The Battle of Custoza took place on the 24 June 1866 during the Third Italian War of Independence in the Italian unification process. The Austrian Imperial army, joined by the Venetian Army, jointly commanded by Archduke Albrecht of Habsburg, defeated the Italian army, led by Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora and Enrico Cialdini. Background In June 1866, the German Kingdom of Prussia declared war on the Austrian Empire. The recently formed Kingdom of Italy decided to seize the opportunity and allied with Prussia with the intention of annexing Venetia and thus uniting the Italian Peninsula. The Italians rapidly built up a military force that was twice the size of their Austrian counterparts defending Venetia. Order of Battle Austrian South Army (Field Marshal Archduke Albrecht) V Corps (General Gabriel Freiherr von Rodich) Moering, Piret Brigades VII Corps (General Joseph Freiherr von Maroicic) Scudier, Töply, Welsersheimb Brigades IX Corps (General Ernst Ritter von Hartung) Böck, Kirchsberg, Weckbecker Brigades Reserve Division (General Friedrich Rupprecht) Two weak brigades Cavalry Division (General Ludwig Freiherr von Pulz) Italian Mincio Army (General Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora) I Corps (General Giovanni Durando) 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th Divisions III Corps (General Enrico Morozzo Della Rocca) 7th, 8th, 9th and 16th Divisions, plus an unattached Cavalry Division Battle In the fourth week of May, the Italians divided their forces into two armies: the 11 division strong Army of the Mincio led by General Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora and accompanied by King Vittorio Emanuele II, and the 5 division strong Army of the Po, led by Enrico Cialdini. The Austrians, using the advantage of interior lines and the protection given by the Quadrilateral forts, concentrated against the Army of the Mincio and left a covering force against the Army of the Po. The King's force was to move into the Trentino region, while La Marmora's crossed the Mincio River and invaded Venetia. Meanwhile, the Austrian soldiers under Archduke Albrecht of Habsburg marched west from Verona to the north of the Italians, in an attempt to move behind the Italians so as to cut them off from the rear, and thus, slaughter them. At the start of the 24 June 1866, La Marmora changed the direction of his front, toward the same heights the Austrians were trying to use as a launching point for their attack. Instead of an enveloping battle, the two forces collided head on, with both headquarters trying to