Happy Birthday to You, Battle of Solferino

Published June 24, 2009 @ 10:51PM PT

If you're fascinated by relatively senseless nineteenth century Franco-Austrian wars, or the history of the Italian Risorgimento, then you're probably aware that today (at least still today on the west coast) is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Solferino.

For those keeping score at home - on June 24th, 1859, the combined French-Sardinian armies defeated Austrian forces under Emperor Franz Joseph I near the village of Solferino in Italy, thereby a) paving the way for the creation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, and b) marking the last time anyone mentioned the Sardinian military with a straight face.

It was also, in passing, a bloodbath - the Austrians suffered over 20,000 killed, wounded, missing or captured; the French and Sardinians almost 18,000.

A young Geneva businessman named Henry Dunant arrived in Solferino the evening after the battle - horrified by the bloodshed, and the lack of care for the wounded, he organized nearby villagers to provide aid.

Moved by these experiences, Dunant went on to help found what are today the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Which means that today, millions are alive because of what Dunant saw, and did.

[Napoleon III at the Battle of Solferino - Painting by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier]

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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.