The Life and Times of Radetsky

Radetsky apprehended quickly that the Austrian finances were in terrible shape, and he would never have the number of men nor the amount of equipment he wanted. Radetsky's other great asset was a genuine regard for the lower ranks, and also poor civilian peasants. Aware that the Italian middle and upper classes were catching revolutionary fever, Radetsky wanted to make sure the Austrian army's interactions with the lower classes left those lower classes with no cause to join the fight.