Hunters of the Alps
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
in Cuneo
Cuneo
Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...
on February 20, 1859 to help the regular Sardinian
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
army to free the northern part of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in the Second Italian War of Independence.
As their name suggests, they operated in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. Among their victories in the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859, were those over the Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
ns at Varese
Battle of Varese
The Battle of Varese was fought on May 26, 1859 at Varese . It was an engagement of the Second Italian War of Independence, fought between the Italian volunteers formation of the Hunters of the Alps, led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, against Austrian troops...
and Como.
They also saw action during the Third Italian War of Independence
Third Italian War of Independence
The Third Italian War of Independence was a conflict which paralleled the Austro-Prussian War, and was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire.-Background:...
in 1866, fighting on the Prussian side against the Austrians. On this occasion, the 40,000 volunteers showed their value by achieving the only Italian victory during the conflict at the battle of Bezzecca
Battle of Bezzecca
The Battle of Bezzecca was fought on July 21, 1866 between Italy and Austria, in the course of the Third Italian Independence War. The Italian force, the Hunters of the Alps, were led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, and had invaded Trentino as part of the general Italian offensive against the Austrian...
(July 21 1866), and thus nearly reaching the town of Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
.
See also
- Invasion of Trentino (1866)Invasion of Trentino (1866)The Invasion of Trentino was a series of military operation undertaken by the Kingdom of Italy against the Austrian Empire during the Third Italian War of Independence of 1866, which was part of the larger Austro-Prussian War.-Background:...
- AlpiniAlpiniThe Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....
- Cacciatori d'AfricaCacciatori d'AfricaThe Cacciatori d'Africa was a title given to Italian infantry and mounted infantry units raised for colonial service in Africa.First raised in 1887, three battalions of infantry, plus a squadron of mounted Cacciatori, were sent to Eritrea the same year to form part of the Corpo Speciale per L'Africa...
- Battle of Adua