African Business Chronicles

Chapter 39 – The Battle of Lissa

July 20, Adriatic Sea.

Lissa Island served as the Austrian Empire's naval base in the Adriatic.

After declaring war on Austria, Italy was eager to find a breakthrough on the battlefield. The Italian army's lackluster reputation was well known, and the terrain between Venetia and Austria was poorly suited for large-scale troop movement. Austrian forces had already withdrawn from defensively weak positions in Venetia, regrouping their main force to repeatedly repel Italian offensives by leveraging the terrain advantage.

This gave the Italian army an excuse for its poor performance. Since the land route was going nowhere, the Kingdom of Italy turned to the sea in hopes of striking Austria from the coast.

At the time, the Italian Navy was considered one of the most powerful in the world. It boasted 12 ironclads, including the modern Italia and Di Portogallo, as well as the turreted battleship Affondatore. They also had 16 wooden steam-powered warships.

By contrast, the Austro-Hungarian Navy had only 7 ironclads; the rest were wooden ships.

Facing a 12-to-7 disadvantage in ironclads, Italian Admiral Carlo Persano believed the odds were in his favor and decided to launch a direct assault on the Austrian naval base at Lissa.

On June 16, the Italian squadron—comprising 11 armored ships, 5 cruisers, and 3 gunboats—set out from Ancona under Persano's command. Their goal was to land forces and seize Lissa, a fortified island base with 9 permanent fortifications, 88 cannons across 11 artillery units, and nearly 3,000 defending troops.

On July 18 and 19, Italian attempts to invade failed due to a lack of intelligence about the defenders, who resisted fiercely and damaged the Italian ironclad Formidabile with cannon fire.

As Persano prepared for another assault on July 20, the Austro-Hungarian fleet arrived at dawn.

The Austrian fleet, under Rear Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, had departed from the distant port of Pola, 165 nautical miles away. When first informed of the attack, Tegetthoff thought it was a feint. He found it hard to believe that the Italians would risk an amphibious assault without surprise or full naval dominance.

But Persano's bold gamble quickly proved otherwise.

Tegetthoff raced toward Lissa, and once near the island, he ordered his fleet into battle formation. Knowing his firepower was inferior, he arranged his fleet into three aggressive "V"-shaped columns.

The first V, led by his flagship Ferdinand Max, included all 7 of his ironclads.

The second V was composed of fast wooden ships and a coastal defense ship, led by the Kaiser.

The third V included smaller vessels.

Meanwhile, Persano's fleet had spent two days bombarding Lissa's coastal forts, but failed to silence the 88 shore cannons. One Italian ironclad was disabled, most ammunition was depleted, and fuel would last only two more days.

Despite this, on the morning of July 20, Persano resumed the attack—until a lookout reported that the Austrian fleet was approaching from the northwest.

In a panic, Persano hastily ordered his ironclads into a column to intercept. Even worse, he inexplicably moved his command flag from the Italia to the Affondatore, which was not even in formation.

This left a dangerous gap between the first three ships and the rest of the fleet.

Tegetthoff seized the opportunity, leading his ironclads through the gap, while his wooden ships charged Persano's wooden vessels and remaining ironclads.

A chaotic melee broke out, with the ships' movements obscured by thick smoke. The Affondatore twice tried and failed to ram the wooden Kaiser. One shell from the Kaiser grazed the Di Portogallo, but Kaiser was set ablaze under heavy fire and eventually forced to retreat by the Affondatore.

Meanwhile, one Austrian shell ignited an Italian ironclad.

The most dramatic moment came when Tegetthoff's Ferdinand Max rammed the Re d'Italia.

Amid the smoke, the Ferdinand Max struck the side of the Re d'Italia, disabling its steering.

As another Austrian ship blocked the Italian vessel's path, Ferdinand Max reversed and rammed again. The second blow caused the Re d'Italia to tilt severely to starboard.

When the ship leveled out, water rushed in through the gash. The ship then tilted to port and sank. As it went down, the poorly trained but patriotic Italian crew shouted "Long live the King!" in their final moments.

The sinking of the Re d'Italia effectively ended the battle. The Italian fleet retreated west. Tegetthoff, with some ships damaged and still outgunned, did not pursue. But his mission—to relieve Lissa—was accomplished. He returned to Austria as a national hero.

On the Italian side, Admiral Persano was relieved of duty after the war.

The Battle of Lissa was a decisive naval victory for Austria. Three Italian ironclads were lost, along with over 1,000 sailors.

This was the world's first large-scale naval battle between steam-powered ironclad warships.

Navies worldwide took note, studying the battle closely—its tactics, ship design, and weaponry.

The age of sails was officially over; this was the dawn of the steam-and-iron era.

After the battle, Italy's fleet went on the defensive.

The reasons for Italy's defeat were clear: poor reconnaissance, no battle plan, failed communication, and an indecisive, incompetent commander.

Italian sailors were undertrained. Their officers lacked initiative. Admiral Persano, it seemed, barely understood his own fleet.

In contrast, Austria's navy, though smaller, was led by the brilliant Rear Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff. His soldiers were well-trained, motivated, and skilled—everything the Italians lacked.

Persano had ignored orders to "sweep the Adriatic of enemy forces," instead wasting time repositioning ships at Ancona. He failed to train his untested gunners.

Eventually, King Victor Emmanuel II issued a direct order: attack the enemy fleet or fortress—any success would count.

Thus, Persano chose to seize Lissa.

Under Tegetthoff, Austria's fleet rushed to aid the island defenders. His sudden assault targeted the center of Italy's fleet, but ironclad gunnery proved ineffective.

So Tegetthoff ordered his flagship Archduke Ferdinand Max to ram the Re d'Italia, sinking it with 400 crew aboard and deciding the battle.

Another Italian ship, San Martino, was hit, caught fire, and exploded.

In short, a well-led Austrian fleet had defeated a numerically superior Italian fleet, surprising everyone.

Tegetthoff's bold "V" formation became famous. Later, China's Beiyang Fleet tried to copy it, but with poor results.

Of course, the Yellow Sea Battle and Lissa were very different. Austria had rigorous training; Italy had expanded too quickly to maintain discipline. The Beiyang Fleet, by comparison, lacked both training and ammunition and was outclassed by Japan.

Finally, Lissa's use of ramming revived an ancient tactic. For decades afterward, most navies added rams to their warships.

The Battle of Lissa was the first major engagement between steam-powered ironclads. It showed that cannon fire alone couldn't defeat armored ships, and that steam engines gave fleets a new level of mobility and tactical flexibility.

As the victor of Lissa, Wilhelm von Tegetthoff became one of the greatest naval commanders of the 19th century.

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