Battle of Lissa 2
The Battle of Lissa was a naval battle between Austrian and Italian forces, in the Adriatic Sea, near the island of Lissa (now Vis) on 20 July 1866. In the last major naval engagement to involve ramming, the outnumbered Austrians defeated the Italians.
The battle occurred as part of the Austro-Prussian War, with Italy allied to Prussia. The major Italian objective was to capture Venice from Austria.
The fleets were composed by a mix of unarmoured sailing ships with steam engines, and armoured ironclads also combining sails and steam engines. The Italian fleet outnumbered the Austrian fleet, comprising of 12 iron-clads and 17 unarmoured ships against 7 respectively 11 Austrian ships. A single turret ship took part of the action, the Italian ship Affondatore.
Count Carlo di Persano (60 years old) commanded the Italian fleet, while the Austrian fleet was commanded by Tegetthoff (39 years old).
The engagement was a confused melée that culminated when the Austrian flagship, Ferdinand Max, rammed and sank the Italian flagship Re d'Italia. The engagement ended as an Italian defeat.
Strategically the engagement was inconsequential, as the Italian defeat was overshadowed by the crushing Prussian victory over the Austrian Army. So in the end Italy gained Venice, notwithstanding the defeat at Lissa.
Order of battle
(incomplete)
Austria
- Erzherzog Ferdinand Max
- Don Juan d'Austria
- Habsburg
- Drache
- Salamander
- Prinz Eugen
- Kaiser Max
- Kaiserin Elizabeth
- Kaiser
- Radetzky
- Erzherzog Friedrich
- Donau
- Adria
- Novara
- Schwarzenburg
- Greif
- Hum
- Vellebich
- Seehund
- Wall
- Dalmat
- Streiter
- Reka
- Narenta
- Kerka
- Andrea Hofer
Italy
- Vinzaglio
- Montebello
- Confienza
- Sirena
- Re d'Italia
- Palestro
- Affondatore
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