The stalemate in the Adriatic came to an end as the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies pulled out of the war. Austrian reinforcements bolstered Radetzky's forces in the Italian peninsula and following the Battle of Custoza in July 1848, the tide of the war turned in Austria's favor. On 9 August, an armistice was signed between Sardinia and Austria, and a month later, Admiral Martini was released in a prisoner exchange and returned as head of the Navy. While Martini unsuccessfully lobbied for the purchase of new steam ships to re-establish a blockade of Venice, Sardinia resumed the war with Austria on 12 March 1849. This led to the disastrous Sardinian defeat at the Battle of Novara ten days later. The decisive defeat forced King Charles Albert of Sardinia to abdicate the throne of Sardinia in favor of his son Victor Emmanuel II and brought the First War of Italian Independence to an end in August 1849. Venice was the last Italian nationalist holdout to fall on 27 August 1849.