Page 131 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

THE 1859 CAMPAIGN 129

The battle of Varese gives us a good example of a defensive battle: the
Hunters of the Alps, well entrenched, after pushing back the enemy with a
considered fire at very short distance, attacked him violently on the front and
the flank, chased him for a few kilometres, re-attacked his rearguards and left
him convinced that he had been confronted by forces more than double than
they were in reality.
There are many writings of witnesses that can vouch for the high spirit of
the volunteers: among these, Cadolini, then a second lieutenant of the 2 nd
company of the Medici regiment, who in his very accurate journal described
how the booming of the enemy’s gun, at the beginning of the action, encour-
aged even more in the hunters the noble and generous senses that had
inspired them to take up arms and how a thrill of joy revealed itself in the
face of all the fighters and their courage in the face of danger. Only one pris-
oner was left in the hands of the enemy, a young soldier interrogated by gen-
eral Urban in person: it is reported that the dignified behaviour of that young
man was admired by the enemies themselves and that Urban – called Austria’s
Garibaldi – because of his deeds in Hungary – declared that if he had had
under him soldiers similar to those of Garibaldi he would have been able to
be victorious over the French and the Piedmontese in fifteen days.
The superb calm that the leader had been able to get from his men in a
few days, making them wait until the enemy was fifty steps away before
opening fire, was highlighted in the way in which the action was disciplined.
This result, that seemed to have been reached since the first battle, was the
aim of the general for the entire campaign, never tiring of emphasising the
necessity not to waste cartridges and only to fire when sure to hit the target,
a necessity repeated at all turns. In all his written orders there are sentences
like these: ” The true patriot soldier does not fire his gun in vain, particular-
ly in the present circumstances”; “great quantity of fire and far away create
confusion in our men and confidence in the enemy that is not wounded; few
shots, ranged with fearlessness and at close distance, wound many enemies,
save on ammunitions, avoid dirtying the guns and terrify the enemy”; “can-
non shots and rockets only serve to frighten children and the bayonet is the
one to decide any question”; “the third (mistake) are the great number of
wasted shots, not only too far, but also without seeing the enemy and often
against our own men who are more advanced, so that one is soon left with
no cartridges, a good excuse for the cowards to retreat”; “ I always witness too
many shots, with little chance to hit the target. I will repeat what I said many