The Sold Victory-2nd ed.

Few wars were as unnecessary as the so-called Third Italian War of Independence in the summer of 1866. The bone of contention was Venetia and South Tyrol, the 'remnants' of the former Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, which still belonged to Emperor Franz Joseph I but were coveted by Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. Since his armies had always been soundly beaten in previous wars against the Austrians, he could not even think of acquiring these territories without a strong ally. This was precisely what the Prussian prime minister, Bismarck, was counting on, who, for his part, longed to finally unify Germany. In the intended conflict, Bismarck also reserved a place for Italy, which dreamed not only of driving the Austrians out of Venice but also of becoming the ruler of the Mediterranean, following the example of ancient Rome. Italy would engage part of the Austrian army, allowing the Prussians to deal with the other part. The Italians wanted war and victory to finally join the ranks of Europe's foremost powers. But that would be too much to ask of the Italians. And so came a series of defeats: at Custoza, in the Dolomites, and at sea near the island of Vis (Lissa). In the end, however, Victor Emmanuel got his way after all, because Franz Joseph had already, through the French Emperor, ceded Venetia to Italy, regardless of how the war turned out…