Chapter 39 Battle of Lisa

July 20, Adriatic Sea.

The island of Lisa was the naval base of the Austrian Empire in the Adriatic Sea.

Italy declared war on Austria and was eager to find a breakthrough point on the battlefield. It is well known that the combat effectiveness of the Italian Army is difficult to describe.

However, the passage from Venetia to Austria is indeed not suitable for large-scale marches, and the Austrian frontline commanders had previously taken the initiative to withdraw from Venetia, which was not easy to defend, so the main force was intact and used the terrain advantages to repel the Italian Kingdom many times. attack.

The disadvantage of terrain can indeed provide excuses for the army, and this time the Italian Army escaped unscathed.

The Kingdom of Italy, which had difficulty breaking through the Austrian Empire's defenses 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 fast ships "Italia" and "Diportogaro", and the new turret-equipped battleship "Lead". Hammer" and 16 wooden-hulled steam engine warships.

In contrast, the Austro-Hungarian Navy only had 7 ironclad ships, and the rest were wooden warships.

12 ironclads versus 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 Lisa Island.

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

The offensive organization on Lisa Island failed on July 18 and 19. The Italian army encountered resistance from the Austrian army because it did not have the necessary information about the troops defending the island.

The Austro-Hungarian army defending the island was very tenacious and used artillery to damage the Italian ironclad "Formidable".

When 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, Tegetthof of the Austro-Hungarian Empire led his fleet to the port of Pola, 165 nautical miles away.

When he learned of the attack on Lissa, he initially thought it was just a feint.

He found it difficult to believe that the Italians would undertake 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 General C. C. Persano would make him understand that reality is often bolder than imagination.

When the Italians launched an all-out attack, Tegetthof sailed towards Lissa and reached the waters near Lissa. He ordered the fleet to prepare for battle. Realizing that his firepower was at a disadvantage, he chose an easy-to-attack formation - three "V" shapes arranged vertically. The first V shape was composed of seven ironclads he led, 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 placed the remaining smaller ships in a third "V" formation.

On the opposite side, Italian Navy Commander Persano's ships bombarded the fortress fort 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.

One of the Italian ironclads lost its attack capability, most of its ammunition was consumed, and it only had enough fuel for two days.

However, on the morning of July 20, Persano began to attack again. When he was bombarding Lissa'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 Austro-Hungarian formation.

At this critical moment, Persano panicked and moved his flag from the "Italy" to the "Plumbium" 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. His wooden ships rushed towards Persano's wooden ship and the remaining ironclads.

The battle quickly turned into a melee, with the ship's movement partially obscured by smoke. The "Plumb Bob" twice tried to ram the wooden "Caesar" but failed. A shell from the "Caesar" grazed the "Diportogaro", but it caught fire under the opponent's artillery fire, and was eventually driven out of the battle by the "Plumb". At the same time, artillery fire from the Austro-Hungarian navy set an Italian ironclad ship on fire.

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 struck the side of the Italia, causing the Italian warship to lose directional control.

Moreover, its front was blocked by another Austro-Hungarian warship. When it retreated, the "Maximilian" rammed its side at full speed and made it list severely to the starboard side.

As the Maximilian slowly retreated, the Italia returned to normal, then listed to port again under the force of its own momentum and the tons of water pouring in from the breach. As it capsized and sank, the ship's ill-trained but highly motivated sailors shouted long live for their king.

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

In Italy, Persano was relieved of his duties after the war.

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

This was the first battle between steam-powered ironclads. Navies around the world have studied this battle in depth and detail in terms of tactics, armaments, and ship structure.

The role of ironclads attracted the attention of all countries in this naval battle. This naval battle marked the transition of maritime combat from the age of sails to the age of steam ironclads.

After this battle, the Italian fleet went into retreat. The reasons for the Italian defeat were poor reconnaissance, no battle plan, poor communications and Admiral Persano's indecision.

The Italian sailors were not well 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 only had seven ironclads, all of which were steam fast ships and were relatively old.

Their wooden-hulled ships mainly include 1 steam-powered ship "Caesar", 5 propeller fast ships and 1 coastal defense ship. Only a small number of guns on each wooden-hulled ship were rifled guns. In fact, the firepower of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not half that of Italy.

But their inestimable advantage lay in the commander of their fleet, Rear-Admiral B. von Tegerthof, whose men were as well trained, enterprising and proficient in their profession as were the 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 the Adriatic Sea of ​​enemies" and only made some unnecessary adjustments to the warships at the Ancona base. During this period, he did not train the untrained gunners.

Finally, the King of Italy issued a mandatory order to "attack the enemy's fortresses or fleets, any action considered likely to lead to victory."

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

In this naval battle, under the leadership of Rear Admiral von Tegerthof, he went to support the troops defending the island.

The Austro-Hungarian fleet launched a sudden attack and concentrated artillery fire on the Chinese ships of the Italian fleet. But the artillery battle between the armored ships failed.

So the Austro-Hungarian Empire's flagship "Archduke Ferdinand Max" armored ship 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 "Arena", was hit by artillery fire, caught fire, lost combat effectiveness, and finally exploded.

All in all, the different capabilities of the commanders on both sides resulted in unexpected results. The seemingly powerful Italian Navy fell into a rout.

Wilhelm von Tegerthof's "V"-shaped tactic also became famous with the Battle of Lisa.

Later, the Beiyang Fleet copied Austria's "V"-shaped tactics, but the results were unsatisfactory.

Of course, the Battle of the Yellow Sea was completely different from the Battle of Lisa. The Austrian Navy was well-trained, but the Italian Navy had not been able to keep up due to its rapid expansion. The Battle of the Yellow Sea was a battle between the Northern Fleet, which lacked training and ammunition, and faced a well-trained fleet. of the Japanese Navy.

In addition, the ramming tactic used by the Austro-Hungarian fleet in the Battle of Lisa was repeatedly effective, so this ancient tactic was revived. After that, until the beginning of the 20th century, most countries installed ramming horns on their warships.

The Battle of Lisa Island was the first large-scale naval battle involving steam armored ships. Naval battles proved that artillery was no longer effective against armored warships. Steam-powered ships were highly maneuverable and could quickly transform into various battle formations.

And Wilhelm von Tegerthof, the Austro-Hungarian Admiral, as the winner of the Battle of Lisa, became one of the greatest naval commanders of the nineteenth century.