Battle of Calatafimi

Battle of Calatafimi
	Part of The Expedition of the Thousand
	; Skirmish at Calatafimi
Date	15 May 1860
Location	Calatafimi, Sicily
Result	Two Sicilies forces retreat ; Garibaldi takes Calatafimi
Belligerents
Red Shirts	Two Sicilies
Commanders and leaders
Giuseppe Garibaldi	Francesco Landi
Strength
1,200	2,000
Casualties and losses
32 killed; 160-182 wounded	36 killed ; 148 wounded ; 6 captured; 1 gun captured

The Battle of Calatafimi was fought on the 15 May 1860 between Giuseppe Garibaldi's volunteers and the troops of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies at Calatafimi, Sicily, as part of the Expedition of the Thousand (Italian: I Mille). The battle was the first of Garibaldi's victory during his invasion of Sicily in 1860 and saw his 'Thousand' defeat a larger Neapolitan army sent from Palermo to block the roads to the Sicilian capital.

Prelude

Four days prior to the battle, the Mille had landed at Marsala, on board the ships Il Piemonte and Il Lombardo. Francesco Crispi, among others, landed before the Mille on Sicily to raise support among the locals for the Mille. On the 14 May at Salemi, Garibaldi announced that he was assuming dictatorship over Sicily in the name of King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia.

Battle

The Battle of Calatafimi took place on the hill Pianto Romano, near the namesake town. The battle was inconclusive, but served to boost the morale of the Mille and, at the same time, depress the Neapolitans, who, ill guided with their often corrupted officers, started to feel themselves abandoned. During the battle, Garibaldi is said to have uttered the famous battle cry "Qui si fa l'Italia o si muore" ("Here we make Italy, or we die").

Due to the battle, the ranks of the Mille enlarged to 1,200 with local men joining.

Aftermath

With the help of a popular insurrection, on the 27 May they laid siege to Palermo, the island's capital. The city was defended by some 16,000 men, but they were under the confused and timid direction of general Ferdinando Lanza, aged 75.

While two columns of Garibaldines attacked the external perimeter, part of the population, strengthened by 2,000 prisoners liberated from the local jails, rose against the garrison. When his troops were driven back from most of their positions, Lanza ordered them to bombard the city for three days, provoking the deaths of 600 civilians. By the 28 May Garibaldi controlled much of the city and declared the Bourbon authority deposed. The following day, a desperate Neapolitan counteroffensive was driven back, and Lanza asked for a truce. However, when a reinforcement party of well equipped and well-trained troops arrived in the city, the situation became very serious for Garibaldi, who was saved only by Lanza's decision to surrender. Through the mediation of a British admiral, an armistice was signed and the Neapolitan fleet abandoned the port.

Sources

^ ^a ^b ^c Rüstow, Wilhelm (1867). Die Feldherrnkunst des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts. Zurich.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Hartwig, Otto (1869). Aus Sicilien: Vol.II. Kassel.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c Trevelyan, George Macaulay (1912). Garibaldi and the Thousand. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c von Meerheimb, Richard (1865). Von Palermo bis Gaëta. Dresden.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c Esercito. Corpo di stato maggiore. Ufficio storico. (1982). Il Generale Giuseppe Garibaldi. Rome.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Deutsche Revue (1900). Deutsche Revue: Vol.XXV. Deutschland.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c Forbes, Charles Stuart (1861). The campaign of Garibaldi in the Two Sicilies. Edinburgh.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Prelude

Battle

Aftermath

Sources

See also