The Bombardment of Ancona was a naval engagement of the

Adriatic Campaign of World War I The Adriatic Campaign of World War I was a naval campaign fought between the Central Powers and the Mediterranean squadrons of Great Britain, France, the Kingdom of Italy, Australia and the United States. Characteristics First World War naval ac ...

between the navies of

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 re ...

and

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 ...

. Forces of the

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

attacked and bombarded military and civilian targets all across

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

in central Italy and several other nearby islands and communities in response to Italy's declaration of war on Austria-Hungary. When Italy declared war against Austria-Hungary on 23 May 1915, the Austrian fleet was quick to react; the navy launched several attacks on the

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

region of Italy. That day, 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 ...

and

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

'' Tb 53T'' bombarded the port of Ancona. The destroyer , on a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

mission between

Palagruža Palagruža (; it, Pelagosa) is a small Croatian archipelago in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. It is uninhabited, except by lighthouse staff and occasional summer tourists. Geography It consists of one larger island, called ''Vela'' or ''Vel ...

and Cape Gargano, shelled the

semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

and radio station at

Vieste Vieste (; nap, label= Viestano, Vìst) is a town, ''comune'' and former Catholic bishopric in the province of Foggia, in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. A marine resort in Gargano, Vieste has received Blue Flags for the purity of its wat ...

. Defending those waters at the time was the Italian destroyer . A small duel commenced with ''Lika'' coming out as the

victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, damaging the enemy destroyer. The next day, 24 May, the majority of the Austrian fleet at

Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People *House of Pola, an Italian noble family *Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress *Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer *Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter *Pola Gojawiczyńska (18 ...

steamed for 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) ...

coast of Italy. This included the

dreadnought 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 , , and eight

pre-dreadnought 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. Other Austro-Hungarian ships were already in enemy waters or proceeding to the Ancona coast themselves. The fleet bombarded several of the Italian coastal cities and other targets in and around the Province of Ancona, especially damaging the city of Ancona. SMS ''Tegetthoff'' and the destroyer shelled the Italian

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

''Città di Ferrara'' off Ancona. The pre-dreadnought and two torpedo boats bombarded

Potenza Picena Potenza Picena is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche, about southeast of Ancona and about northeast of Macerata. ''Potentia'' was the Roman town situated in the lower Potenza valley, in the ...

, then returned to Pola naval base. The pre-dreadnought —along with two more torpedo boats—bombarded

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian, Romagnol: ''S’nigaja'') is a ''comune'' and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona in the Marche region and lies approximately 30 kilometers north-west of the pro ...

, destroying a

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

and damaging a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and a bridge, before returning to Pola. The torpedo boat was unsuccessfully bombed by an Italian

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

. Austrian

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 thi ...

bombarded the Italian

signal station A signal station is a form of Aids to Navigation that is defined by the IHO simply as "A signal station is a place on shore from which signals are made to ships at sea". While this broad definition would include coastal radio stations and fog signa ...

at Cretaccio Island, while —with two torpedo boats—shelled

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

, damaging a

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

. The destroyer attacked the signal station near Torre di Mileto. The light cruiser , a destroyer and two torpedo boats entered Corsini Channel and shelled an Italian torpedo boat station, another semaphore station, and few batteries of

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

. The light cruiser —supported by four destroyers—ran into the Italian destroyer ''Turbine'', in a

pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...

south of Pelagosa. The destroyer shelled the railway embankment near

Manfredonia Manfredonia is a town and commune of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia, from which it is northeast by rail. Manfredonia is situated on the coast, facing east, to the south of Monte Gargano, and gives its name to the gulf to the east of i ...

while the destroyer shelled the Manfredonia railway station. Finally Austro-Hungarian flying boats dropped

ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense *Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unit ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and seaplane

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s at Chiaravalle. Heavy damage was inflicted by the Austrian navy, and 63 people, both Italian military and civilian personnel, died in Ancona alone.''Grga Novak, Jadransko more u sukobima i borbama kroz stoljeća'', book 2, Split, 2004 The dome of

Ancona Cathedral Ancona Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Ancona, ''Basilica Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Ciriaco'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Ancona, central Italy, dedicated to Saint Cyriacus. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Ancona. The building is an exam ...

was damaged, too. Austrian casualties were light. The war in the Adriatic Sea continued, culminating in a large Allied

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

to prevent the Austro-Hungarian fleet from leaving the Adriatic. The "

Otranto Barrage The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Otranto Straits between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Greek side of the Adriatic Sea in the First World War. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from escapi ...

" would be raided by the Austro-Hungarians several times throughout the war, but major Austro-Hungarian warships rarely left the bases after this raid. Ancona mappa

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

Serbia, Balkans & Macedonia 1914–18

* ttp://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyAustrian.htm Austro-Hungarian Navy {{DEFAULTSORT:Bombardment Of Ancona

May 1915 events History of Ancona