The First Battle of Custoza[1] was fought on July 24 and 25, 1848, during the First Italian War of Independence between the armies of the Austrian Empire, commanded by Field Marshal Radetzky, and the Kingdom of Sardinia, led by King Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia.

The Austrian Field Marshal Radetzky withdrew his forces from Milan to the defensive positions based on the four fortresses known as the Quadrilateral: Verona, Mantua, Peschiera, and Legnago.

[5] The Piedmontese High Command reacted slowly and uncertainly to the news coming from the north, and eventually it was decided to attack the Austrian army in the rear towards the village of Staffalo, with the bulk of the I Corps (led by General Eusebio Bava); the attack, begun in the afternoon of the 24th, was successful and the single brigade which covered this area was forced to retreat.

Their failure to do so and a decisive Austrian victory meant that the Piedmontese were first forced to retreat westwards to a new defensive line behind the river Oglio, and then further to Milan.

After a small battle at the outskirts of Milan an armistice (originally of six weeks and then prorogued) was signed, and the Piedmontese Army retreated within the borders of the Kingdom of Sardinia.