Solferino was the largest battle fought on Italian soil before the First World War, and the culmination of the 1859 campaign in northern Italy. Chiefly remembered today as the catalyst for Henri Dunant establishing the Red Cross, an up-to-date military account of the campaign is badly needed. In this tremendously detailed study the author, a lifelong student of the battle, reassesses the evidence based on an enormous amount of original archival research. Rather than relying on official reports and histories, which were often politically-driven, the author has gone back to the archives, and uncovered, for instance, the role played by cavalry and artillery during the campaign. Decision on the Mincio is supported by an array of illustrations, highly detailed maps and orders of battle.
