<P> The 2nd War of Italian Independence began in April 1859 when the Sardinian Prime Minister Count Cavour found an ally in Napoleon III . Napoleon III signed a secret alliance and Cavour provoked Austria with military maneuvers and eventually created the war in April 1859 . Cavour called for volunteers to enlist in the Italian liberation . The Austrians planned to use their army to beat the Sardinians before the French could come to their aid . Austria had an army of 140,000 men , while the Sardinians had a mere 70,000 . This proved less important than it first appeared , however , as Emperor Franz Josef had chosen his officers based on their aristocratic titles and lineage instead of their personal merit . This strategy was no doubt socially acceptable , but the emperor soon discovered blue blood was a remarkably poor guarantor of military victory . Instead of swiftly entering the capital of Sardinia , the Austrian army crawled , taking almost ten days to travel the 80 kilometres ( 50 mi ) . By this time , the French had reinforced the Sardinians , so the Austrians retreated . Napoleon III 's plans worked and at the battle of Solferino , France defeated Austria and forced negotiations . The settlement , by which Lombardy was annexed to Sardinia , left Austria in control of Venice . Sardinia eventually won the Second War of Italian Unification due to statesmanship instead of armies or popular election . The final arrangement was ironed out by `` back - room '' deals instead of in the battlefield . This was because neither France , Austria , nor Sardinia wanted to risk another battle and could not handle further fighting . All of the sides were eventually unhappy with the final outcome of the 2nd War of Italian Unification and expected another conflict in the future . </P>
<P> The 2nd War of Italian Independence began in April 1859 when the Sardinian Prime Minister Count Cavour found an ally in Napoleon III . Napoleon III signed a secret alliance and Cavour provoked Austria with military maneuvers and eventually created the war in April 1859 . Cavour called for volunteers to enlist in the Italian liberation . The Austrians planned to use their army to beat the Sardinians before the French could come to their aid . Austria had an army of 140,000 men , while the Sardinians had a mere 70,000 . This proved less important than it first appeared , however , as Emperor Franz Josef had chosen his officers based on their aristocratic titles and lineage instead of their personal merit . This strategy was no doubt socially acceptable , but the emperor soon discovered blue blood was a remarkably poor guarantor of military victory . Instead of swiftly entering the capital of Sardinia , the Austrian army crawled , taking almost ten days to travel the 80 kilometres ( 50 mi ) . By this time , the French had reinforced the Sardinians , so the Austrians retreated . Napoleon III 's plans worked and at the battle of Solferino , France defeated Austria and forced negotiations . The settlement , by which Lombardy was annexed to Sardinia , left Austria in control of Venice . Sardinia eventually won the Second War of Italian Unification due to statesmanship instead of armies or popular election . The final arrangement was ironed out by `` back - room '' deals instead of in the battlefield . This was because neither France , Austria , nor Sardinia wanted to risk another battle and could not handle further fighting . All of the sides were eventually unhappy with the final outcome of the 2nd War of Italian Unification and expected another conflict in the future . </P>
who was the prime minister of piedmont who organized the italian unification movement
who was the prime minister of piedmont who organized the italian unification movement
Count Cavour
Count Cavour