Battle of Antivari

Battle of Antivari
	Part of the Mediterranean Theater of World War I
	; Painting showing SMS Zenta and SMS Ulan in the Battle of Antivari
Date	16 August 1914
Location	Off Antivari, Adriatic SeaCoordinates: 42°06′00″N 19°05′00″E / 42.1000°N 19.0833°E
Result	Anglo-French victory
Belligerents
France ; United Kingdom	Austria-Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Augustin Lapeyrère	Paul Pachner
Strength
2 dreadnoughts ; 10 pre-dreadnoughts ; 4 armoured cruisers ; 1 protected cruiser ; 20+ destroyers	1 protected cruiser ; 1 destroyer
Casualties and losses
None	173 killed; 50+ wounded; 1 destroyer damaged ; 1 protected cruiser sunk

The Battle of Antivari or Action off Antivari was a naval engagement between a large fleet of French and British warships and two ships of the Austro-Hungarian navy at the start of the First World War. The old Austrian protected cruiser SMS Zenta and the destroyer were blockading the Montenegrin port of Antivari, 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, unaware of events, did not come out of port to meet the Allied 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, 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), where the protected cruiser SMS Zenta and destroyer SMS Ulan were stationed. The French Navy had decided to try to force the Austro-Hungarian Navy into a decisive fleet action by making a sortie into the Adriatic and bait the Austrians into engaging them. The Allied force consisted of two dreadnought battleships, 10 pre-dreadnought battleships, four armoured cruisers, one protected cruiser 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, 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.^[1]

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. The action ended the Austro-Hungarian blockade of Montenegro which was a success for the Entente.^[2] The French fleet could not remain in the Adriatic for long and had to return to Malta periodically for supplies.^[3]

Order of battle[]

French Navy[]

Courbet, dreadnought battleship, flagship
Jean Bart, dreadnought battleship
1st Battle squadron
- Voltaire, pre-dreadnought battleship
- Vergniaud, pre-dreadnought battleship
- Diderot, pre-dreadnought battleship
- Danton, pre-dreadnought battleship
- Condorcet, pre-dreadnought battleship
Vérité, pre-dreadnought battleship
Justice, pre-dreadnought battleship
Démocratie, pre-dreadnought battleship
Patrie, pre-dreadnought battleship
République, pre-dreadnought battleship
Ernest Renan, armoured cruiser
Victor Hugo, armoured cruiser
Edgar Quinet, armoured cruiser
Jules Ferry, armoured cruiser
Jurien de la Gravière, protected cruiser
5 destroyer squadrons

Royal Navy[]

HMS Warrior, armoured cruiser
HMS Defence, armoured cruiser
3 destroyer divisions

Austro-Hungarian Navy[]

SMS Zenta, protected cruiser
, destroyer

Notes[]

^ Koburger Jr. 2001, p. 33.
^ Tucker 2014, p. 116.
^ Koburger Jr. 2001, p. 35.

References[]

Koburger Jr., Charles W. (2001). The Central Powers in the Adriatic, 1914–1918: War in a Narrow Sea. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-97071-0.
Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2014). World War I: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection (illus., rev. ed.). ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-965-8.