Just as the Italian government was fervently discussing how to accomplish the great cause of unification, Pius IX in Rome could not have been less pleased.
Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire had promised to protect the Papal States and provide for its defense, where were your Austrian soldiers? Surely they could not just shout empty boasts at Italy across the Adriatic Sea!
Though the Adriatic Sea was not wide and the Austro-Hungarian Navy was not weak, the Austro-Hungarian Navy could hardly come ashore and fight the Italian Army to the death.
Ever since the Battle of Lissa, the Kingdom of Italy's navy had become a laughingstock, and its budget had been slashed dramatically. Historically, the Kingdom of Italy did not resume investing in naval development until 1877, so the Italian Navy was now at one of its weakest points.
The Papal States happened to be surrounded by the Kingdom of Italy's territory. In theory, the Papal States could send its scant forces eastward. As long as it reclaimed its former eastern coastal lands and provided the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a landing site, it could joyfully welcome the "royal army."
But at the thought of the Papal States' military strength, Pius IX felt that this was a pipe dream.
After the last war, the Papal States' eastern territory had been annexed by the Kingdom of Italy, accounting for two-thirds of the Papal States' total area.
Never mind confronting the entire Kingdom of Italy—even if the Kingdom of Italy merely consolidated the forces from the annexed eastern Papal lands, it could still beat the Papal States until it was covered in dust and ashes.
The main force of the Papal States' army, also known as the Zouave Regiment, consisted mostly of young, unmarried Catholics. Commanded in French by a Swiss colonel, the Zouave