The Battle of Antivari or Action off Antivari was a naval engagement between a large fleet of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

warships and two ships of the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

navy at the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The old Austrian

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

and the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

were blockading the Montenegrin port of

Antivari Bar (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and Serbian language, Serbian: Бар, ; sq, Tivar; it, Antivari or ''Antibari'') is a coastal town and seaport in southern Montenegro. It is the capital of the Bar Municipality and a center for tourism ...

, when on 16 August 1914, they were surprised and cut off by a large Anglo-French force that had sortied into the Adriatic. ''Zenta'' fought and was destroyed, to give ''Ulan'' a chance to escape, which she did. The ships of the Austrian fleet at

Cattaro Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative c ...

, unaware of events, did not come out of port to meet the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

fleet. After blockading the Adriatic for a short while the French were forced to withdraw due to a lack of supplies.

Background

When war broke out between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, the Austro-Hungarians began a blockade of the Montenegrin coast as well as several bombardments of various towns including the port of Antivari (today

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

), where the protected cruiser SMS ''Zenta'' and destroyer SMS ''Ulan'' were stationed. The

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

had decided to try to force the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...

into a decisive fleet action by making a sortie into the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

and bait the Austrians into engaging them. The Allied force consisted of two

dreadnought battleship The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...

s, 10

pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prote ...

s, four

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

s, one

and more than 20 destroyers. According to Austro-Hungarian naval records, the main force of the Austro-Hungarian fleet was unaware of the Allied presence until SMS ''Ulan'' radioed them as she escaped from the battle.

Battle

The Allied Fleet managed to cut off ''Zenta'' from the main Austro-Hungarian naval base at Cattaro. Badly outnumbered, ''Zenta'''s commander, Captain

Paul Pachner Paul Pachner (October 17, 1871 - October 13,1937) was an Austro–Hungarian admiral who served during World War I. He commanded the protected cruiser SMS Zenta during the Battle of Antivari The Battle of Antivari or Action off Antivari was a n ...

, decided to fight to allow ''Ulan'' to escape. ''Zenta'' also had a serious disadvantage because her 120 mm guns were significantly outranged by the heavier guns on the Allied ships. The French battleships scored many hits on ''Zenta'' without suffering any damage. ''Zenta'' was sunk with 173 men killed and over 50 wounded but the sacrifice enabled ''Ulan'' to escape.

Aftermath

Unaware of the situation outside Antivari until it was virtually over, that part of the Austro-Hungarian fleet stationed at Cattaro did not sortie to give battle as the French had hoped. French ships were not damaged by Austrian gunfire however 3 major guns exploded while firing, and the following day ''Justice'', ''Démocratie'', and two destroyers were damaged in a series of collisions. The action ended the Austro-Hungarian blockade of Montenegro which was a success for the Entente. The French fleet could not remain in the Adriatic for long and had to return to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

periodically for supplies.

Order of battle

French Navy

* , dreadnought battleship,

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

* , dreadnought battleship * 1st Battle squadron ** , pre-dreadnought battleship, Division Flagship ** , pre-dreadnought battleship ** , pre-dreadnought battleship, Squadron Flagship ** , pre-dreadnought battleship ** , pre-dreadnought battleship * 2nd Battle squadron ** , pre-dreadnought battleship, Squadron Flagship ** , pre-dreadnought battleship ** , pre-dreadnought battleship ** , pre-dreadnought battleship, Division Flagship ** , pre-dreadnought battleship * 1st Light Division ** , armoured cruiser ** , armoured cruiser * 2nd Light Division ** , armoured cruiser ** , armoured cruiser * , protected cruiser * 3 Destroyer Squadrons

Royal Navy

* , armoured cruiser * , armoured cruiser * 4 Destroyers

Austro-Hungarian Navy

* Blockade Force ** , protected cruiser ** , destroyer * Auxiliary Force ** (1895) ** (1885) ** 2 Destroyers

Notes

References

* *