The Campaign of Magenta and Solferino, 1859 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Campaign of Magenta and Solferino, 1859

The campaign of 1859 in Northern Italy was one of the first of the epoch-making, rapidly conducted wars Which marked the latter half of the nineteenth century. It was, moreover, as has been pointed out by the author of Imperial Strategy, the first war in Europe which conveyed some preliminary indication of what railways can accomplish. The success of the French Army in this short and brilliant, if rather lucky, campaign was largely due to the efficient service of the southern rail ways. A study oi' the events of the war and of the various considerations which led to the somewhat nu expected determination to make peace, leads one to the conviction that, while a lavish expenditure on the out break oi war can so far repair the neglect of the years of peace and plenty that armies may be improvised for a campaign of short duration, neither hurried organisa tion nor make-shift armies are equal to a protracted efiort, or to Oppose the forces of those who have used the long years of peace to prepare for the days of war.

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