Chapter 39： Battle of Lissa

Chapter 39 The Battle of Lissa

July 20, Adriatic Sea.

Lissa Island is the naval base of the Austrian Empire in the Adriatic Sea.

After Italy declared war on Austria, it was eager to find a breakthrough point on the battlefield. The combat effectiveness of the Italian Army is well known to be hard to describe.

However, the passage from Venice to Austria is indeed not suitable for large-scale marches, and the Austrian frontline commanders took the initiative to withdraw from Venice, which is not easy to defend. attack.

The disadvantage of the terrain can indeed find an excuse for the army. This time the Italian army escaped.

The Kingdom of Italy, which had difficulty breaking through the defenses of the Austrian Empire on land, instead sought to attack Austria on the sea.

At this time, the Italian Navy was recognized as one of the strongest navies in the world, with 12 ironclad ships, including the new "Italy", two fast ships "Di Portogaro", and the new battleship "Leader" with a turret. Hammer, and 16 other wood-hulled steam engine warships.

As a comparison, the Austro-Hungarian Navy only had 7 ironclad ships, and the rest were wooden warships.

12 ironclad ships vs. 7 ironclad ships, the advantage lies in my Italian naval commander, Admiral C. C. Persano, who decided to launch an attack directly on the Austrian naval base on Lisa Island.

On June 16, an Italian squadron composed of 11 armored ships, 5 cruisers, and 3 gunboats, led by Admiral Persano, sailed from Ancona in an attempt to capture the fortifications by landing. As the naval base of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Lisa Island (there are 9 permanent fortifications on the island, 11 artillery companies with a total of 88 artillery pieces, and nearly 3,000 troops guarding the island).

On July 18 and 19, the offensive organization on Lisa Island failed. The Italian army was resisted by the Austrian army because they did not have the necessary information about the troops defending the island.

The Austro-Hungarian army guarding the island was very tenacious and damaged the Italian ironclad "Mighty" with artillery.

While the Italian fleet was preparing to organize another attack, the Austro-Hungarian fleet arrived at dawn on July 20.

When the Italian fleet was dispatched, Tergethoff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire led his fleet as far away as the port of Pola, 165 nautical miles away.

When he learned of Lissa's attack, at first he thought it was just a feint.

He found it hard to believe that the Italians would take such a risky move, as an amphibious assault had neither the chance of a surprise attack nor the first command of the sea.

But soon the Italian commander, Admiral C. C. Persano, will let him understand that reality is often bolder than imagination.

While the Italians were attacking in full force, Tegerthoff sailed towards Lisa, and when he reached the waters near Lisa, 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"s arranged vertically. The first V was composed of 7 ironclad ships led by him, led by the flagship "Ferdinand Maximilian".

The second "V" type is a wooden fast ship and a coastal defense ship, led by the "Caesar".

He organized the rest of the smaller ships in a third "V" formation.

The Italian navy commander Persano's ship on the opposite side bombarded the fortress on the shore of Lisa 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 ironclad ship in Italy lost its attack capability, most of the ammunition was consumed, and the fuel was only enough for two days.

However, on the morning of July 20, Persano began to attack again. When he was bombarding Lisa's fort and preparing to send troops to land, the lookout suddenly reported that the Austro-Hungarian fleet was approaching from the northwest.

The panicked Persano hurriedly formed his ironclads into a column and rushed past the front of the Austro-Hungarian formation.

At this critical moment, Persano panicked and moved his military flag from the "Italy" to the "Plumb" which was outside the battle formation.

As a result, a large gap appeared between the 3 Italian warships in front and the warships behind.

The Austrian commander Tegerthoff seized the opportunity and immediately led his vanguard formation of ironclad ships through the gap, while his wooden ships rushed towards Persano's wooden ship and the rest of the ironclad ships.

The battle quickly turned into a melee, with the movement of the ships partially obscured by smoke. The Plumb made two unsuccessful attempts to ram the wooden Kaiser. A shell from the "Caesar" grazed the "Di Portogaro", but she caught fire under the enemy's fire, and was eventually driven out of the battle by the "Plumb". Meanwhile, Austro-Hungarian naval gunfire set an Italian ironclad ablaze.

The impact of Tegerthoff's flagship on the "Italia" was the most spectacular action in this battle.

While the "Ferdinand Maximilian" was searching through the smoke of the battle, it crashed into the side of the "Italia", and the Italian warship lost directional control.

And its front was blocked by another Austro-Hungarian warship, and as it retreated, the "Maximilian" slammed into its gunwale at full speed and caused it to list heavily to starboard.

As the "Maximilian" slowly retreated, the "Italy" returned to normal, and then tilted to port again under its own momentum and the force of several tons of seawater pouring into the breach. As it capsized and sank, the ship's ill-trained but morale sailors chanted long live their king.

The sinking of the "Italia" ended the battle, and the Italian fleet retreated westward. As the Austro-Hungarian fleet had several ships damaged and was still at a disadvantage, Tegthof did not pursue. In any case he completed his mission to rescue Lisa, and he returned to Austria as a national hero.

In Italy, Persano was dismissed after the war.

The Battle of Lissa was a great victory for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which completely resolved the siege of Lissa. In the naval battle, the Italian fleet suffered heavy losses, losing 3 ironclad ships and more than 1,000 officers and soldiers.

This first battle between steam-powered ironclad ships is remarkable. Navies around the world studied the battle in depth and detail in terms of tactics, armament, and ship structure.

The role of ironclad ships has attracted the attention of all countries in this naval battle. This naval battle marks the transition from the age of sails to the era of steam ironclads.

After this battle, the Italian fleet retreated. Italy lost because of poor reconnaissance, no battle plan, poor communications and Admiral Persano's indecision.

Italian sailors were poorly trained, their officers lacked enterprise, and their commander, Admiral C. C. Persano, seemed to know nothing about his fleet.

Compared with Persano's dozen or so ironclad ships, the Austro-Hungarian Empire only had 7 ironclad ships, all of which were fast steam ships and relatively old.

Their wooden hull ships mainly include 1 steam-powered ship "Caesar", 5 fast propeller ships and 1 coastal defense ship. On each wooden hull ship, only a small part of the guns are rifled guns. In fact, the firepower of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not half that of Italy.

But their inestimable superiority lay in their Admiral of the Fleet, Rear Admiral B. von Tegerthoff, whose men were well trained, aggressive, and well versed in their specialties, which Italian commanders insufficient.

The Italian commander, Persano, not only does not pay attention to the role of intelligence, but also lacks professional knowledge, and is stubborn and arrogant.

Persano initially ignored the order to "clear up the enemies in the Adriatic Sea" and only made some unnecessary transfers of the warships at the Ancona base. During this period, he did not practice those untrained gunners.

Finally, the King of Italy issued a mandatory order to "launch an attack on the enemy's fortress or fleet, and any action is considered possible to win."

Persano made the strategic decision to seize Lisa, a small island of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, under the impetus of this order.

In this naval battle, under the leadership of Rear Admiral von Tegerthoff, he went to support the island defense force.

The Austro-Hungarian fleet suddenly launched an attack, concentrating its artillery fire on the Chinese ships of the Italian fleet. But the artillery battle between the armored ships failed.

So the armored ship "Arch Duke Ferdinand Max", the flagship of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, rammed the Italian armored ship "King of Italy", which was sunk along with 400 crew members, thus determining the outcome of this naval battle.

Another Italian warship, the "Wrestling Field", caught fire after being hit by artillery fire, lost combat effectiveness, and finally exploded.

All in all, the different capable commanders of the two sides caused unexpected results, and the seemingly powerful Italian navy fell into a defeat.

Wilhelm von Tegerthoff's "V"-shaped tactics also became famous with the Battle of Lissa.

Later, the Beiyang Fleet reproduced Austria's "V"-shaped tactics, but the results were not satisfactory.

Of course, the Yellow Sea battle is completely different from this Lissa naval battle. The Austrian navy is well-trained, while the Italian navy has not kept up with the training due to its rapid expansion. The Yellow Sea naval battle is a well-trained Beiyang fleet that lacks training and ammunition. of the Japanese Navy.

In addition, the Austro-Hungarian fleet's ramming tactics in the Lisa naval battle were repeatedly effective, so this ancient tactic was revived. After that, until the beginning of the 20th century, most countries' warships were equipped with ramming horns.

The Battle of Lissa Island is the first sea battle of steam armored ships. Naval battles have proved that artillery is no longer effective against armored warships. Steam-powered ships are highly mobile and can quickly transform into various battle formations.

And Wilhelm von Tegerthoff, admiral of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as the victor of the Battle of Lissa, became one of the greatest naval commanders of the nineteenth century.

(end of this chapter)