osition they found it in the
possession of a strong force of the enemy. On the right, however,
Custoza and the heights between it and Somma Campagna had not been
occupied by the Austrians. Here La Marmora placed the flower of his
army, the Sardinian and Lombard Grenadiers, the latter commanded by
Prince Amedeo. The fighting continued through the day over very
widely distributed ground, but from about nine in the morning the
supreme interest was concentrated at and near Custoza, in which the
Archduke promptly detected the turning-point of the battle. To wrest
Custoza from the hold of the Italians was to the Austrians on the 24th
of June 1866, what the taking of the crest of Solferino had been to
the French on the 24th of June 1859. La Marmora in person led the
Grenadiers into action; they proved worthy of their reputation, but
after losing a great many men, Prince Amedeo being among the wounded,
they were obliged to retreat. At about midday, however, the Italian
prospects improved so much that in the opinion of Austrian military
writers, with moderate reinforcements they would have had a strong
probability of winning the battle. La Marmora saw the importance of
getting fresh troops into the field, but, instead of sending for the
divisions under Bixio and Prince Humbert, which since eight a.m. had
been fretting in inaction close by, at Villafranca, he rode himself to
Goito, a great distance away, to look after the reserves belonging to
the 2nd _corps d'armee_; a task which any staff officer could have
performed as well. This inexplicable proceeding left the army without
a commander-in-chief. The generals of division followed their
individual inspirations, Govone, Pianel and Cugia especially
distinguishing themselves: it is sad to think that death has removed
these three officers from the Italian ranks. But the Austrians fatally
gained ground, and as the afternoon closed in the Archduke began to
feel sure that the Italian reinforcements whose arrival he had so much
feared, were never coming. He therefore prepared for the final effort
which was to give him the well-deserved honours of the day. Towards
seven o'clock in the evening, his soldiers succeeded in storming the
heights of Custoza, and Austria could write a second battle of that
name among her victories.

The Italians lost 720 killed, 3112 wounded and 3608 prisoners. The
Austrian loss was 960 killed, 3690 wounded and 1000 prisoners. Both
sides were much tried by the