The War's Final Chapter
After
Rafaldini’s capture of Wien he was in a quandary as to where to go next. The Austrians were still unwilling to make any serious peace overtures, so he was forced to drive the point home. He chose as his next target, Pest-Buda.
Meanwhile
Salerno continued to struggle with his capture of Graz, so additional troops were being sent to his aid. Even with the additional troops it would take Salerno 3 months to defeat the Austrians.
Victory however did finally come for
Salerno and Graz finally fell to the Italians in mid-September. Of course in the time
Salerno spent fighting at Graz,
Rafaldini had captured Judenburg, Sankt Pölten, Wien, Bratislava, Nitra, Pest-Buda, and Székesfehérvár.
Austrian resistance now centered around protecting Bohemia in the north, and recapturing Wien in the center. Fortunately the Austrians were so preoccupied with reaching Wien that they failed to notice that
Rafaldini was not just galloping around the countryside, but instead was attempting to entrap the last of Austria’s armies (outside of Bohemia). He succeeded in his efforts and by November 11, 1839 he had the Austrians pinned down at Gyõr.
With the victory at Gyõr, the only Austrian troops left were in Bohemia, and
Salerno and
Rafaldini both headed north the hopes of isolating the last of the Austrian army.
Of course the Austrians continued to press for peace, but
Rafaldini called the terms they offered offensive and insulting.
At this point none truly knew the depths of his ambitions for Italy, but they soon would…
Rafaldini sent his own proposal to the Austrians, but was immediately rejected, and so the war drug on.
By the end of November, Italian reinforcements from France had pinned down the main Austrian force at Budejovice.
The Italians were winning at Budejovice, and their cavalry had not yet arrived. Once they did, it was inevitable that the Austrian army would be annihilated, and both
Rafaldini and the Austrians knew this.
Rafaldini sent one final proposal before he entered the battle, and this time the Austrians accepted.