The First Italian War of Independence, part of the Italian Unification, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conservative states from 23 March 1848 to 22 August 1849 in the Italian Peninsula.
The conflict was preceded by the outbreak of the Sicilian Revolution of 1848 against the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. It was precipitated by riots in the cities of Milan and Venice, which rebelled against Austria and established their own governments.
The part of the conflict which was fought by King Charles Albert against Austria in northern Italy was a royal war and consisted of two campaigns. In both campaigns, the Kingdom of Sardinia attacked the Austrian Empire and after initial victories, Sardinia was decisively defeated and so losing the war. The decisive events of the first and second campaigns were the Battles of Custoza and Novara respectively.
At the beginning of the royal war, the Kingdom of Sardinia was supported by the Papal States and the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, which withdrew after they had barely participated in any of the fighting.