Italské patálie maršála Radeckého (První válka za osvobození Itálie 1848–1849) – Taraba Luboš (2019)

The history of the so-called First War of Italian Unification encompasses a series of dramatic events, starting with the unexpected street battles during the "Five Days of Milan" in March 1848, through the campaign of the Imperial Army led by Field Marshal Václav Radecký of Radče, culminating in the July battle of Custoza, and culminating in the lightning-fast five-day war the following year, when Radecký's opponent, the Sardinian King Charles Albert, was definitively defeated in March 1849 at Novara. Detailed accounts of the campaign's progress and decisive battles are complemented not only by insightful analyses of the organization of both armies, their training, and methods of warfare, but also by captivating characterizations of the main actors in the conflict. The author does not forget the everyday grim face of war, which often affected both ordinary soldiers and local populations equally. He also reminds us that under the Habsburg banners, there were men from Bohemia and Moravia who often sealed their oath to the Austrian Emperor with their own blood, even though future generations were to forget them precisely for this reason.