The First Battle of Durazzo was a naval battle of

World War I 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 ...

. It was fought off Durazzo,

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

at the end of December 1915 and involved the navies of

Austria-Hungary 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 ...

, the United Kingdom,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and France.

Battle

In December 1915, the Austro-Hungarian Navy sent another cruiser

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

into the Adriatic, this time to interfere with the

Serbian Campaign The Serbian campaign was a series of military expeditions launched in 1914 and 1915 by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Serbia during the First World War. The first campaign began after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 J ...

. The new

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

(nine 4-inch main guns) —accompanied by five s—left

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 ...

and headed for Durazzo late on 28 December 1915, with the submarine and two destroyers already off Durazzo on patrol. While on passage, the Austro-Hungarians sighted the French submarine on patrol to the south of Cattaro. The destroyer opened fire before ramming and sinking ''Monge''. Early the next day, the Austrian squadron arrived off Durazzo and opened fire on the town, with ''Helgoland'' sinking a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

steamer and two schooners. Then the destroyer ran into a minefield and was sunk, then was crippled by another mine. attempted to take ''Triglav'' in tow, but fouled a propeller, and the job was taken over by . The Austrian force now returned slowly north. Allied forces in Brindisi were alerted to the Austrian force, and the British

and the Italian scout cruiser , escorted by five French destroyers, sortied in an attempt to cut off the Austro-Hungarian ships from their base at Cattaro. These were followed two hours later by the Italian scout cruiser , the British light cruiser and four Italian destroyers. The Austrians also responded and despatched from Cattaro the armoured cruiser ''Kaiser Karl VI'', and the light cruisers ''Novara'' and ''Aspern'', to support the returning survivors of the raid, but they did not see action. Early in the afternoon of 29 December, the forward Allied ships came into action with the Austrian squadron which was still only halfway home. The French destroyers headed for the already crippled Austrian destroyer ''Triglav'' and sank her before attempting to rejoin the British and Italian cruisers. Meanwhile, the Allied cruisers attempted to cut off and deal with ''Helgoland'' and the three remaining destroyers. In a long-range gunnery duel fought throughout the afternoon, ''Helgoland'' skillfully avoided the Allied cruisers and reached Cattaro safely but with the loss of the valuable ''Lika'' and ''Triglav''. ''Tatra'' suffered a damaged engine from several shell hits.

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Durazzo, Battle Of (1915) Naval battles of World War I involving Austria-Hungary Naval battles of World War I involving France Naval battles of World War I involving Italy Naval battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom Mediterranean naval operations of World War I 1915 in Austria-Hungary Durazzo 1915 in France Conflicts in 1915 December 1915 events

Battle

See also

Bibliography