Reasons for the failure of 1848- 1849 revolutions in Italy

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The revolutionaries in Italy had longstanding grievances, some were nationalists and some were liberals. Despite all having different ideas and aims they all resoundingly agreed that Italy needed change. The hopes of the various revolutionary groups had been raised by the election of Pope Pius and Charles Albert the King of Piedmont Sardinia. However, their hopes and resulting revolutions were crushed due to many concerning factors.

A crushing factor of the failure of the revolutions was the trouncing of the Piedmontese army at both the battles of Novara and Custoza. These defeats were resounding as the Piedmontese army had no chance against the might of the super power that was the Austrian army. The Piedmontese army met the forces of Marshal Radetsky at Custoza on the 25th July 1948 but had no support from the other states in Italy. The army were outnumbered and the rebellion was crushed. As a consequence the Piedmontese army lost not just authority but morale. The battle of Novara soon occurred and this resulted in yet another defeat for the Piedmontese army but this time King ...

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