APH: 1871-01-21/23 - Terza Battaglia di Digione

Veneziano & Romano and the end of the Third Battle of Dijon.

Extra note:
For who's interested to know...

Personal notes:

It's one of those facts nobody remembers/want to remember and that instead is pretty awesome so I've been planning to turn it into a draw by... forever really. Here there's the result. Hopefully the uniforms are right (I searched for them through the net as crazy but it's not so easy to find them).

History:

You've probably already heard of the Franco-Prussian War. If not you should check it over as it's awesome (expecially the casus belli).
Anyway, to make a long story short Prussia tricked France into declaring war to him (19 July 1870). Other German states (Baden, Bavaria, Württemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt) felt they had to protect poor, unfairly attacked Prussia so they joined forces agaisnt France. Prussia, who had studied France's way to fight during the Second Italian War of Independence, had studied countermoves to prepare an army that would crush France and had tested said army with success against Austria in the Austro-Prussian War, trashed France so France's emperor, Napoléon III, surrendered (2 September 1870).
France though still wanted to fight so he kicked his emperor away, turned himself in a republic and decided he would continue to win.
In order to do so he also used the Francs-tireurs (free shooters) an irregular military formations of guerrilla fighters and... whoever was willing to help (Prussia will call the guerrilla fighter barbarians and answered harshly killing civilians in the nearest village or town but that's another story).
Anyway among the ones willing to help France there were Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Garibaldini. Garibaldi becomes a French general in October he's given 4000 men (made mostly by volunteers from other nations, Garibaldini, National Guards from Savoia and Alpes Maritimes and Francs-tireurs) and he is told he'll have to defend Dijon and the Bourgogne (which was strategically important because it stopped Prussia from advancing toward south). He'll do more or less well and, when 4000 Prussians attacked the city in between the 21th and 23th of January Garibaldi came out the winner and even captured the insignia of the 61 th Regiment of Pomerania. It'll be the only insigna Prussia will lose during that war.
France however had enough and signed an armistice on the 28th of January. Interesting enough the front of the Vosges was excluded from it. Rumours say it was so the Prussians could continue fighting Garibaldi and come to the capture him as Bismark wanted his head (he found unkind how Garibaldi could fight against him when Prussia and Italy had fought together in 1866. Evidently the fact France and Italy had fought together in 1859 didn't count to him...).
Garibaldi though merely moved himself and his army during the night of the 31th in the areas protected by the decree of cease fire.

Consequences?

As said before Prussia wasn't an happy camper. He'd beautifully defeat France minus the guerrilla forces (the barbarians, remember?) of a guy that belonged to a nation who was supposed to be a fail at war and that instead even managed to take from him the only insigna he'll lose in that war and to escape from under his nose.

France though, was even unhappier. Not only he had lost but the only guy who got a Prussian insigna was an 64 year old Italian with so much arthritis he couldn't even ride anymore and with a messy army assembled with leftovers from the other armies (to be honest not all of them were bad, it was just most of them weren't professionals and some were even bandits. Oh in case you're interested among them there was Frédéric Bartholdi, the guy who'll make the Statue of Liberty). And what's worse with this victory Garibaldi got so popular that he was voted by assorted French cities (Côte-d'Or, Paris, Alger, Nice) as their representative in France National Assembly without him even asking for it. Claiming Garibaldi isn't French France monarchic party will declate his election unvalid and he'll be forbidden to talk in the National Assembly (ironically Garibaldi was born in Nice when Nice was under France... but well, he always defined himself as Italian and claimed Nice was Italian so maybe they were right). If you're interested though, France is still keeping the flag Garibaldi took to Prussia. I guess in the end he grew fond of it.

But, surely, Italy at least was happy, you might think. No, officially they weren't supposed to be as Garibaldi's actions could ruin the relations they had with Prussia... besides Garibaldi was on the black list of nearly all the general in the Italian army (you know, he wins and they don't...) and of the monarchic party (Garibaldi handed the Italy to Vittorio Emanuele but was a republican) so no, they weren't supposed to be offically happy about him doing something good. Privately... well, that's another matter... Anyway Garibaldi resigned.

As for Garibaldi... well he was happy for how his men fought (which is why Veneziano and Romano are represented as happy) but then he'd learnt that if the Italian government wasn't nice the French one was even worse. And with this battle he'll end his career as general.

Anyway, Dijon's battle ended up as something condemned to the damnatio memoriae. I doubt someone in France, Italy or Germany remembers it, though, as usual, I'll be happy if you can prove me wrong.