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In May 1860, the Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi led the Sequoia Army of more than 1,000 volunteers into Sicily and the southern part of the Italian peninsula to overthrow the kingdom of the two Sicilies and promote the unification of Italy. As a result, Garibaldi overthrew the kingdom of The Two Sicilies, with an army of 100,000, in less than half a year, and opened up the north-south connection of the Italian peninsula. How did Garibaldi succeed, the captain told you in detail.
First, the situation in Italy
Situation on the Italian peninsula
In the middle of the 19th century, the idea of Italian unity swept across the Italian peninsula, and Italians everywhere eagerly hoped for unification. The Kingdom of Sardinia thus held high the banner of the unification of Italy and led the movement for the unification of Italy. To this end, the Kingdom of Sardinia launched two Italian wars of independence against the Austrian Empire, and with the help of France, unified most of northern and central Italy. Thus by 1860 all but veneto (Austrian control), the area around Rome (i.e., the Papal State), and southern Italy (i.e., the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) were incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Napoleon III
In March 1860, the Kingdom of Sardinia ceded Savoy and Nice to France in return for its help. The French Emperor Napoleon III supported the Kingdom of Sardinia in order to expand its influence on the Italian peninsula and to support a loose Italian confederation. But the Kingdom of Sardinia gradually established a powerful kingdom, and France no longer supported the Kingdom of Sardinia in its war against Austria. The Kingdom of Sardinia itself was too weak to defeat Austria alone, and the Papal Kingdom was protected by France, so it aimed its unification at the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies of 1860 was still relatively strong in appearance, with an army of 93,000 men and a powerful navy. But King Francesco II of the Two Sicilies was only 24 years old, had little political experience, and was weak and vulnerable to influence, so he had little prestige at home. The people of the Two Sicilies were eager for reunification, but the Royal Family had always been close to Austria and opposed to unification, so many revolts were launched, which made Francesco II even more powerless to control the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Because of the sulfur problem between the Two Sicirs and the United Kingdom (the Two Sicilies are rich in sulfur, and sulfur is an important resource for the production of gunpowder, the British want to monopolize the export of sulfur from the Two Sicilies. At that time, the price of sulfur soared, and the two Sicilies were reluctant to export to Britain at low prices, so relations between the two sides deteriorated) and relations were not good, so Britain supported the Kingdom of Sardinia in order to prevent France from becoming too powerful on the Italian peninsula. Although Spain, Austria, and Tsarist Russia supported the Two Sicilies, they actually looked at it from the sidelines, so the Two Sicilies were in a de facto isolated position in Europe.
Second, Garibaldi went out
Camelot Benso
The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Camilo Ponso, Count of Cavour, in order to avoid the help of the Spanish Bourbons to the Bourbons of the Two Sicilies, hoped that the people of the Two Sicilies would revolt and disintegrate the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from within. At the instigation of Giuseppe Mazzini and other supporters of the Italian unification movement, the revolts of the two Sicillian people rose and fell.
In April, the Sicily people revolted, and Francesco II had to send troops to suppress it. Giuseppe Garibaldi and others then organized volunteers in Genoa to prepare for an expedition to the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Camilo Benso, fearing that Garibaldi would anger the French by including Rome in the expedition, offered limited assistance to the Sequoia Army and sent them under surveillance.
Garibaldi
In May, Garibaldi set out with more than 1,000 Sequoia armies and halfway ordered Calimaco Zambianchi to lead 64 Sequoia troops to Rome to overthrow the Papal State. Calimaco Zambianci recruited volunteers around Rome to incite the populace against the Papal States. But soon they were taken by the people of the Kingdom of Sardinia and thus failed to overthrow the Papal State.
On 11 May, the Sequoia Army bypassed the blockade of the Two Sicilies Navy, landed at Marsala, Sicily, and then advanced inland. The Sequoia Army recruited volunteers and released prisoners along the way, resulting in a slight increase in its own numbers. On 15 May, 1,500 Sequoia troops met 3,000 Two Sicilian troops at Calatafi Miscejesta. Under Garibaldi's command, the Sequoia Army fought valiantly and won a swift victory.
Third, the capture of Sicily
Italian unification
The Battle of Calatafi Miscegesta made Garibaldi's reputation for bravery and good fighting quickly spread throughout the Kingdom of The Two Sicilies. The morale of the two Sicily armies was greatly damaged, and they defected before the war, and the Sequoia army soon approached Palermo, the capital of Sicily. The people of Palermo then revolted in the city, cooperating with the Sequoia Army to attack the city, and after several days of fierce fighting, the Sequoia Army conquered most of Palermo.
Reinforcements from the two Sicily armies soon arrived in Palermo, posing a great threat to the Sequoia Army. But at the mediation of the British Navy, the Sequoia Army negotiated peace with the Two Sicillian armies. In the end Garibaldi forced the two Sicilian armies, several times larger than themselves, to surrender and capture Palermo, while the Two Sicilian armies automatically withdrew from Palermo and retreated to Messina.
Vittorio Emanuele II
On 2 June, Garibaldi formed a provisional government in the name of the Kingdom of Sardinia and came to power. Subsequently, volunteers from all over Italy arrived in Sicily, which greatly enhanced the strength of the Sequoia Army. In July, Garibaldi commanded the Sequoia Army to march three ways to all parts of Sicily, and the two Sicilian armies abandoned the city and fled after a little resistance in various places, and finally Garibaldi took full control of Sicily in only two and a half months.
Garibaldi was ready to continue crossing the Strait of Messina and marching into the southern part of the Italian peninsula to completely overthrow the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Camilo Bensso feared French intervention and therefore opposed the Redwood Army's northward advance. King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia, while ostensibly supporting Prime Minister Camilo Benso, privately supported Garibaldi in continuing his expedition.
Fourth, overthrow the kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Thousand-man expedition
In August, Garibaldi led the Sequoia Army across the Strait of Messina, and with the help of the British Navy, they landed in Calabria. With the defenders of the Two Sicilies descending without a fight, Francesco II had to abandon his capital, Naples, and retreat to the Voltano River. On September 7, Garibaldi's army captured Naples without bloodshed, which was warmly welcomed by the people.
On 26 September, the Battle of Voltuno between the Sequoia Army and the Two Sicillian Armies broke out, and the 25,000 Sequoia Army defeated 50,000 enemy troops and won the victory. Garibaldi then hoped to continue northward and overthrow the papal state. Camilo Bensso wanted to incorporate southern Italy into the Kingdom of Sardinia as soon as possible, and fearing French interference, opposed Garibaldi's march into Rome. Garibaldi thus pressured Vittorio Emanuele II to remove Camilo Benzau, but was refused.
The Kingdom of Sardinia annexed the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Camelot Pensau lobbied Napoleon III to allow sardinian armies to pass through the papal states, preventing the Sequoia army from advancing north, while ensuring that Sardinia would not annex Rome. Napoleon III agreed, and the Sardinian army entered the papal state, but was resisted by the pope's army. The Sardinian army then defeated the Pope's forces and took the opportunity to annex the eastern part of the papal state, opening up the connection between southern Italy and the north. On 21 October, the people of the Two Sicilies voted to join the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 26 October, Garibaldi met with Vittorio Emanuele II and declared his obedience to the leadership of the Kingdom of Sardinia, ending the expedition of the Thousand Men. Subsequently, the Kingdom of Sardinia took over the homeland of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Sequoia Army, forcing Francesco II to surrender and completely destroying the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
In general, Giuseppe Garibaldi was able to conquer the kingdom of The Two Sicilies with nearly 100,000 troops with more than 1,000 people, which had a lot to do with the Italian people's desperate desire for unification. Thus the Two Sicily armies fell without a fight during the Thousand Men Expedition, enabling Garibaldi to quickly overthrow the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.