African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 39
July 7, Adriatic Sea.

Lisa Island was 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, turned to attacking Austria by 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 ironclads against 7 ironclads, the advantage lies in the fact that my Italian naval commander, Admiral C. C. Persano, decided to launch an attack directly on the Austrian naval base on Lisa Island.

On June 6, an Italian squadron consisting of 16 armored ships, 11 cruisers, and 5 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 3 permanent fortifications on the island, 9 artillery companies with a total of 11 artillery pieces, and nearly 88 troops guarding the island).

On July 7 and 18, 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 7.

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 could not believe that the Italians would take such a risky move, as an amphibious assault had neither the chance of surprise nor first command of the sea.

But soon the Italian commander, Admiral C. C. Persano, would show him that reality is often bolder than imagination.

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

The second "V" was 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.

On the opposite side, the Italian naval commander Persano's ship 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 Italian ironclad was incapacitated, most of its ammunition was spent, and it had only enough fuel for two days.

On the morning of July 7, however, Persano struck 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.

Panicked, Persano hastily formed his ironclads into column and charged ahead of the Austro-Hungarian formation.

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

The result was a large gap between the three Italian warships ahead and those behind.

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

The battle quickly turned into a dogfight, 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 it 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 ramming of Tegerthoff's flagship on the Italia was the most spectacular action of the battle.

As the "Ferdinand Maximilian" searched through the smoke of the battle, it struck the side of the "Italia", and the Italian warship lost directional control.

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

As the "Maximilian" slowly receded, the "Italy" returned to normal, and then tilted to port again under its own momentum and the force of several tons of seawater pouring in at 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 1000 officers and soldiers.

The first battle between ironclad ships powered by steam was 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 various 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 went into retreat.Italy lost because of poor reconnaissance, no battle plan, poor communications and Admiral Persano's indecision.

The Italian sailors were poorly trained, their officers uninspiring, and their commander, Admiral C. C. Persano, seemed to know nothing of his fleet.

Compared with Persano's dozen or so ironclad ships, the Austro-Hungarian Empire only had seven 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 did not pay attention to the role of intelligence, but also lacked professional knowledge, and was stubborn and arrogant.

Persano initially ignored the order to "clear up the enemy 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 to be likely to win victory."

Driven by this order, Persano made the strategic decision to seize Lissa, a small island of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

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 "Archduke Ferdinand Max", the flagship of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, rammed the Italian armored ship "King of Italy", which was sunk together with [-] crew members, thus determining the outcome of the 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 capabilities of the commanders on both sides led to unexpected results, and the seemingly powerful Italian navy was defeated.

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

The Battle of Lissa Island was 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 at the Battle of Lissa, became one of the greatest naval commanders of the nineteenth century.

(End of this chapter)