Page 285 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

THE 1866 CAMPAIGN 267

movement started since that night by the Austrians, who had now reached
the western exit of the village, setting their artillery there. Castellini wasted
no time. He placed his three companies of hunters on the line of the outposts
and with his good riflemen opened a well-directed fire. But the Austrians
continued their move upwards, repelling the few defenders that had arrived.
Castellini then, an heroic soldier who since the first shots had been wound-
ed on his face, in the ensuing battle “he stood his ground in the place most
under fire - hit by a second bullet that broke his arm, he took the plunge”:
he ordered a nearby trumpeter of the regular army to give the attack signal.
Out of their concealed positions on the ground, his braves, with levelled
bayonets and the impetus of Garibaldi’s men, rushed forward against the vil-
lage of Vezza; but hindered by the obstacles of the uphill ground, being a tar-
get for close and precise shots ahead from the high ground of the right bank
and the patrol hiding on the left of the river, soon found themselves trapped
in a circle of fire. The heroic Castellini was killed with a shot to the heart,
Lieutenant Prada and Captain Frigerio also fell. The deadly circle was closing
around those braves, hit from a short distance by the artillery and fusillade.
With no help from the mass of Major Caldesi, entangled on their left, they
had to give in, not so much to the number as to the position and superiori-
ty of enemy’s fire. Captain Olivi (who was also a deputy), having taken the
command, ordered immediately the call to retreat. The retreat of the II bat-
talion Bersaglieri took place in an orderly fashion and Adamoli, who was
commander of a company, remembers with a courtesy devoid of arrogance
that the Commando units (a formation used at that time by the Bersaglieri)
were marching eyes right! And this is confirmed by the fact that, during the
long retreat under fire, Garibaldi’s men only left behind 5 prisoners, 2 of
which were wounded. The confusion was felt further behind in the battalion
of Caldesi and that of the National Guard. The enemy, maybe because of pre-
vious orders failed to press on: in fact, they gathered the men and went back
to Vezza and after a short stay they retreated to the Tonale. On the Italian
side, the losses were of 15 dead (among which the 3 officers mentioned ear-
lier) 66 wounded and –as previously stated – 5 prisoners; the Austrians had
about fifty men out of action.
At dawn of the 6 th the Bersaglieri of the II battalion occupied the posi-
tions surrendered after such a hard battle.
After that battle and the Austrian retreat at Ponte di Legno, the
Guicciardini legion – reinforced by about eighty border guards, about sixty