinia) at the
head of the national movement which agitated Italy during the ensuing
thirty years, and bring her in direct antagonism to Austria. Charles
Albert, her then ruler, had paid great attention to the army, and when
Italy rose against Austria in 1848 he took the field with an excellent
force of nearly 70,000 men. At the outset fortune favoured the arms of
Italy; but the genius and energy of Radetzky, the veteran Austrian
commander, turned the tide, and in the summer of 1849 after many
battles the Piedmontese army was decisively defeated at Novara, and
her king compelled to sue for peace. Charles Albert abdicated in
favour of his son Victor Emanuel, a prince who had already
distinguished himself by his personal gallantry in the field. Under
his care the army soon recovered its efficiency, and the force which
joined the allied armies in the Crimea attracted general admiration
from the excellence of its organization, equipment and discipline. In
1859 Piedmont again took up arms against Austria for the liberation of
Italy; but this time she had the powerful assistance of France, and
played but a subordinate part herself. In this campaign the Sardinian
army was composed of one cavalry and five infantry divisions, and
numbered about 60,000 combatants. By the peace of Villafranca, Italy,
with the exception of Venetia, was freed from the Austrians, and
Lombardy was added to Piedmont. The revolutionary campaign of
Garibaldi in the following year united the whole peninsula under the
rule of Victor Emanuel, and in 1866, when Italy for the third time
took up arms against Austria--this time as the ally of Prussia--her
forces had risen to nearly 450,000, of whom about 270,000 actually
took the field. But in quality these were far from being equal to the
old Piedmontese army; and the northern army, under the personal
command of the king, was decisively defeated at Custozza by the
archduke Albert of Austria.
The existing organization of the Italian army is determined by the
laws of 1873, which made universal liability to service the basis of
recruiting. The territorial system has not, however, been adopted at
the same time, the materials of which the Italian army is composed
varying so much that it was decided to blend the different types of
soldiers so far as possible by causing them to serve together. The
colonial wars in which Italian troops have taken part have been marked
with great disasters, but relieved by the gallantry of the officers
and the rank and file.
RUSSIAN ARMY