Street Fighting in Milan

The five days of Milan was a time of intense street fighting in Milan, a city in Italy, between the people of Milan against the Milanese and Austrians. The Milanese and the Austrians fought under the command of the old marshal, Radetzky. This fighting resulted in the Austrian withdrawal from the city. Before the Five days of Milan, the tensions between the Austrian administration and the Milanese Citizens was growing from up to several months before the Five Days.

In September of 1847, the police shot at a gathering of people honoring the new archbishop of Milan, someone named Romilli. They also began to sing hymns on behalf of Pope Pius IX. In January of 1848, the Milanese stopped using tobacco, a main trading good, which had brought in a lot of income for the state. Radetzky ordered his soldiers to smoke large cigars in the street, which was a “provocative move” that led to fights with the population, which ended with leaving 6 dead and 50 injured (Ohio.edu). When the news of the revolution in Vienna along with the dismissal of Metternich got to Milan on March 17th, generating a lot of political excitement, along with hope. After this news, a group of young free “radicals” decided to organize a big demonstration demanding free press, along with the establishment of a civilian guard and the convocation of a national assembly.

On March 18th, a gathering of 10,000 people assembled, some armed, and invaded the government palace. In this storming of the palace, a guard was killed. This forced the governor, O’Donnell, to accept their demands. When Radetzky ordered his troops to take back the government buildings taken, intense bloodshed occurred. This insurrection grew throughout randomly throughout Milan. The insurgents put up hundreds of barricades, about 1600 by the morning of March 19th. The barricades were made of many things, from carriages to pianos and sofas. This caused the movement of Austrian troops to slow. These battles split into many more isolated fights. This was advantageous to the Milanese because they were able to capture arms and munitions from the enemy. In these fights, it was mostly the lower class suffering the bulk of the dead Milanese. This revolt against the Austrians brought out the political differences within the Milanese themselves.

On March 20th, a republican group led by Carlo Cattaneo and Enrico Cernuschi, led a war council to coordinate military operations. This spurred into action Count Gabrio Casati, and other aristocrats to create a provisional government.The revolt brought into the open the political differences within the Milanese camp. On March 20 a republican group, created a war council in order to direct the military operations. This caused Count Gabrio Casati, and other middle-class aristocrats to create a new provisional government, assuming power in order to prevent the republicans from gaining the advantage. Earlier, they were even ready to accept two truce proposals from Radetzky, but Cattaneo and the war council coerced them to turn down the proposals. Casati and his people also sent representatives to Turin to convince Charles Albert, the ruler at the time, to stop and expel the Austrians out of Lombardy as well as get rid of the “radical elements” and prevent them from creating a republican democracy. With the creation of the new provisional government, Cattaneo's group dissolved the war council, combining it to make a new defense committee which the new government established.

The republicans and democrats that led the country to a military victory were defeated politically by the aristocrats and had to accept a lower spot. The new defense committee ended the insurrection to a successful conclusion, and on March 22, Radetzky ordered his troops to leave Milan. Although the Milanese fought the Austrians and forced them out, they eventually ended up winning a battle and gaining control once again. The historical significance is very big, Milan was a strategic gain for Napoleon, “It was thanks to this climate of enlightenment that Napoleon was received so enthusiastically by the Milanese when he marched into the city in May 1796, many optimists at that time saw him as the symbol of the democratic reform spirit”(aboutmilan.com). Also, Milan’s historical significance was that it held a seat in the government of Rome, and from that point on, it was an economical and cultural capital of Italy. Nowadays, Milan is a tourist attraction with about “8.17 million international (tourists) overnight”

References:

The Five Days of Milan, Ohio Edu, www.ohio.edu/chastain/ip/milanfiv.htm.

“The Five Days of Milan.” Napolihistory.com, Napoli History, 10 June 2017, napolihistory.com/the-five-days-of-milan/.

“Milan, The Five Days AD 1848.” HISTORIA VIVENS, www.historiavivens.eu/2/milan_the_five_days_ad_1848_104331.html.

“About Milan, Your Tourist Guide to Milan, Italy.” History of Milan, www.aboutmilan.com/history-of-milan.html.