Chapter 39: Battle of Lissa
July 20, Adriatic Sea.
Lissa was the Austrian naval base in the Adriatic Sea.
After Italy declared war on Austria, it was eager to find a breakthrough on the battlefield. It is well known that the combat effectiveness of the Italian Army is difficult to describe.
However, the passage from Venice to Austria was indeed not suitable for large-scale marches, and the Austrian front-line commander had previously voluntarily withdrawn from Venice, which was difficult to defend, so the main force was intact and used the terrain advantage to repel the attacks of the Kingdom of Italy many times.
The terrain disadvantage did provide an excuse for the army, and this time the Italian army escaped.
The Kingdom of Italy, which found it difficult to break through the Austrian Empire's defenses on land, turned to attacking Austria at sea.
At this time, the Italian Navy was recognized as one of the strongest navies in the world, with 12 ironclad ships, including the two new fast ships "Italy" and "Di Portogarro", and the new battleship "Plumb" equipped with turrets, as well as 16 wooden-hulled steam warships.
In contrast, the Austro-Hungarian Navy had only seven ironclad ships, and the rest were wooden warships.
12 ironclads against 7 ironclads, my Italian naval commander Admiral C.C. Persano decided to launch an attack directly on the Austrian naval base on Lissa Island.
On June 16, the Italian squadron consisting of 11 armored ships, 5 cruisers and 3 gunboats, led by Admiral Persano, sailed out from Ancona, attempting to capture the fortified Lissa Island, which served as the Austro-Hungarian naval base, by landing (there were 9 permanent fortifications on the island, 11 artillery companies with a total of 88 artillery pieces, and a garrison of nearly 3,000 people).
The offensive on Lissa Island on July 18 and 19 failed because the Italian army did not have the necessary intelligence about the garrison and encountered resistance from the Austrian army.
The Austro-Hungarian army defending the island was very tenacious and damaged the Italian ironclad ship "Formidable" with artillery.
As the Italian fleet was preparing to organize another attack, the Austro-Hungarian fleet arrived at dawn on July 20.
When the Italian fleet set out, Tegetthoff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire led his fleet to the port of Pola, 165 nautical miles away.
When he learned that Lisa had been attacked, he initially thought it was just a feint.
He found it hard to believe that the Italians would take such a risky action, as an amphibious assault offered neither the chance of surprise nor the opportunity to gain first control of the sea.
But soon the Italian commander, Admiral C.C. Persano, would make him realize that reality is often bolder than imagination.
When the Italians launched their full-scale attack, Tegetthoff sailed towards Lissa, and when he arrived in the waters near Lissa, he ordered the fleet to prepare for battle. Realizing that his firepower was at a disadvantage, he chose a formation that was easy to attack - three "V"-shaped formations arranged vertically, the first V-shaped formation was composed of seven ironclad ships led by him, led by the flagship "Ferdinand Maximilian".
The second "V" type was a wooden-hulled fast ship and a coastal defense ship, led by the "Caesar".
He arranged the remaining smaller ships in a third "V" formation.
The ships of the Italian naval commander Persano bombarded the fortress batteries on the shore of Lissa for two days, but failed to stop the 88 small-caliber guns on the shore from firing, causing heavy casualties to the Italian fleet.
An Italian ironclad had lost its ability to attack, most of its ammunition had been consumed, and it had only enough fuel for two days.
However, on the morning of July 20, Persano launched another attack. When he was bombarding the Lissa battery and preparing to land troops, the lookout suddenly reported that the Austro-Hungarian fleet was coming from the northwest.
Panicked, Persano hastily formed his ironclads into a column and rushed in front of the Austro-Hungarian formation.
At this critical moment, Persano panicked and moved his flag from the "Italy" to the "Plumb" which was outside the battle formation.
As a result, a large gap appeared between the three Italian warships in front and the warships behind.
The Austrian commander Tegetthoff seized the opportunity and immediately led his vanguard formation of ironclads through the gap, while his wooden ships rushed towards Persano's wooden ships and the remaining ironclads.
The battle soon turned into a melee, with the movements of the ships partially obscured by smoke. The Plumb Bottom twice attempted to ram the wooden Kaiser but failed. Kaiser's shells grazed the Di Portogarro, but she caught fire under enemy fire and was eventually driven out of the battle by the Plumb Bottom. Meanwhile, Austro-Hungarian naval fire set an Italian ironclad ship ablaze.
The most spectacular action of the battle was the ramming of Tegetthoff's flagship into the Italia.
As the Ferdinand Maximilian searched through the smoke of battle, it rammed the broadside of the Italia, causing the Italian ship to lose directional control.
Moreover, its front was blocked by another Austro-Hungarian warship, and as it retreated, the Maximilian rammed its side at full speed and caused it to tilt severely to the starboard side.
As the Maximilian slowly backed away, the Italia regained her balance, then tilted to port again under the force of her own momentum and the tons of water pouring in from the breach. As she capsized and sank, the untrained but highly motivated sailors on board shouted "Hail, King."
The sinking of the Italia ended the battle, and the Italian fleet retreated westward. Since the Austro-Hungarian fleet had several damaged ships and was still at a disadvantage, Tegetthoff did not pursue. In any case, he completed his mission to rescue Lissa, and he returned to Austria as a national hero.
As for Italy, Persano was relieved of his post after the war.
The Battle of Lissa was a great victory for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which completely lifted the siege of Lissa. The Italian fleet suffered heavy damage in the naval battle, losing three ironclad ships and more than 1,000 officers and soldiers.
This first battle between steam-powered ironclad ships was a remarkable one, and navies around the world studied it in great detail in terms of tactics, armament, and ship construction.
The role of ironclad ships in this naval battle attracted the attention of all countries. This naval battle marked the transition of naval combat from the sailing age to the steam ironclad age.
After this battle, the Italian fleet retreated. The reasons for Italy's failure were poor reconnaissance, no battle plan, poor communications and the indecisiveness of Admiral Persano.
The Italian sailors were poorly trained, their officers lacked initiative, and their commander, Admiral C. C. Persano, seemed to know nothing about his fleet.
Compared with Persano's dozen ironclads, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had only seven ironclads, all of which were fast steam-powered ships and were relatively old.
Their wooden ships mainly included one steam-powered ship, the Kaiser, five fast propeller ships and one coastal defense ship. On each wooden ship, only a small number of guns were rifled guns. In fact, the firepower of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was less than half of that of Italy.
But their inestimable advantage was their fleet commander, Rear Admiral B. von Tegetthoff, whose men were well-trained, aggressive, and proficient in their profession, qualities that the Italian commanders lacked.
The Italian commander, Persano, not only did not attach importance to the role of intelligence, but also lacked professional knowledge and was stubborn and arrogant.
Persano initially ignored the order to "clear the enemy in the Adriatic" and simply made some unnecessary maneuvers of the warships at the Ancona base. During this period, he did not exercise the untrained gunners.
Finally, the King of Italy issued a mandatory order: "Any attack on the enemy's fortress or fleet is considered likely to achieve victory."
It was under the impetus of this order that Persano made the strategic decision to seize Lissa, a small island in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In this naval battle, the fleet under the leadership of Rear Admiral von Tegetthoff went to support the island defense forces.
The Austro-Hungarian fleet launched a sudden attack, concentrating its fire on the central Italian fleet, but the artillery battle between the armored ships was ineffective.
Then the Austro-Hungarian flagship, the "Archduke Ferdinand Max", rammed the Italian "King of Italy", which was sunk along with 400 crew members, thus determining the outcome of the naval battle.
Another Italian warship, the "Gallio", was hit by artillery fire, caught fire, lost its combat effectiveness, and finally exploded.
All in all, the different abilities of the commanders on both sides led to unexpected results, and the seemingly powerful Italian navy was defeated.
Wilhelm von Tegetthoff's "V"-shaped tactics also became famous with the Battle of Lissa.
Later, the Beiyang Fleet replicated Austria's "V"-shaped tactics, but the results were not satisfactory.
Of course, the Battle of the Yellow Sea was completely different from the Battle of Lissa. The Austrian Navy was well-trained, while the Italian Navy could not keep up with its training due to its rapid expansion. In the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Beiyang Fleet, which lacked training and ammunition, faced the well-trained Japanese Navy.
In addition, the Austro-Hungarian fleet's ramming tactics were repeatedly effective in the Battle of Lissa, so this ancient tactic was revived. From then on until the beginning of the 20th century, rams were installed on warships of most countries.
The Battle of Lissa was the first major naval battle involving steam-powered armored ships. The naval battle proved that using artillery to deal with armored warships was no longer effective. Steam-powered ships were highly maneuverable and could quickly transform into various combat formations.
Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, Admiral of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, became one of the greatest naval commanders of the 19th century as the victor of the Battle of Lissa.
(End of this chapter)
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