Bersaglieri del Po – Wikipedia

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I Bersaglieri del Po They were a military unit composed of volunteers from Ferrara, organized and commanded by Count Ferrarese Tancredi Mosi Trotti Este; He participated in the First War of Italian Independence, fighting in Veneto in the ranks of the Papal Army (which however had disobeyed the call of Pope Pius IX and decided to continue the war) and then for the Roman Republic, participating in the defense of Ancona. The city of Ferrara has dedicated them a street in the city center.

Epigraph on the facade of Palazzo Trotti Mosti in Corso Ercole I d’Este who recalls the place where the Po bersaglieri were collected under the command of Tancredi Mosti Trotti Este in 1848

Tancredi Mosti Trotti Este formed the Bersaglieri del Po in view of the First War of Independence. The unit, consisting of 129 men [first] equipped with carabine, [2] It was framed in the division of pontifical francs, commanded by the Neapolitan general Andrea Ferrari, in turn depending on the Pontifical General Giovanni Durando.

The Bersaglieri left Ferrara on April 12, 1848; After stopping four days in Francolino, on April 16 they crossed the Po and placed themselves under the orders of General Ferrari. [2]

The Veneto campaign began with feral news. The Roman shipping army was achieved by the news of the “non -semel” alternation of Pope Pius IX of 29 April, with which the Pope decided to disengage from the war, immediately followed by the Grand Duke Tuscan Leopold II and the Neapolitan king Ferdinand II of Bourbone. Cionondimeno, the Roman troops of Durando, like a small contingent of the Neapolitan ones commanded by Guglielmo Pepe, decided to remain in Veneto to fight and defend the free Venetian cities.

Battles of Montebelluna and Cornuda [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Ferdinando Bucci, The battle of Cornuda

The Po Bersaglieri were engaged in the early May in Montebelluna in a series of clashes in which the Roman generals, Giovanni Durando and Andrea Ferrari, were unable to coordinate and allowed the Austrian general Nugent to reach Vicenza and then Verona.

At the beginning of the clashes, the bersaglieri formed an advanced position in Onigo. [3] They were the first to contact the enemy, just before evening; [4] The Austrian attack was so pressing that the Bersaglieri had to fall back on Cornuda. [5]

On 8 May the forces of Ferrari, including the Bersaglieri del Po, fought in the battle of Cornuda, where Count Carlo Fienti fell; Also on this occasion the Austrians had the best due to the scarce coordination of the Roman commanders, with the non -arrival of the troops of Durando. At the end of the battle Ferrari retired to Treviso, that his forces had to defend on 12 May from the attack of the Austrians.

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The two battles of Vicenza [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Folded up on Vicenza, with the help of the local civic guard, the Pontifical Operation Corps defended the Venetian city on May 20 and then again on May 24 (the so -called “five days of Vicenza”), managing to reject the attacks of the Austrians, who finally raised the threat.

On June 10, the Bersaglieri participated in the battle of Vicenza. They were lined up on the Barbato hill, outside the city, together with the soldiers of the Fusinato brothers; [6] The Italian troops were forced to take back and defend the city. On this occasion the Bersaglieri were placed in reserve; They intervened trying to recover, together with the Italian Tyrolean company and that of Italian Swiss, Casa Nievo, occupied by the Austrians, remaining under the enemy fire for hours. [7]

Following the battle, Josef Radetzky contracted with Durando an honorable surrender: the Roman operation body could have returned behind the Po, but on the other hand he would have abstained from participating in the clashes for three months.

The Po Bersaglieri returned to Ferrara on June 16. In total, they lost 25% of the actual. [8]

Defense of Ancona [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The Bersaglieri were reconstituted on the occasion of the proclamation of the Roman Republic (1849). Under the command of the major C. France [9] and of the commander of Piazzaforte General Livio Zambeccari, participated in the defense of Ancona from the siege of the Austrians of General Franz von Wimpffen.

From 24 May to 19 June 1849 the besiegers died out with scarce means but with value the stronghold. The Po bersaglieri were engaged both in sorties against the enemy and in the fires shutdown. [ten] In the end, the city capitulated.

  1. ^ Scalchi, p. 85.
  2. ^ a b Fish, pp. 199-200.
  3. ^ Scalchi, p. 21.
  4. ^ Scalchi, p. 75.
  5. ^ Scalchi, p. 76.
  6. ^ Scalchi, p. 98.
  7. ^ Scalchi, p. 104.
  8. ^ Fish, p. 201.
  9. ^ Spartaco, p. 58.
  10. ^ Scalchi, p. 521.
  • Dino Pesci, Statistics of the Municipality of Ferrara compiled above official documents: with the addition of historical notes around Ferrara , Taddei, 1870
  • Luigi Scalchi, History of the wars of Italy from 18 March 1848 to 28 August 1849 , typography of G. Chiassi, 1851.
  • Enrico Spartaco, Livio Zambecari , 1861.
  • Bersaglieri del Po , history of the unit from the site of a historical reconstruction organization.

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