Battle of Custoza (1848) in the context of Charles Albert of Sardinia

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.