MessageToEagle.com – On July 20, 1866, the Battle of Lissa took place in the Adriatic Sea near the Dalmatian island of Lissa.
On June 20th, Italy officially declared the war with Austria.
It was the first major naval battle between ironclads (steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates), which replaced wooden sailing ships.
It was a decisive victory for an outnumbered force of Austrian Empire of the Habsburgs over a numerically superior Italian force.
The commander of the Habsburg Fleet was the famous Admiral von Tegetthoff and the Italian Fleet – much stronger that the Habsburg Fleet and with more ships – was commanded by the minister of Navy Carlo di Persano. The Italians wanted to win the battle and also conquer the Croatian island of Vis (Lissa).
Admiral Persano left the port of Ancona and attacked the island, especially Vis and Komiža, which are today part of Croatia. The Italians intended to destroy the city’s fortifications, but failed and were unable to land on the island.
The Habsburg Fleet was also sent to the island of Vis, and Admiral von Tegetthoff was aware of that the Italians were superior. He decided to form his ships in a wedge and thus, his forces could directly attack the enemy.
It was Tegetthoff’s tactical surprise and the Italians didn’t have time to shoot, although they had more cannons.
Tegethoff’s “Erzherzog Ferdinand Max” crashed into the broadside of the Italian “Re d’Italia”, which sank with the loss of nearly 400 crew.
After the explosion of the Italian “Palestro”, the Italian Admiral ordered the withdrawal. The Habsburgs won this battle.
The Italian Fleet lost 620 men and 38 of the Habsburg Fleet, died.
The Italians did not manage to conquer the island of Vis.
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