THE ITALIAN WARS OF INDEPENDENCE: TOWARDS PASTRENGO

The map showing the road from Goito to Pastrengo

Here you can see the Goito area better.It was from here than Charles Albert's army marched towards Pastrengo

Papal officers in the en virons of Rome 1848 . This army was crucial to what would happen after Pastrengo

Neopolitan army infantry of 1848. It is difficult to find illustrations of the Kingdom of Naples army as regards 1848 as opposed to the 1860's struggle with Garibaldi but the NYC's excellent image site provided a lot of material likewise with the pre-repubblican Papal army. Below is a volunteer of King Charles Alberts army operating in the Tyrol.

After taking the bridges on the Mincio Charles Albert sent volunteer units to the Tyrol to try to cut off the supply to the Austrians in Verona but this had little effect. Charles Albert didn't know if the Austrian withdrawal from the Mincio was leading him into a trap nevertheless the King had got half his army over the Mincio.His main and best objective would be to cut Radetsky's lines of communication and supply. He had left this to his Papal and Neopolitan allies . The Papal troops under Durando and the Neopolitans under Pepe.

On the 22nd of April Durando arrived at Ostiglia. The idea was that the Papal troops and the Neopolitans would take the bridges over the Piave and Brenta thus stopping fresh Austrian troops arriving to face Albert on the plains around Verona.This was slow though as both armies did not show much dash on their way to the bridgeheads.

On the 24th of April the King ordered a council of war at Volta. There would be a siege on the Austrian fortrss at Peschiera plus an operation against the area of Verona (above is a typical volunteer of the times). He surrounded Peschiera on Lake Garda with the Pinerolo brigade. Beyond this blockade he placed his army to stop any relief coming to Peschiera. But the real problem was not the fortress at Peschiera but how to get Radetsky out of impregnable Verona.
The Rideau of Radetsky at Verona was a worrying thing.The rideau was that of reducing the risk to Verona from cannon fire from the high ground slightly above it.a kind of 1848 Dien Bien Phu.

He had made the fortress city of Verona untakable.
But and this was a big but, he was short of provisions
In the Alpine town of Trent was General Walden.
He was supposed to be Radetsky's life-line.
He had 6,000 men circa defending roads and villages. The orders were to keep the supply coming.
Walden destroyed nearly all the bridges and there was only one point where anything could get through and that was Rivoli,the plateau of Rivoli.
The plateau of Rivoli commands the narrow pass where the river and the road run very close to each other ; taking it would have meant the end of the war but the Italians did not have enough men in all reality.

radetsky had built one bridge of Pontoons for himself at Ponton and had occupied the hill village of PASTRENGO. This was to form a link with Walden at Sega.
The Austrians at Pastrengo were under Wohlgemuth.

BUT THE iTALIANS KNEW NOTHING OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND THE BATTLE OF pASTRENGO HAPPENED BY PURE CHANCE.

TWO BRIGADES WERE MARCHING TO TAKE UP POSITIONS AROUND PESCHIERA.

they passed through the village of "Our Lady of the Snow" when they were fired on by a few Austrians who then retired rapidly towards Mount Raso a steep hill that covers the road to Pastrengo. The Piedmontese under General Bes chased the Austrians . He attacked with three battalions and six guns. The Austrians fought back and were joined by troops of the FIRST OGULINERS. Bullets flew but no one managed to take Mount Raso. The Austrians had withdrawn to the environs of the village of Pastrengo.

The Austrians had taken Bussolengo a village not far from Verona ( I marched along the main road once and a quick pace and cleared it in under an hour).

On the 18th of April the Piedmont left wing of 18,000 strong and only a few miles from the 7,00 Austrians at Pastrengo and more or less the same from Bussolengo decided to hit both austrian groups.