Italian Adriatic Fleet 1915-18

As my current bedtime reading is John Biggins's series on the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and my current wargames project is the Italian-Ottoman War, this book by Enrico Cernuschi is one I have been eagerly awaiting. 

The Adriatic is a relatively narrow stretch of sea, where in 1915 two battleship fleets faced each other. As it turned out, there was no major fleet action at the scale of Lissa in the previous century, but there was plenty of naval action between the smaller ships. The Austro-Hungarian military always believed that Italian adherence to the Central Powers was unlikely, and they were right: Italy entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1915. During the Italian-Ottoman War in 1911, the Chief of the General Staff for the Austro-Hungarian Army, Conrad von Hötzendorf, actually proposed attacking Italy. Mind you, he was in favour of any and every war possible!

Between 1891 and 1911, Italy commissioned eight 12in or 10in pre-dreadnoughts plus seven armoured cruisers. Ironically, Austria believed Italy would knock out its Istrian ports with an amphibious landing, while the Italians believed it was impossible. So, reluctantly, in 1910–12, Austria–Hungary laid down the four Viribus Unitis-class battleships. 

The author starts by setting the scene, explaining the warship development plans of the powers with Mediterranean fleets, and how the naval bases in the Adriatic were used. Then, how the Italian battlefleet was deployed in May 1915. Traditionally known as L’Armata, was formed by:

• I Divisione (battleships Cavour (flagship), Dante Alighieri, Cesare, Leonardo da Vinci)

• II Divisione (battleships Vittorio Emanuele, Regina Elena, Roma, Napoli)

• III Divisione (battleships Benedetto Brin, Regina Margherita, Scout Quarto, Bixio, Marsala)

• IV Divisione (armoured cruisers Pisa, Amalfi, San Giorgio, San Marco)

• V Divisione (armoured cruisers Garibaldi, Ferruccio Ferrucci, Varese)

The force was based between Taranto, Brindisi and Valona, and also included 13 destroyers, 28 torpedo boats and seven submarines. The shallower waters of the Northern Adriatic meant the Italians relied on smaller ships and minelaying. These included the famous MAS boats. The book also covers intelligence operations, a vital role in these pre-satellite days. 

The core of the book covers a wide range of sea actions and shore bombardments in the Adriatic, with maps and some fine colour plates. British and French ships also participated in this campaign. As the Macedonian campaign got underway after Gallipoli, control of the sea routes was vital to supply the armies there. Some of the harbour actions revisited places I described in my book about the Adriatic during the Napoleonic Wars. Cortellazzo was attacked by the Austrians in November and December 1917, although with less success than British frigate captains of that period. The Italian Navy fought 48 actions in the Adriatic, excluding shore bombardments. During these surface actions, the Austrians lost two dreadnoughts, one coastal pre-dreadnought, two destroyers and two armed motor boats. The Italians lost two destroyers. 

The last moments of SMS Szent István, hit by a torpedo of the Italian MAS of Luigi Rizzo

This excellent book has plenty to offer the wargamer and naval history buff, covering the subject for the first time in English. I already have a small order for 1/3000 ships to make a start on the tabletop.