The Battle of Solferino was fought in Italy 150 years ago last Wednesday, between the Austrian army and the French and Sardinian armies. The battle was a long and gruelling one, lasting over nine hours, on a 15-kilometre front. The fighting was carried on in a particularly bloodthirsty manner, with tens of thousands of soldiers suffering horrific injuries through bayonetting and bludgeoning, with fighting only ending after a violent rainstorm.
The carnage was witnessed by Jean-Henri Dunant, a Swiss businessman, who, seeing that no-one was taking care of the wounded, organised local women to look after those who were suffering, regardless of which side they were on. He subsequently recorded his experiences in a book entitled A Memory of Solferino. The book, in which he put forward proposals for preventing a repetition of the suffering that he had witnessed, became extremely influential and inspired the formation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863, some four years after the battle. Dunant’s ideas were discussed at an international meeting in Geneva later that year, and in 1864 twelve countries signed the first Geneva Convention.
The Geneva Conventions set international standards for humanitarian laws concerning the treatment of wounded soldiers, civilians, shipwrecked people and prisoners of war. As a result of a business failure, Dunant became bankrupt and lost his leadership position within the Red Cross, but his outstanding contribution to humanitarian efforts was recognised in 1901 when he was one of the two recipients of the first Nobel Peace Prize.