Lissa, Battle of

During the Austro-Prussian War, Austrian naval victory over the Italians, who were allied to Prussia, 20 July 1866 near the Adriatic island of Lissa. The Austrian commander, Rear-Admiral Wilhelm von Tegethoff, made good use of ramming, ensuring its ascendancy as the principal naval tactic for the next 20 years.

Disposition of forces An Italian fleet arrived off Lissa 18 July, intending to capture the island, but found it well provided with coast defence artillery. While holding off the Italians, the garrison commander telegraphed Tegethoff and on the morning of 20 July the Austrian fleet reached Lissa. The Italian fleet had 29 ironclads with 641 rifled guns while the Austrians had 26 ironclad ships and 532 smooth-bore guns, which did not have the range of the superior rifled Italian guns, formed into three arrow-heads. Had the Italians wished, they could have used the advantage of the greater range of their rifled guns to fire upon the Austrians from a distance and hold them off, but instead they chose to engage at close quarters, which suited the Austrians far better.

Battle Tegethoff turned his fleet toward the Italians and signalled to ‘Charge the enemy ironclads and sink them!’ At that moment the Italian commander, the Count of Persano, decided to change his flag to another ship; the two vessels stopped while the Admiral was ferried across, leaving a gap in the Italian line through which the Austrian fleet passed, turned about, and began attacking both ends of the Italian line. The battle became ship-to-ship combat, and Tegethoff, seeing the Italian ironclad Re d'Italia in difficulties with its steering, rammed and sank it. An Italian gunboat was sunk by gunfire, after which the Italian fleet turned about and ran for home, leaving the Austrians controlling the Adriatic.