LISSA
1866
In the American Civil War there had been no battle between ironclad fleets.
"Monitors" had engaged batteries. The "Merrimac" had had her duel with the
first of the little turret-ships. But experts were still wondering what
would happen when fleets of armoured ships, built in first-class dockyards,
met in battle on the sea.
The war between Austria and Italy in 1866 gave the first answer. The
experiment was not a completely satisfactory one, and some of its lessons
were misread. Others were soon made obsolete by new developments in naval
armaments.
Still, Lissa will always count among the famous sea-fights of the world,
for it was the first conflict in which the armoured sea-going ship took a
leading part. But there is another reason: it proved in the most startling
way--though neither for the first time nor the last--that men count for
more than machines, that courage and enterprise can reverse in the actual
fight the conditions that beforehand would seem to make defeat inevitable.
"Give me plenty of iron in the men, and I don't mind so much about iron in
the ships," was a pithy saying of the American Admiral Farragut. There was
iron enough in the Austrian sailors, Tegethoff and Petz, to outweigh all
the iron in the guns and armour of the Italian admirals, Persano and
Albini, and the "iron in the men" gave victory to the fleet that on paper
was doomed to destruction.
At the present time, when in our morning papers and in the monthly reviews
we find such frequent comparisons between the fleets of the Powers,
comparisons almost invariably based only on questions of ships, armour,
guns, and horse-power, and leaving the all-important human factor out of
account, it will be interesting to compare the relative strength--on
paper--of the Austrian and Italian fleets in 1866, before telling the story
of Lissa.
Austria had only seven ironclads. All were of the earlier type of
armour-clad ships, modelled on the lines of the old steam frigates, built
of wood, and plated with thin armour. The two largest--ships of 5000 tons
and 800 horse-power--mounted a battery of eighteen 48-pounder smooth bores.
They had not a single rifled gun in their weak broadsides. These were the
"Ferdinand Max" and the "Hapsburg." The "Kaiser Max," the "Prinz Eugen,"
and "Don Juan de Austria" were smaller ships of 3500 tons and 650
horse-power, but they had a slightly better armament, sixteen smooth-bore
muzzle-loading 48-pounders, and fourteen rifled guns, light breech-loading
24-pounders. The "Salamander" and the "Drache" were ships of 3000 tons and
500 horse-power. They mounted sixteen rifled 24-pounders and ten
smooth-bore 48-pounders. These five smaller ironclads were the only ships
under the Austrian flag at all up to date. There were an old wooden screw
line-of-battle ship and four wooden frigates, but these had neither rifled
guns nor armour, and the naval critics of the day would doubtless refuse to
take them into account. Then there were some wooden unarmoured gunboats and
dispatch vessels.
Now turning to the Italian Navy List, we find that these six ironclads, two
of them without a single rifled gun, would have to face no less than twelve
armoured ships, every one of them carrying rifled guns. One of them was a
thoroughly up-to-date vessel, just commissioned from Armstrong's yard at
Elswick, the armoured turret-ram "Affondatore" (i.e. "The Sinker"). A
correspondent of "The Times" saw her when she put into Cherbourg on the way
down Channel. He reported that she looked formidable enough to sink the
whole Austrian ironclad fleet single-handed. She was a ship of 4000 tons
and 750 horse-power, iron-built, heavily armoured, and with a spur-bow for
ramming. She carried in her turret two 10-inch rifled Armstrong guns,
throwing an armour-piercing shell of 295 pounds--say 300-pounders, and let
us remember the heaviest rifled gun in the Austrian fleet was the little
24-pounder. Then there were two wooden ironclads of 5700 tons and 800
horse-power, the "Re d'Italia" and the "Re di Portogallo." The "Re di
Portogallo" carried 28 rifled guns, two 300-pounders, twelve 100-pounders,
and fourteen 74-pounders. The "Re d'Italia" mounted thirty-two rifled guns,
two 150-pounders, sixteen 100-pounders, fourteen 74-pounders, and besides
these four smooth-bore 50-pounders. On paper these three ships, the two
"Kings"[19] and the "Affondatore," ought to have blown the Austrian
ironclads out of the sea or sent them to the bottom. Let us compare the
number of rifled guns and the weight of metal. There is no need to count
the smooth-bores, for the "Merrimac-Monitor" fight had proved how little
they could do even against weak armour. Here is the balance-sheet:--
AUSTRIANS. | ITALIANS.
Rifled Projectile.| Rifled Projectile.
Ships. Guns. lbs. | Ships. Guns. lbs.
|
_Ferdinand Max_ none -- | _Affondatore_ 2 300
_Hapsburg_ none -- | { 2 150
_Kaiser Max_ 14 24 | _Re d'Italia_ {16 100
_Prinz Eugen_ 14 24 | {14 74
_Don Juan_ 14 24 | { 2 300
_Drache_ 16 24 | _Re di Portogallo_ {12 100
_Salamander_ 16 24 | {14 74
----------- | ------------
Total 74 guns | Total 62 guns
throwing 1776 lbs. of metal. | throwing 6372 lbs. of metal.
[19] "Re d'Italia" (King of Italy); "Re di Portogallo"
(King of Portugal).
Even the "Affondatore" was supposed to be what the "Dreadnought" is to
older ships in these paper estimates. What would she be with the two
"Kings" helping her? But this was not all; the Italians could place in line
_nine more_ ironclads. Here is this further list:--
Weight of
Ship. Tonnage. Horse- Rifled Guns. Broadside.
power. lbs.
_Ancona_ 4250 700 {22 100-pounders} 2274
{ 1 74-pounder }
_Maria Pia_ 4250 700 {18 100-pounders} 2096
{ 4 74-pounders}
_Castelfidardo_ 4250 700 {22 100-pounders} 2274
{ 1 74-pounder }
_San Martino_ 4250 700 {16 100-pounders} 2044
{ 6 74-pounders}
_Principe di Carignano_[20] 4000 700 {12 100-pounders} 1644
{ 6 74-pounders}
_Terribile_ 2700 400 {10 100-pounders} 1444
{ 6 74-pounders}
_Formidabile_ 2700 400 {10 100-pounders} 1444
{ 6 74-pounders}
_Palestro_ 2000 300 2 150-pounders 300
_Varese_ 2000 300 { 2 150-pounders} 500
{ 2 100-pounders}
Total: nine ships carrying 146 rifled guns throwing 14,020 lbs. of metal.
[20] The "Principe di Carignano" was wooden built; all the rest iron.
What could the seven Austrian ironclads with their 74 little guns throwing
1776 pounds of metal do against these nine ships with double the number of
guns and nearly ten times the weight of metal in their broadsides? But add
in the three capital ships before noted on the Italian side, and we have:--
12 ironclads against 7.
208 rifled guns against 74.
20,392 pounds of metal in the broadsides against only 1776.
Clearly it would be mad folly for the Austrian fleet to challenge a
conflict! It would be swept from the Adriatic at the first encounter!
Here, then, are our calculations as to the command of the Adriatic at the
outset of the war of 1866. They leave out of account only one element--the
men, and the spirit of the men. Let us see how the grim realities of war
can give the lie to paper estimates.
Wilhelm von Tegethoff, who commanded the Austrian fleet with the rank of
rear-admiral, was one of the world's great sailors, and the man for the
emergency. He had as a young officer taken part in the blockade of Venice
during the revolution of 1848 and 1849; he had seen something of the naval
operations in the Black Sea during the Crimean War, as the commander of a
small Austrian steamer, and during the war of 1864 he had commanded the
wooden steam frigate "Schwarzenberg" in the fight with the Danes off
Heligoland. Besides these war services he had taken part in an exploring
expedition in the Red Sea and Somaliland, and he had made more than one
voyage as staff-captain to the Archduke Maximilian, whose favourite officer
and close friend he had been for years. When the Archduke, an enthusiastic
sailor, resigned his command of the Austrian fleet to embark for Mexico,
where a short-lived reign as Emperor and a tragic death awaited him, he
told his brother, the Emperor Francis Joseph, that Tegethoff was the hope
of the Austrian navy.
The young admiral (he was not yet forty years of age) had concentrated his
fleet at Pola, the Austrian naval port near Trieste. He had got together
every available ship, not only the seven ironclads, but the old
line-of-battle ship and the wooden frigates and gunboats. The Admiralty at
Vienna had suggested that he should take only the ironclads to sea, but he
had replied: "Give me every ship you have. You may depend on my finding
some good use for them." He believed in his officers and men, and relied on
them to make a good fight on board anything that would float, whether the
naval experts considered it was out of date or not. Among his officers he
had plenty of men who were worthy of their chief and inspired with his own
dauntless spirit, and the crews were largely composed of excellent
material, men from the wilderness of creek and island that extends along
the Illyrian and Dalmatian shores, fishermen and coasting sailors, many of
them so lately joined that instead of uniform they still wore their
picturesque native costume. The crew looked a motley lot, but, to use
Farragut's phrase, "there was iron in the men."
Twenty-seven ships in all, small and large, were moored in four lines in
the roadstead of Fasana, near Pola. But they did not remain idly at their
anchors. Every day some of them ran out to sea, to fire at moving targets
or to practise rapid turning and ramming floating rafts. The bows were
strengthened by cross timbers in all the larger ships, and in the target
work the crews were taught to concentrate the fire of several guns on one
spot. But Tegethoff knew he had not a single gun in his fleet that could
pierce the armour of the Italian vessels. He told his officers that for
decisive results they must trust to the ram. He had painted his ships a
dead black. The Italian colour was grey. "When we get into the fight," said
Tegethoff, "you must ram away at anything you see painted grey."
War was declared on 20 June. Tegethoff had been training his fleet since 9
May, and was ready for action. He at once sent out the "Stadion" (a
passenger steamer of the Austrian Lloyd line, employed as a scout and armed
with two 12-pounders) to reconnoitre the Italian coast of the Adriatic. The
"Stadion" returned on the 23rd with news that though war had been expected
for weeks the Italian fleet was not yet concentrated. A few of the ships
were at Ancona, but the greater part of it was reported to be at Taranto,
with Admiral Count Persano, the commander-in-chief, who from the first
displayed the strangest irresolution.
Tegethoff was anxious to attempt to engage the division at Ancona before it
was joined by the main body from Taranto, but he was held back by orders
from his Government directing him to remain in the Northern Adriatic
covering Venice. It was not till 26 June that he obtained a free hand
within limits defined by an order not to go further south than the
fortified island of Lissa.
He left Pola that evening with six ironclads, the wooden frigate
"Schwarzenberg," five gunboats, and the scouting steamer "Stadion." He had
hoisted his rear-admiral's flag on the "Erzherzog Ferdinand Max."[21] He
made for Ancona, and was off the port at dawn next day. The first shots of
the naval war were fired in the grey of the morning, when three of the
Austrian gunboats chased the Italian dispatch vessel "Esploratore" into the
port, outside of which she had been on the look-out. The Austrians were
able clearly to see and count the warships under the batteries in the
harbour. Besides other craft, there were eleven of Persano's twelve
ironclads, the squadron from Taranto having reached Ancona the day before.
Only the much-vaunted "Affondatore" had not yet joined.
[21] This was one of his least powerfully-armed ironclads, but
Tegethoff seems to have selected her as his flagship because she
was named after his old friend and chief, the Archduke Ferdinand
Maximilian, who was at that time Emperor of Mexico, and involved
in the final stage of the struggle that ended in his capture and
execution by the Republican Juarez.
Tegethoff cleared for action, and steamed up and down for some hours, just
beyond the range of the coast batteries. It was a challenge to the Italians
to come out and fight. But Persano did not accept it. He afterwards made
excuses to his Government, saying he had not yet completed the final
fitting out of his ships. The moral effect on both fleets was important.
The Austrians felt an increased confidence in their daring leader and a
growing contempt for their adversaries. On the 24th the Austrian army,
under the Archduke Albert, had beaten the Italians at Custozza, and the
Austrian navy looked forward to the same good fortune. The Italians were
depressed both by the news of Custozza and the hesitation of their admiral
to risk anything.
Early in the day Tegethoff started on his return voyage to Fasana, where he
arrived in the evening, and found the ironclad "Hapsburg" waiting to join
his flag, after having been refitted in the dockyard of Pola. As there
were now persistent rumours that the Italians were going to attempt an
attack on Venice, Tegethoff remained in the Fasana roadstead, continuing
the training of his fleet. On 6 July he again took it to sea, practised
fleet manoeuvres under steam, and showed himself in sight of Ancona. But
the Italian fleet was still lying idly in the harbour, and Tegethoff once
more returned to Fasana in the hope that Persano would attempt some
enterprise, during which he would be able to fall upon him in the open.
The Italian admiral was meanwhile wasting time in lengthy correspondence
with his Government, and sending it letters which revealed his irresolution
and incompetence so plainly that they ought to have led to his immediate
supersession. He complained he had not definite orders, though he had been
directed to destroy the Austrian fleet, if it put to sea, or blockade it,
if it remained in harbour. He explained now that he was mounting better
guns in some of his ships, now that he was waiting for the "Affondatore" to
join. Once he actually wrote saying that some new ironclads ought to be
purchased from other powers to reinforce him. At last he was plainly told
that if he did not at once do something for the honour of the Italian navy
he would be relieved of his command. With the Austrians victorious in
Northern Italy, a raid on Venice would have been too serious an operation,
but he proposed as an alternative that a small land force should be
embarked for a descent on the fortified island of Lissa, on the Dalmatian
coast. His fleet would escort it, and co-operate by bombarding the island
batteries. The plan was accepted, and he proceeded to execute it.
It was about as bad a scheme as could be imagined. It is a recognized
principle of war that over-sea expeditions should only be undertaken when
the enemy's fleet has been either rendered helpless by a crushing defeat or
blockaded in its ports. Before sending the transports to Lissa Persano
should have steamed across to Pola and blockaded Tegethoff, fighting him
if he came out. But Persano had a delusive hope that he could perhaps score
a victory without encountering the Austrian fleet by swooping down on
Lissa, crushing the batteries with a heavy bombardment, landing the troops,
hoisting the Italian flag, and getting back to his safe anchorage at Ancona
before Tegethoff could receive news of what was happening, and come out and
force on a battle.
Lissa was defended by a garrison of 1800 men, under Colonel Urs de Margina.
This small body of troops held a number of forts and batteries mounting
eighty-eight guns, none of them of large calibre. The works were old, and
had been hurriedly repaired. Most of them dated from the time of the
English occupation of the island during the Napoleonic wars.[22] Persano
expected that Lissa would be a very easy nut to crack.
[22] Some of the forts were still known by English names, such
as Wellington Tower, Bentinck Tower, and Robertson Tower.
On 16 July the Italian fleet sailed from Ancona. Even now Persano carried
out his operations with leisurely deliberation. On the 17th he reconnoitred
Lissa, approaching in his flagship under French colours. Early on the 18th
the fleet closed in upon the island, flying French colours, till it was in
position before the batteries.
The commandant had cable communication with Pola by a line running by
Lesina to the mainland. He reported to Tegethoff the appearance of the
disguised fleet, and then the opening of the attack on his batteries. At
first the Austrian admiral could hardly believe that the Italians had
committed themselves to such an ill-judged enterprise, and thought that the
attack on Lissa might be only a feint meant to draw his fleet away from the
Northern Adriatic, and leave an opening for a dash at Pola, Trieste, or
Venice itself. But cablegrams describing the progress of the attack
convinced him it was meant to be pressed home, and he telegraphed to
Colonel de Margina, telling him to hold out to the last extremity, and
promising to come to his relief with all the fleet. This message did not
reach the colonel, for just before it was dispatched an Italian ship had
cut the cable between Lissa and Lesina, and seized the telegraph office of
the latter island. Tegethoff's message thus fell into Persano's hands. He
persuaded himself that it was mere bluff, intended to encourage the
commandant of Lissa to hold out as long as possible. He thought Tegethoff
would remain in the Northern Adriatic to protect or to overawe Venice.
The attempt to reduce the batteries of Lissa by bombardment during the 18th
proved a failure. In the evening Persano was in a very anxious state of
mind. He had made no arrangements for colliers to supply his fleet, and his
coal was getting low. It was just possible that Tegethoff might come out
and force him to fight, and he thought of returning to Ancona. But if he
did he would be dismissed from his command. At last he made up his mind to
land the troops next morning, and try to carry the forts by an assault
combined with an attack from the sea. His second in command, Admiral
Albini, with the squadron of wooden ships and gunboats that accompanied the
ironclads, was directed to superintend and assist in the landing of the
troops. They were to be embarked in all available boats, and to land at 9
a.m. During the night the ram "Affondatore" joined the fleet, and Persano
had all his twelve ironclads before Lissa.
On the morning of the 18th the sea was smooth, and covered with a hot haze
that limited the view. The soldiers were being got into the boats, and the
ships were steaming to their stations for the attack, when about eight
o'clock the "Esploratore," which had been sent off to scout to the
north-westward, appeared steaming fast out of a bank of haze with a signal
flying, which was presently read, "Suspicious-looking ships in sight."
Tegethoff was coming.
He had left Fasana late on the afternoon of the 18th, with every available
ship, large and small, new and old, wooden wall and ironclad. He would
find work for all of them. All night he had steamed for Lissa, anxious at
the sudden cessation of the cable messages, but still hoping that he would
see the Austrian flag flying on its forts, or if not, that he would at
least find the enemy's fleet still in its waters.
[Illustration: LISSA. BATTLE FORMATION OF THE AUSTRIAN FLEET]
He had organized his fleet in three divisions. The first under his own
personal command was formed of the seven ironclads. The second division,
under Commodore von Petz, was composed of wooden unarmoured ships. The
commodore's flag flew on the old steam line-of-battle ship "Kaiser," a
three-decker with ninety-two guns on her broadsides, all smooth-bores
except a couple of rifled 24-pounders. With the "Kaiser" were five old
wooden ships ("Novara," "Schwarzenberg," "Donau," "Adria," and "Radetzky")
and a screw corvette, the "Erzherzog Friedrich." The third division, under
Commandant Eberle, was composed of ten gunboats. A dispatch-boat was
attached to each of the leading divisions, and the scout "Stadion," the
swiftest vessel in the fleet, was at the immediate disposal of the admiral,
and was sent on in advance.
The fleet steamed during the night in the order of battle that Tegethoff
had chosen. The divisions followed each other in succession, each in a
wedge formation, the flagship of the division in the centre with the rest
of the ships to port and starboard, not in line abreast, but each a little
behind the other. The formation will be understood from the annexed
diagram.
It was an anxious night for the Austrian admiral. For some hours there was
bad weather. Driving showers of fine rain from a cloudy sky made it
difficult at times to see the lights of the ships, and it was no easy
matter for them to keep their stations. The sea was for a while so rough
that the ironclads had to close their ports, and there was a danger that if
the weather did not improve and the sea become smoother they would not be
able to fight most of their guns. But Tegethoff held steadily on his
course for Lissa. On sea, as on land, there are times in the crisis of a
war when the highest prudence is to throw all ordinary rules of prudence
aside, and take all risks.
The admiral had resolved from the outset that, whatever might be the
result, the Austrian fleet should not lie in safety under the protection of
shore batteries, leaving the Italian command of the Adriatic unchallenged.
He felt that it would be better to sink in the open sea, in a hopeless
fight against desperate odds, rather than ingloriously to survive the war,
without making an effort to carry his flag to victory. So he steamed
through the night, followed by his strange array of ships that another
leader might well have considered as little better than useless
encumbrances, and in front the handful of inferior ironclads that might
well be regarded as equally doomed to destruction when they met the more
numerous and more heavily armed ships of the enemy. But he had put away all
thoughts of safety. He was staking every ship and every man and his own
life against the faint chance of success. The coming day might see his
fleet destroyed, but such a failure would be no disgrace. On the contrary,
it would only be less honourable than a well-won victory, and would be an
inspiration to the men of a future fleet that would carry the banner of the
Hapsburgs in later days. So he rejoiced greatly when, as the day came, the
weather began to clear, and the "Stadion" signalled back that Lissa was
still holding out and the enemy's fleet lay under its shores.
As soon as he read the "Esploratore's" signal, Persano had no doubt that
Tegethoff was upon him. He countermanded the attack on Lissa, ordered
Albini to re-embark the troops, and proceeded to form his ironclads in line
of battle, intending to engage the enemy with these only. The ironclads
were standing in to attack the batteries of San Giorgio at the north-east
end of the island. Persano formed nine of them in three divisions, which
were to follow each other in line ahead, the ram "Affondatore" being out
of the line and to starboard of the second division. The formation was as
follows:--
FIRST DIVISION.
{ _Principe di Carignano_.
Rear-Admiral Vacca { _Castelfidardo_.
{ _Ancona_.
SECOND DIVISION.
{ _Re d'Italia_. _Affondatore_.
Rear-Admiral Faa di Bruno { _Palestro_. (to starboard of the
{ _San Martino_. line).
THIRD DIVISION.
{ _Re di Portogallo_.
Rear-Admiral Ribotti { _Maria Pia_.
{ _Varese_.
The two other Italian ironclads, the "Formidabile" and the "Varese," were
not in the line, and took no part in the coming battle. The "Formidabile"
had suffered heavily in the attack on the shore batteries, numerous shells
entering her port-holes and making a slaughterhouse of her gun-deck. She
had been ordered to Ancona, and had left Lissa in the early morning. The
"Varese" had been detached to assist in operations on the other side of the
island, and joined Albini's squadron of wooden ships while the fight was in
progress. Persano's battle line first steered west along the north side of
Lissa. About ten o'clock the driving mist on the sea cleared, and the
Austrian fleet was then seen approaching on a S.S.E. course. Persano
altered his own course, and, led by Vacca in the "Principe di Carignano,"
the Italian ironclads turned in succession on a N.N.E. course. Thus as the
Austrians closed on them the fleet in a sinuous line was steering across
the bows of the attacking ships.
It was at this moment that Persano changed his flag from the "Re d'
Italia" to the "Affondatore," the former ship slowing down to enable the
admiral to leave her, and thus producing a wide gap between Vacca's and Faa
di Bruno's divisions. The result of this sudden change of flagship was
confusing, as most of the Italian ships were unaware of it, and still
looked to the "Re d' Italia" for guidance, and did not notice signals made
by the "Affondatore."
Tegethoff had given the successive signals as the mist dispersed, "Clear
for action--Close order--Look-out ships return to their stations--Full
speed ahead." As the last of the fog disappeared and the sun shone out, he
saw to his delight the Austrian flag still flying on the hill-side
batteries of Lissa, and close in front between him and the island shores
the enemy's fleet crossing his bows. Out fluttered his battle signal,
"_Ironclads will ram and sink the enemy!_" A final signal was being
prepared, "_Muss Sieg von Lissa werden!_" ("There must be a victory of
Lissa!"), but the close encounter had begun, and the ships were wrapped in
clouds of powder-smoke before it could be hoisted.
While Persano was passing from the "Re d' Italia" to the ram "Affondatore,"
Vacca had begun the fight by firing his broadside at the advancing
Austrians. The "Castelfidardo" and the "Ancona" followed his example. But
Tegethoff held his fire, waiting for close quarters. One of these first
shots killed Captain Moll of the "Drache" on the bridge of his ship. A
young lieutenant took command of her. He was Weiprecht, who in later years
became famous as the commander of the Austrian exploring ship "Tegethoff"
in the Arctic regions.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF LISSA
THE AUSTRIAN ATTACK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE]
As the fleets closed the Austrians opened fire, aiming, not at the armoured
sides of the enemy, which no gun of theirs could penetrate, but at their
port-holes and bridges. Tegethoff in his flagship the "Ferdinand Max" was
looking for something to ram, but in the dense mass of smoke he passed
through the wide gap between Vacca's division and the "Re d'Italia,"
then finding no enemy in his front, he turned and went back into the battle
fog of the Italian centre. The three ironclads on his left ("Hapsburg,"
"Salamander," and "Kaiser Max") were engaged with Vacca's division, the van
of the Italian fleet. The three others, "Don Juan," "Drache," and "Prinz
Eugen," had flung themselves on Faa di Bruno's ships in the centre. Von
Petz coming up with the wooden ships gallantly attacked Ribotti's rearward
division, any one of which should in theory have been able to dispose of
his entire force. The gunboats hung on the margin of the fight, which had
now become a confused melee. And while the Austrian wooden ships were thus
risking themselves in close action, Albini's Italian division of wooden
ships looked on from a safe distance.
One can only tell some of the striking incidents of the battle, without
being able even to fix the precise order of time in which they occurred.
When the "Merrimac" sank the "Cumberland" with one blow of her ram in
Hampton Roads, the Federal ship was at anchor. But even in the confusion
and semi-darkness of the melee at Lissa it was found that it was not such
an easy matter to ram a ship under way. The blow was generally eluded by a
turn of the helm. Von Petz's flagship, the old three-decker "Kaiser,"
towering amid the battle-smoke, attracted the attention of Persano in the
"Affondatore," and seemed an easy victim for his ram. But the big ironclad
was unhandy, and took eight minutes to turn a full circle, and twice Petz
eluded her attack. The two 300-pounders of the "Affondatore" did much
damage on board the "Kaiser," but the wooden ship's broadside swept the
upper works of the ram as the two vessels passed each other, and strewed
her deck with wreckage. The fire of the heavy rifled guns on the Italian
ironclads did severe execution on the Austrian wooden ships. The captain of
the "Novara" was killed; the "Erzherzog Friedrich" and the "Schwarzenberg"
were badly hulled, and leaked so that they were only kept afloat by their
steam pumps. The "Adria" was three times on fire. But Petz and the wooden
division did good service by keeping the rearward Italian ships fully
occupied.
Meanwhile Tegethoff, standing on the bridge of the "Ferdinand Max," all
reckless of the storm of fire that roared around him had dashed into the
Italian centre. He rammed first the "Re d'Italia," then the "Palestro," but
both ships evaded the full force of the blow, and the Austrian flagship
scraped along their sides, bringing down a lot of gear. The mizzen-topmast
and gaff of the "Palestro" came down with the shock, and the gaff fell
across the Austrian's deck, with the Italian tricolour flying from it.
Before the ships could clear an Austrian sailor secured the flag. It would
seem that the glancing blow given to the "Re d'Italia" had disorganized her
steering gear, and for a while she was not under control. Two other ships
joined the flagship in attacking her, all believing she was still Persano's
flagship. The "Palestro," fighting beside her, was set on fire by shells
passing through her unarmoured stern. The fire made such rapid progress
that she drew out of the fight, her crew trying to save their ship.
Von Sterneck, the captain of the "Ferdinand Max," had gone half-way up the
mizzen-rigging, to look out over the smoke; he reported that the "Re
d'Italia" was not under full control, and Tegethoff once more dashed at his
enemy. The bow of the "Ferdinand Max" this time struck the "Re d'Italia"
full amidships, and simply forced in her side, making an enormous gap,
crushing and smashing plates and frames. As the "Ferdinand Max" reversed
her engines and drew her bows out of her adversary's side, the "Re
d'Italia" heeled over and sank instantly, carrying hundreds to the bottom
and strewing the surface with wreckage and struggling men.
The Austrians, after a moment of astonished horror at their own success,
cheered wildly. The "Ferdinand Max" tried to save some of the drowning
men, and was lowering her only boat that remained unshattered by the fire,
when the Italian ironclad "Ancona" tried to ram her. The Austrian flagship
evaded the blow, and the "Ancona," as she slid past her, almost touching
her gun-muzzles, fired a broadside into her. The powder-smoke from the
Italian guns poured into the port-holes of the "Ferdinand Max," and for a
few moments smothered her gun-deck in fog, but it was a harmless broadside.
In their undisciplined haste to fire the Italians had loaded only with the
cartridge, there was not a shot in the guns. This tells something of the
confusion on board.
Another Austrian ironclad and two of the gunboats made plucky efforts to
save some of the survivors of the "Re d'Italia," but they, too, were driven
off by the fierce attacks of Italian ships.
Meanwhile Petz with his wooden ships had fought his way through the Italian
rear. With his old three-decker he boldly rammed the "Re di Portogallo."
The Italian ship evaded the full force of the blow, but the tall wooden
vessel scraped along her side, starting several of her armour plates,
carrying away port-hole covers and davits, dragging two anchors from her
bows, smashing gun-muzzles and jerking four light guns into the sea. But
the "Kaiser" herself suffered from the close fire of the "Re di
Portogallo's" heavy guns and the shock of collision. Her stem and bowsprit
were carried away, the gilded crown of her figure-head falling on her
enemy's deck. Her foremast came crashing down on her funnel, and wrecked
it, and the mass of fallen spars, sails, and rigging was set on fire by
sparks and flame from the damaged funnel, the collapse of which nearly
stopped the draught of the furnaces and dangerously reduced the pressure on
the boilers and the speed of the engines.
The "Re di Portogallo" sheered off, but her consort, the "Maria Pia," came
rushing down on the disabled "Kaiser." Petz avoided her ram, and engaged
her at close quarters, but the shells of the "Maria Pia" burst one of the
"Kaiser's" steam-pipes, temporarily disabled her steering gear, and did
terrible execution in her stern battery. Petz himself was slightly wounded.
With great difficulty he extricated his ship from the melee, and cutting
away the wreckage, and fighting the fire that was raging forward, he
steered for San Giorgio, the port of Lissa, to seek shelter under its
batteries. His wooden frigates gallantly protected his retreat and escorted
him to safety, then turned back to join once more in the fight. This was
the moment when Albini with the Italian wooden squadron might easily have
destroyed Petz's division, but during the day all he did was to fire a few
shots at a range so distant that they were harmless.
Persano, in the "Affondatore," had for a moment threatened to attack the
"Kaiser," as she struggled out of the melee. He steamed towards her, and
then suddenly turned away. He afterwards explained that, seeing the plight
of Petz's flagship, he thought she was already doomed to destruction, and
looked upon it as useless cruelty to sink her with her crew.
The fleets were now separating, and the fire was slackening. In this last
stage of the melee the "Maria Pia" and the "San Martino" collided amid the
smoke, and the latter received serious injuries. As the fleets worked away
from each other there was still a desultory fire kept up, but after having
lasted for about an hour and a half the battle was nearly over.
Tegethoff, having got between the Italians and Lissa, reformed his fleet in
three lines of divisions, each in line ahead, the ironclads to seaward
nearest the enemy; the wooden frigates next; and the gunboats nearest the
land. Every ship except the "Kaiser" (which lay in the entrance of the
port) was still ready for action. Some of them were leaking badly,
including his flagship, which had started several plates in the bow when
she rammed and sank the "Re d'Italia." The fleet steamed slowly out from
the land on a north-easterly course, the ironclads firing a few
long-ranging shots at the Italians.
Persano was also reforming his fleet in line, and was flying a signal to
continue the action, but he showed no determined wish to close with
Tegethoff again. On the contrary, while reforming the line he kept it on a
northwesterly course, and thus the distance between the fleets was
increasing every minute, as they were moving on divergent lines. Gradually
the firing died away and the battle was over. Albini, with the wooden
squadron, and the ironclad "Terribile," which had remained with him, and
taken no part in the fight, ran out and joined the main fleet.
Persano afterwards explained that he was waiting for Tegethoff to come out
and attack him. But the Austrian admiral had attained his object, by
forcing his way through the Italian line, and placing himself in a position
to co-operate with the batteries of Lissa, in repelling any further attempt
upon the island. There was no reason why, with his numerically inferior
fleet, he should come out again to fight a second battle.
But though the action was ended, there was yet another disaster for the
Italians. The "Palestro" had been for two hours fighting the fire lighted
on board of her by the Austrian shells. Smoke was rising from hatchways and
port-holes, but as she rejoined the fleet she signalled that the fire was
being got under and the magazines had been drowned. Two of the smaller
ships, the "Governolo" and the "Independenza," came to her help and took
off her wounded. To a suggestion that he should abandon his ship, her
commander, Capellini, replied: "Those who wish may go, but I shall stay,"
and his officers and men remained with him, and continued working to put
out the fire. But the attempt to drown the magazines had been a failure,
for suddenly a deafening explosion thundered over the sea, the spars of the
"Palestro" were seen flying skyward in a volcano of flame. As the smoke of
the explosion cleared, the heaving water strewn with debris showed where
the ship had been.
The Austrian fleet was steaming into San Giorgio, amid the cheers of the
garrison and the people, when the explosion of the "Palestro" took place.
Persano drew off with his fleet into the channel between Lissa and the
island of Busi, and when the sun went down the Italian ships were still in
sight from the look-out stations on the hills of Lissa.
The Austrians worked all night repairing damages, and preparing for a
possible renewal of the fight in the morning. But at sunrise the look-outs
reported that there was not an Italian ship in sight. Persano had steered
for Ancona after dark, and arrived there on the 21st.
He was so unwise as to report that he had won a great naval victory in a
general engagement with the Austrians in the waters of Lissa. Italy,
already smarting under the defeat of Custozza, went wild with rejoicing.
Cities were illuminated, salutes were fired, there was a call for high
honours for the victorious admiral. But within forty-eight hours the truth
was known. It was impossible to conceal the fact that Lissa had been
unsuccessfully attacked for two days, and that on the third it had been
relieved by Tegethoff dashing through the Italian fleet, and destroying the
"Re d'Italia" and the "Palestro," without himself losing a single ship.
There were riots in Florence, and the cry was now that Admiral Persano was
a coward and a traitor. To add to the gloom of the moment the ram
"Affondatore," which had been injured in the battle, sank at her anchors
when a sudden gale swept the roadstead of Ancona.
Three of the twelve Italian ironclads had thus been lost. Three more were
unavailable while their damages were being slowly repaired. Peace was
concluded shortly after, and the Italian navy had no opportunity of showing
what it could do under a better commander.
In the sinking of the "Re d'Italia" some 450 men had been drowned. More
than 200 lost their lives in the explosion of the "Palestra," but the
other losses of the Italians in the Battle of Lissa were slight, only 5
killed and 39 wounded. The Austrians lost 38 killed (including two
captains) and 138 wounded. These losses were not severe, considering that
several wooden ships had been exposed to heavy shell-fire at close
quarters, and one must conclude that the gunnery of the Italian crews was
wretched. The heaviest loss fell on Petz's flagship, the "Kaiser," which
had 99 killed and wounded. Some of the gunboats, among which were some old
paddle-ships, though they took part in the fighting, had not a single
casualty.
Persano was tried by court-martial and deprived of his rank and dismissed
from the navy. Tegethoff became the hero of Austria. His successful attack
on a fleet that in theory should have been able to destroy every one of his
ships in an hour, will remain for all time an honour to the Austrian navy,
and a proof that skill and courage can hope to reverse the most desperate
disadvantages.