Battle of Solferino The Battle of Solferino ( referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino ) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II ( together known as the Franco - Sardinian Alliance ) against the Austrian Army under Emperor Franz Joseph I . It was the last major battle in world history where all the armies were under the personal command of their monarchs . Perhaps 300 , 000 soldiers fought in this important battle , the largest since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 . There were about 130 , 000 Austrian troops and a combined total of 140 , 000 French and allied Piedmontese troops . After this battle , the Austrian Emperor refrained from further direct command of the army . The battle led the Swiss Jean - Henri Dunant to write his book , " A Memory of Solferino " . Although he did not witness the battle ( his statement is contained in an " unpublished page " included in the 1939 English edition published by the American Red Cross ) , he did tour the field following the battle , and was greatly moved by what he saw . Horrified by the suffering of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield , Dunant set about a process that led to the Geneva Conventions and the establishment of the International Red Cross . The battle . The Battle of Solferino was a decisive engagement in the Second Italian War of Independence or Second Independence War , a crucial step in the Italian Risorgimento . The war ' s geopolitical context was the nationalist struggle to unify Italy , long divided between France , Austria , Spain and numerous small Italian principalities . The battle took place near the villages of Solferino and San Martino , Italy , south of Lake Garda between Milan and Verona . The confrontation was between the Austrians on one side , versus the French and Piedmontese forces who opposed their advance . The Austrians were retreating eastwards after their defeat at the Battle of Magenta . In the morning of 23 June , after the arrival of emperor Franz Joseph , they changed direction to counterattack along the river Chiese . At the same time , Napoleon III ordered his troops to advance , causing the battle to occur in an unpredicted location . While the Piedmontese fought the Austrian right wing near San Martino , the French battled to the south of them near Solferino against the main Austrian corps . Opposing forces . The Austrian forces were personally led by their militarily inexperienced 29 - year - old emperor , Franz Joseph , who had fired his commander - in - chief Gyulai after the defeat in Magenta , and were divided into two field armies : 1st Army , containing three corps ( III , IX and XI ) , under Franz von Wimpffen and 2nd Army , containing four corps ( I , V , VII and VIII ) under Franz von Schlick . The French army at Solferino , personally led by Napoleon III , was divided in four Corps plus the Imperial Guard . Many of its men and generals were veterans of the French conquest of Algeria and the Crimean War , but its commander - in - chief had no military experience of note . The Sardinian army had four divisions on the field . Battle commences . According to the allied battleplan formed on 24 June the Franco - Sardinian army moved east to deploy along the right river banks of the Mincio . The French were to occupy the villages of Solferino , Cavriana , Guidizzolo and Medole with respectively 1st Corps ( Baraguey d ' Hilliers ) , 2nd Corps ( Mac - Mahon ) , 3rd Corps ( Canrobert ) and 4th Corps ( Niel ) . The four Sardinian divisions were to take Pozzolengo . After marching a few kilometers , the allies came into contact with the Austrian troops who had entrenched themselves in those villages . In the absence of a fixed battle plan , the battle which took place was uncoordinated , reason why so many became casualties , and fell in to three separate engagements at Medole ( south ) , Solferino ( center ) and San Martino ( north ) . Battle of Medole . The battle started at Medole around 4 am . Marching towards Guidizzolo , the 4th Corps encountered an Austrian infantry regiment of the Austrian 1st Army . General Niel immediately decided to engage the enemy and deployed his forces east of Medole . This move prevented the three corps ( III , IX and XI ) of the Austrian 1st Army from aiding their comrades of the 2nd Army near Solferino , where the main French attacks took place . The French forces were numerically inferior to the Austrians . The 4th Corps contained three infantry divisions under de Luzy , Vinoy and Failly and a cavalry brigade . Niel , holding a thin line of 5 kilometers in length , was able to stop the Austrian assaults on his position by ably warding off attacks and counterattacking at opportune moments . After 15 hours of combat the Austrians retreated , both sides having lost in total nearly 15 , 000 men . Battle of Solferino . Around 4 : 30 am the advance guard of the 1st Corps ( three infantry divisions under Forey , de Ladmirault , Bazaine and a cavalry division under Desvaux ) came in to contact with the Austrian V Corps under Stadion near Castiglione delle Stiviere . Around 5 am 2nd Corps under Mac - Mahon ( two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade under La Motterouge , Decaen and Gaudin ) encountered Hungarian units posted near Ca ’ Morino ( Medole ) . The Austrian forces were three corps strong ( I , V and VII ) and positioned on the towns of Solferino , Cavriana and Volta Mantovana . The Austrians were able to hold these positions all day against repeated French attacks . Near 3 pm the French reserves , formed by Canrobert ’ s 3rd Corps and the Imperial Guard under Regnaud , attacked Cavriana , which was defended by the Austrian I Corps under Clam - Gallas , finally occupying it at 6 pm and thereby breaking through the Austrian center . This breakthrough forced a general retreat of both Austrian armies . Battle of San Martino . On the northern side of the battlefield the Sardinians , 4 divisions strong , encountered the Austrians around 7 am . A long battle erupted over control of Pozzolengo , San Martino and Madonna della Scoperta . Although the Austrian VIII Corps under Benedek was numerically inferior , they were able to ward of all Sardinian attacks until the entire Austrian army retired from the field at the end of day . Results . The battle was a particularly gruelling one , lasting over nine hours and resulting in over 3 , 000 Austrian troops killed with 10 , 807 wounded and 8 , 638 missing or captured . The Allied armies also suffered a total of 2 , 492 killed , 12 , 512 wounded and 2 , 922 captured or missing . Reports of wounded and dying soldiers being shot or bayonet ted on both sides added to the horror . In the end , the Austrian forces were forced to yield their positions , and the Allied French - Piedmontese armies won a tactical , but costly , victory . The Austrians retreated to the four fortresses of the Quadrilateral , and the campaign essentially ended . Aftermath . Napoleon III was moved by the losses , as he had argued back in 1852 " the French Empire is peace " , and for reasons including the Prussian threat and domestic protests by the Roman Catholics , he decided to put an end to the war with the Armistice of Villafranca ( 12 July 1859 ) . The Piedmontese won Lombardy but not Venetia . Camillo Benso , conte di Cavour , resigned . The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861 . This battle would have a long - term effect on the future conduct of military actions . Jean - Henri Dunant , who witnessed the aftermath of the battle in person , was motivated by the horrific suffering of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield to begin a campaign that would eventually result in the Geneva Conventions and the establishment of the International Red Cross . The Movement organized the 150th anniversary commemoration of the battle between the 23 and 27 June 2009 . The Presidency of the European Union adopted a declaration on the occasion stating that " This battle was also the grounds on which the international community of States has developed and adopted instruments of International Humanitarian Law , the international law rules relevant in times of armed conflict , in particular the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 , the 60th anniversary of which will be celebrated this year . " The battlefield today . The area contains a number of memorials to the events surrounding the battles . At San Martino ( now San Martino della Battaglia ) there is a circular tower dominating the area , a memorial to Victor Emmanuel II . It is 70 m high and was built in 1893 . In the town there is a museum , with uniforms and weapons of the time , and an ossuary chapel . At Solferino there is also a museum , displaying arms and mementos of the time , and an ossuary , containing the bones of thousands of victims . Nearby Castiglione delle Stiviere , where many of the wounded were taken after the battle , is the site of the museum of the International Red Cross , focusing on the events that led to the formation of that organization . References in popular culture . Elizabeth Barrett Browning ' s poem " The Forced Recruit at Solferino " commemorates this battle ( Last Poems 1862 ) . Joseph Roth ' s 1932 novel " Radetzky March " opens at the Battle of Solferino . There , the father of the novel ' s Trotta dynasty is immortalized as the Hero of Solferino . The Battle of Solferino was depicted also in a 2006 television drama " Henry Dunant : Du rouge sur la croix " ( English title : " Henry Dunant : Red on the Cross " ) , which tells the story of the signing of the Geneva Conventions and the founding of the Red Cross .