A battle fought in Lombardy, between the armies of France and Piedmont on one side and Austria on the other. Piedmont, under the leadership of Cavour, had persuaded France to give military support to the struggle against Austrian domination in Italy. The French and Piedmont-Sardinians had defeated the Austrians at Magenta, and their armies, commanded by Napoleon III, captured the elevated position at Solferino and successfully defended it after a fierce counter-attack by the Austrians. The latter, led by Francis Joseph, began to retreat. A meeting between the two emperors took place shortly afterwards at Villafranca di Verona, after which hostilities ceased.