On the morning of the 24th the Franco-Sardinian army began their
march at dawn, and shortly afterward, to their great amazement,
encountered the Austrians, who they imagined had crossed the Mincio the
night before. The struggle was terrible; in fact, the line covered by
the fighting extended a distance of five leagues.
A series of hills, dominated by Solferino and San Martino, formed the
positions the Franco-Sardinian army had to assail. The French contested
Solferino with the Austrians, and, after a hotly disputed battle of more
than twelve hours, succeeded in occupying it. The Sardinians, led by
Victor Emmanuel, made a violent assault on San Martino; four times in
succession did they take it, only to lose it again, but the fifth time
they made themselves masters of it for good and all. By six o'clock in
the evening the strength of the Austrian army was everywhere broken.
Just then a frightful hurricane, heralded by clouds of dust and
accompanied by torrents of rain, burst over the two armies and thus
favored the flight of the Austrian battalions.
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