High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Second War of Italian Independence, Franco-Austrian War, Austro-Sardinian War, or Austro-Piedmontese War (also known as the Campaign of Italy, Campagne d`Italie, in France), was fought by Napoleon III of France and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859. In respect to the Italian unification process, this war is also known as the Second Independence War.