Army of the Two Sicilies in the context of "War of the Polish Succession"

The Royal Italian Army (Italian: Regio Esercito, lit. 'Royal Army', RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree creating the Army of the Two Sicilies. This newly created army's first task was to defend its territorial gains against Legitimists in southern Italy, who remained loyal to Francis II of the Two Sicilies. The Army of the Two Sicilies also waged what many modern historians now consider a civil war against outlaws and Bourbonist guerrillas, such as the famous Michelina Di Cesare, and against other Italian states' armies during the continuing wars of unification. After the monarchy ended in 1946, the army changed its name to become the modern Italian Army (Esercito Italiano).

Within the Royal Italian Army were the elite mountain military corporals, the Alpini. The Alpini, which remain in existence today, are the oldest active mountain infantry in the world. Their original mission was to protect and secure Italy's northern mountain border that aligns with France and Austria. This group emerged in World War I when a three-year campaign was fought against the Austro-Hungarian Kaiserjäger and the German Alpenkorps. In World War II, the Alpini fought alongside Axis forces in the Eastern Front as well as the Balkans campaign.

The First Italian War of Independence (Italian: Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Risorgimento or unification of Italy, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conservative states from 23 March 1848 to 22 August 1849 in the Italian peninsula. The conflict was preceded by the outbreak of the Sicilian revolution of 1848 against the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. It was precipitated by riots in the cities of Milan (Five Days) and Venice, which rebelled against Austria and established governments.

The part of the conflict which was fought by King Charles Albert of Sardinia against Austria in Northern Italy was a royal war and consisted of two campaigns. In both campaigns, Sardinian forces attacked the Austrian Empire and after initial victories, Sardinia was decisively defeated and lost the war. The decisive events of the first and second campaigns were the battles of Custoza and Novara respectively. At the beginning of the royal war, Sardinia was supported by the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, though both quickly withdrew from the conflict. However, volunteers from the Papal and Neapolitan armies joined the other Italian volunteers and fought against Austria.