Decision in Lombardy: The Battle of Solferino, June 24 1859

Before dawn on 24 June 1859, near the small northern Italian town of Solferino, the largest battle fought on the European continent since the Napoleonic Wars unfolded. This crucial engagement of the Second War of Italian Unification raged across an 18-kilometre front throughout the day and into the evening. Often underappreciated, the battle involved nearly 300,000 men of all arms, commanded— for the last time—by three reigning sovereigns.

Today, the Battle of Solferino–San Martino is widely...