Atlas of Battles

battle, major, nineteenth century

Battle of Magenta

Battle of Magenta was a battle fought on 4 June 1859 at Magenta, in what is now Italy. It was part of Second Italian War of Independence. The recorded result: Franco-Italian victory. Recorded strength: 49,945 infantry; 1,207 cavalry; 87 guns against 58,183 infantry; 3,435 cavalry; 152 guns.

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Bataille de Magenta. Tableau d'Adolphe Yvon
Bataille de Magenta. Tableau d'Adolphe Yvon. Adolphe Yvon, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought4 June 1859
WhereMagenta, Italy45.456N, 8.802E
OutcomeFranco-Italian victory
BelligerentsSecond French Empire; SardiniaagainstAustria
Part ofSecond Italian War of Independence1859

Where it sits in Second Italian War of Independence

Battle of Montebello, 1859Battle of Varese, 1859Battle of San Fermo, 1859Battle of Palestro, 1859Battle of Turbigo, 1859Battle of Magenta, 1859Battle of Boffalora, 1859Battle of Solferino, 1859Battle of San Martino, 1859Battle of Treponti, 185918591859Battle of Magenta, 1859
11 placed engagements of Second Italian War of Independence in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date4 June 1859
PlaceMagenta, Italy
45.456N, 8.802E
KindBattle, nineteenth century
Strength49,945 infantry; 1,207 cavalry; 87 guns58,183 infantry; 3,435 cavalry; 152 guns
Casualties and losses707 killed; 3,223 wounded; 655 missing; Total: 4,5851,368 killed; 4,358 wounded; 4,500 missing; Total: 10,226
Commanders
  • Ferenc Gyulay
  • William Albert, 1st Prince of Montenuovo
Battle of MagentaBattle of MagentaBattle of NovaraBattle of NovaraBattle of NovaraCombat of TurbigoBattle of ParabiagoBattle of NovaraBattle of NovaraBattle of ParabiagoTurinGenoaLausanneBergamoParmaTrentoLuganoComo100 km45.456N, 8.802E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Magenta
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Magenta today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-04-05. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 110 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 96 to 173 m, 77 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 38% tree cover, 26% cropland, 18% grassland.

tree cover: 38%cropland: 26%grassland: 18%built-up: 13%water: 4%tree cover 38%cropland 26%grassland 18%built-up 13%water 4%
west to east, 10.0 km108 to 149 mnorth to south, 10.0 km108 to 155 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1859

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: FR & PIED ARMYDefender: AUS ARMY
Strength48,09061,618
Casualties4,530 (9.4%)10,236 (16.6%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1053
Outcomeattacker won
Duration1 day
Front width8 km6 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 167), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Magenta is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q681430, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Magenta, revision 1374525364, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.