On June 8th Victor Emmanuel and Napoleon III made their triumphal entry
into Milan--now freed from the Austrian yoke. On the same day a French
corps repulsed the Austrians at Melegnano, while Garibaldi entered
Bergamo from the other side. Garibaldi, who had been the last to leave
Lombardy in 1848, was now the first to set foot in its territory in
1859. Since May 23d he had led his own Cacciatori to the Lombard shores
of Lake Maggiore, had defeated the Austrians at Varese, entered Como,
routed the enemy afresh at San Fermo, and was now proceeding to Bergamo
and Brescia, with the intention of reaching the Trentine Alps, to cut
off the enemy's retreat.
After the Battle of Magenta, Gyulai had been dismissed from the command,
and his post was assumed by the Emperor Francis Joseph himself, assisted
by the aged Marshal Hess. On the night of June 23d the retreating
Austrians crossed the Mincio, but a few hours after retraced their steps
and took up their position on the hills to the south of the Lake of
Garda.
Pages:
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705