Custoza: Memories of an Ex-Grenadier

This is a first-hand account of the Battle of Custoza in 1866 in the third and final War of Italian Independence. It was written by an officer in a grenadier unit in the Royal Italian Army and is translated here into English for the first time. In June of 1866, the Kingdom of Prussia declared war on the Austrian Empire. The recently- formed Kingdom of Italy immediately decided to seize this opportunity to annex Venetia by allying itself with Prussia and invading this last remaining region in the unification of the Italian Peninsula. Thus, on June 23, 1866, units of the Royal Italian Army crossed the Mincio River into Venetia. The Battle of Custoza, the first battle in this war, took place the very next day when the Italians met the Austrian Imperial Army commanded by Archduke Albrecht.