The Battle of Calatafimi was fought on 15 May 1860 between

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

's Redshirts and the troops of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

at Calatafimi,

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, as part of the

Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand () was an event of the unification of Italy that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto al Mare near Genoa and landed in Marsala, Sicily, in order to conquer the Ki ...

(Italian: ''I Mille''). The battle was the first of Garibaldi's victory during his invasion of

in 1860 and saw his 'Thousand' defeat a larger Neapolitan army sent from

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

to block the roads to the Sicilian capital.

Prelude

Four days before the battle, the ''Mille'' had landed at

Marsala Marsala (, ; ) is an Italian comune located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth largest in Sicily.The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibal ...

, on board the ships ''Il Piemonte'' and ''Il Lombardo''.

Francesco Crispi Francesco Crispi (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architect ...

, among others, landed before the Mille on Sicily to raise support among the locals for the ''Mille''. Garibaldi took the direct route to Palermo via Salemi. Paolo Ruffo di Castelcicala, commanding Palermo, sent Landi west, and Mechel south, in an attempt to intercept Garibaldi. Landi deployed his 2,700 men on the terraced hill Piante dei Romani, consisting of three battalions, with a squadron of light horse and four cannon. Garibaldi had 2,000 men that included the ''squadre'' recruited by Giuseppe La Mesa and Rosalino Pilo. Garibaldi would have to attack uphill. Alexander Dumas and Giustiniano Lebano played a key role in supplying Garibaldi with ammunition for the battle

Battle

The battle started at 1.30 pm and was over in three hours after Landi's men ran out of ammunition and retreated. The battle was inconclusive, but served to boost the morale of the Mille and, at the same time, depress the Neapolitans, who, ill led with their often corrupted officers, started to feel themselves abandoned. During the battle, Garibaldi is said to have uttered the famous battle cry "''Qui si fa l'Italia o si muore''" ("Here we make Italy, or we die").

Aftermath

On 17 May, following the battle's success, Garibaldi continued his advance on Palermo. With the help of a popular insurrection, on 27 May Garibaldi began the Siege of Palermo, the island's capital. The city was defended by some 18,000 men, but they were under the confused and timid command of general Ferdinando Lanza, aged 75, and on 30 May Garibaldi's forces took Palermo.

Prelude

Battle

Aftermath

Sources

See also