The Battlefield.

The ground over which the decisive battle was fought consisted for the most part of rolling meadowland, interspersed here and there with large farms and villages, each of which was surrounded in turn by cornfields, vineyards and orchards. The northern sector of the battlefield was confined by Lake Garda, and ran from Rivoletta to Peschiera, while to the south it terminated in a rough line running from Castel Goffredo to Volta. To the west, or allied side of the battlefield, the ground rose from Lonato in a series of rounded hills and hummocks towards the town of Castiglione. These heights then curved around towards the east, becoming steeper as they approached the villages of Solferino, Cavriana and Volta, before petering out at the banks of the Mincio River. To the south west of Cavriana the ground fell away to the plain of Medole, which was excellent manoeuvring country, especially for cavalry.

The village of Solferino itself was conspicuous from miles around owing to its medieval tower, the Spia d’Italia (Spy of Italy), perched on the summit of the Bocca di Solferino, from the top of which the whole countryside could be viewed. At the entrance to the village from the west stood a walled cemetery and the church of San Pietro. A little to the north, separated from the village by a steep sided cutting was a small hill planted with Cyprus trees, the Mont des Cyprées, which covered the approaches to the cemetery and village from that direction. These elevations, together with the walled village of Cavriana to the south east, also situated on high ground and covered by the slopes of Mount Fontana, formed natural redoubts. From Solferino, in the direction of Rivoltella, the landscape was mainly flat with the exception of two ridges, one at San Martino, and the other at Pozzolengo. About one mile to the north of the village of San Martino the main railway line from Milan to Verona crossed the plain.

Considering the fact that the Austrians knew the ground well, having carried out manoeuvres in this area on numerous occasions, and benefiting from entrenchments already prepared during these military exercises, it seems strange that they apparently had no measured range markers already in place for homing-in their artillery?[1]

Click to enlarge original map 
(Bodlean Library)

 

Views from the Spy of Italy

Looking north across Castle at Solferino . The San Martino tower is just off the right hand edge of the photograph. Lake Garda and the Alps in the distance.

Looking South/West. Mont des Cyprées in the foreground on the right.

Looking South.

Looking South/East.