Austro-Italian War. Austro-Prussian and Austro-Italian Wars

the war that ended the long struggle between Prussia and Austria for dominance. role in Germany and which was an important stage in the unification of Germany "from above", under the hegemony of the Junker-bourgeois. Prussia. In the bourgeois germ. historiography called. usually the "German War" ("Deutscher Krieg"). The reason for the war was the conflict over Schleswig-Holstein. June 14, at the suggestion of Austria, supported by the majority of small Germans. state-in, Sejm Germ. Union decided to mobilize the allied army against Prussia; the formal declaration of war by Austria came on 17 June, after the Prussians launched their invasion of Hanover, Hesse and Saxony on 16 June. In the diplomatic and military relations pr-in O. Bismarck by this time provided Prussia means. advantages, including the neutrality of Russia and France and the military. alliance with Italy, concluded on April 8. 1866. Austria had to wage war on 2 fronts - on the Italian (see Austro-Italian War of 1866) and the Bohemian (Czech) theaters. Prussia surpassed Austria in the development of industry; relatively dense railway the Prussian network ensured the speed of mobilization. transportation and strategic deployment on a broad front. Prus. the infantry was armed with needle, loaded from the breech of the gun of the Dreyse system, the rate of fire was 3 times higher than the Austrian. muzzle loaded guns. The Austrians, unable to adapt their tactics to the new shooter. weapons used by the Prussians suffered heavy losses. Austrian artillery was used more massively. A serious weakness of the Austrian army was what it means. part of it were representatives of the peoples oppressed by the Habsburg monarchy. Since Austria had to allocate means. forces (about 140 tons) to the Italian theater, and Bavaria, allied with Austria, refused to send its troops to Bohemia, the Prussians received a certain numerical superiority at the Bohemian theater - 278 tons against 261 tons, which were Northern Austria. army (including the Saxon corps that retreated to Bohemia). Prussian at the head. the army was King Wilhelm I, in fact, the operations were led by H. Moltke. Austrian Sev. The army was commanded by Gen. L. Benedek, who showed himself to be an extremely weak commander.

On the so-called. Main theater - in Hannover, Hesse, and then on the Frankfurt direction Prus. forces made rapid progress. On June 28, the Gutshoverites capitulated at Langensalza, after which the Prussians were able to force the offensive. actions against the Austrians and Saxons in Bohemia. Strategic deployment against Saxony and Austria was carried out in an arc stretching St. 250 km with three armies: 2nd Army (commander - Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm) in Silesia - between the years. Breslavl (Wroclaw) and Neisse (Nisa), the 1st Army (Prince Friedrich Karl) in the Görlitz region (in Lausitz) and the Elbe Army (gen. Herwarth von Bittenfeld) in the Torgau region. Subsequently, the Elbe army came under the control of Friedrich Karl. Ch. Austrian forces. Sev. armies, first concentrated in the fortified region of Olmutz (Olomouc), then moved to Bohemia, to district of fortresses Josefstadt (Jaroměř) and Königgretz (Hradec-Kralove). Prussian Ch. on June 22, the command gave a directive on concentric. invasion of Bohemia, so that both main. groups united in the Gichin (Iichin) region. In almost all clashes, which in some cases were in the nature of oncoming battles, the Prussians were successful (the 2nd Prussian Army at Nachod on June 27, at Skalitz and Burkersdorf on June 28, at Königinhof (Dvur-Kralove) on June 29; 1st Army - at Munichgretz on June 28, Gichin on June 29, etc.). On July 3, a decisive battle took place in the Sadova-Königgritz region (see Sadova), in which approximately equal forces participated on both sides (220 thousand Prussians, 215 thousand Austrians). The army of Friedrich Karl began fighting in the Sadovy region from early morning; on the afternoon of July 3, the army of the crown prince arrived on the battlefield (near the village of Khlum). The Prussians achieved a major success, forcing the Austrians into a disorderly retreat. The losses of the Austrians killed, wounded and captured amounted to St. 44 tons - almost 5 times more than the Prussians. However, Prus. command enabled the Austro-Saxons. troops to break away from the enemy. Benedek withdrew his remaining troops to Olmutz, providing only a weak cover for the Vienna direction. The Prussians resumed their advance: with the 2nd Army - to Olmutz (to create a barrier), the 1st and Elbe armies - in the general direction of Vienna. Created for Austria critical. position, the transfer of the Austrian began. troops from Italy, where they had previously won a number of victories, to the north. Benedek was replaced by Archduke Albrecht on 13 July. Austria still had the opportunity to organize a rebuff to the enemy on the outskirts of Vienna and Pressburg (Bratislava), however, internal. the position in the empire, especially the threat of Hungary falling away (the Prussians soon came close to Pressburg, threatening to cut off Austria proper from Hungary), forced the government of Franz Joseph to enter into peace negotiations with Prussia. This was also achieved by Bismarck (despite the resistance of Wilhelm I and Moltke), since he saw in Austria a possible ally in the future, and at this stage he was ready to limit himself to excluding Austria from Germany. Union. The government of Napoleon III, which declared its neutrality, feared an excessive weakening of Austria and therefore also sought to end the war. On July 22, a truce began, on July 26 a preliminary peace was signed in Nikolsburg, and on August 23. in Prague, a peace treaty (see Peace of Prague 1866). Ch. political the result of the war was the formation of Severogerm. Union under the leadership of militaristic Prussia. Prussia significantly expanded its territory. due to small germs. state-in and concluded secret military. agreements with the South Nogerm. gos-you. Austria remained outside the union, the Venetian region. went to Italy.

Lit .: Engels F., Notes on the war in Germany, in his book: Selected. military Prod., M., 1956; History of the War of 1866 in Germany, trans. from German, St. Petersburg, 1870; The struggle of Austria against Prussia and Italy in 1866, in the book: Military Library, vol. 9-11, part 1-5, St. Petersburg, 1872-73; Dragomirov M. I., Essays on the Austro-Prussian. wars of 1866, St. Petersburg, 1867; Rothstein R. A., From the history of the Prussian-German. empires, M.-L., 1948; Narochnitskaya L.I., Russia and the wars of Prussia in the 60s. 19th century for the unification of Germany "from above", M., 1960; Delbrück G., History of the military. art ..., v. 5 - New time (continuation). In the presentation of E. Daniels, trans. from German., M., 1937; Schlieffen A., Cannes, 2nd ed. (translated from German), M., 1938; Lettow-Vorbeck O. v., Geschichte des Krieges von 1866 in Deutschland, Bd 1-3, B., 1896-1902; Friedjung H., Der Kampf um die Vorherrschaft in Deutschland 1859 bis 1866, 10 Aufl., Bd 1-2, Stuttg, - B., 1916-17; Schlichting S. v., Moltke und Benedek, B., 1900; Ditfurth M. v., Benedek und die Taten und Schicksale der K. K. Nordarmee 1866, Bd 1-3, W., 1911; Moltke H. K. B. v., Militarische Korrespondenz, Tl. 2 - Aus den Dienstschriften des Krieges 1866, V., 1896.

M. E. Struve. Moscow.

Plan
Introduction
1 Background to the conflict
2 The state of the armed forces of Austria
3 The state of the armed forces of Prussia
4 The state of the Italian armed forces
5 Members
6 Beginning of the war
6.1 Mobilization and concentration
6.2 Railways
6.3 Industry
6.4 Economy

7 Theaters of war
8 The Ottoman Empire and its satellites in the Austro-Prussian-Italian War
9 Final period of the war (July 1-26)
9.1 End of the Austro-Prussian-Italian War
9.2 Nikolsburg Preliminary World

10 Results of the war
10.1 Foreign policy outcome
10.2 Domestic political outcome
10.3 Military totals
10.4 Other facts

11 Opinions of contemporaries
12 Memory of the war
13 War statistics
14 Bellonymy
Bibliography
Austro-Prussian-Italian War

Introduction

Austro-Prussian-Italian War of 1866 Deutscher Krieg und Dritter Italienischer Unabhängigkeitskrieg, Italian guerra austro-prussiana et Terza guerra d "indipendenza ["tɛɾtsa "gɛra dindipen" dɛntsa], Austro-Prussian War and Third War of Independence [Italy]) (hereinafter - Austro-Prussian War; for other names, see below) - the war of Prussia and Italy with the Austrian Empire for hegemony in Germany and the return[ neutrality?] the Venetian region, which predetermined the path of German unification and completed the wars for the independence of Italy and its unification around the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Both great German powers sought to unite Germany under their rule. The Great German way of unification implied the inclusion of Austria into Germany, but its vast territories outside the German Union (Venetian region, Hungary, Slovakia, Galicia, Transylvania, Bukovina, Croatia and Vojvodina), as well as the possibility of foreign intervention from France, Russia, England and / or the Ottoman Empire not only made such unification difficult, but, in the latter case, called into question the independence of Prussia. The Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck preferred the Little German way of unifying Germany, which involved the unification of the latter around Prussia by joining all the German states except Austria.

The prelude to war was the conflict over Schleswig-Holstein, divided between Austria and Prussia following the Danish War of 1864. According to Prussia, Austria violated the terms of the Gastein Convention by not stopping the anti-Prussian agitation in Holstein, which was ruled by the Austrian governor Ludwig Karl Wilhelm von Gablenz. After Austria raised this issue before the Federal Sejm, O. Bismarck, having ensured the neutrality of France and Russia and concluded an alliance with Italy, annulled the convention and submitted to the Federal Sejm a proposal to transform the German Union and expel Austria from it. This proposal was rejected, and O. Bismarck declared the German Confederation invalid. Prussia provoked Austria into a general mobilization by throwing on the table of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I the scheme of the upcoming Prussian invasion, drawn up by the outstanding military strategist H. Moltke the Elder. As a result, at the suggestion of Austria, supported by the majority of the small German states, the Sejm of the German Confederation decided to mobilize the allied army against Prussia, acting as an aggressor. War was declared after the Prussian army invaded Bohemia.

Two coalitions participated in the war - the German and North German alliances, led by both great German powers - Austria and Prussia, respectively. Bavaria, Saxony, Baden, Württemberg and Hanover acted on the side of Austria, and Italy on the side of Prussia. In addition, each of the opponents was able to win over several insignificant German states to their side. A total of 29 states directly participated in this war, of which 13 were on the side of Austria and 16 on the side of Prussia. 4 states (Ottoman Empire, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro) indirectly participated in the Austro-Prussian War on the basis of the Austro-Turkish defensive alliance and allied agreements that existed between the Ottoman Empire and its 3 satellites. 6 members of the German Confederation remained neutral. With the outbreak of war, Prussia and its German allies formally withdrew from the German Confederation, thus founding the North German Confederation.

The war lasted for seven weeks (June 17 - July 26, 1866). Austria was forced to fight on two fronts. Its technological backwardness and political isolation since 1856 led to its defeat. According to the Prague Peace Treaty, concluded on August 23, Austria transferred Holstein to Prussia and left the German Confederation. Italy got the Venetian region. The political result of the war of 1866 was the final refusal of Austria to unite the German states under its own rule and the transfer of hegemony in Germany to Prussia, which led the North German Confederation - a new confederal state formation.

1. Background of the conflict

After the Danish War of 1864 Austrian troops occupied Holstein, and Prussian troops occupied Schleswig.

On August 14, 1865, a convention was signed in Gastein, according to which the Duchy of Lauenburg became the full property of Prussia (for the payment of 2.5 million thalers in gold), Schleswig came under the control of Prussia, Holstein - Austria. The latter was separated from the Austrian Empire by a number of German states and, above all, by the same Prussia, which made its possession very shaky and risky. But, in addition, Bismarck complicated the matter by the fact that Austria and Prussia had joint ownership of the entire territory of both duchies - Schleswig and Holstein, in the sense that there should have been an Austrian administration in Holstein, and Prussian administration in Schleswig. From the very end of the Danish war, Emperor Franz Joseph I insisted that Austria would gladly give up all its "complicated" rights to Holstein in exchange for the most modest territory on the Prussian-Austrian border, carved out of Prussian lands. When O. Bismarck flatly refused, his plan became completely clear to Franz Joseph, and the emperor began to look for allies for the upcoming war. In May 1865, he unsuccessfully tried to establish contact with Bavaria as a partner in the anti-Austrian alliance in order to demonstrate that his true goal, including in the field of allied policy, was a "total solution" on a small German basis.

Bismarck accused Austria of violating the terms of the Gastein Convention (Austria did not stop the anti-Prussian agitation in Holstein). When Austria raised the issue before the Federal Diet, Bismarck warned the Diet that the issue concerned only Austria and Prussia. However, the Federal Sejm continued to discuss this problem. As a result, Bismarck annulled the convention and submitted to the Federal Diet a proposal for the transformation of the German Confederation and the exclusion of Austria from it. This happened on the same day as the conclusion of the Prussian-Italian alliance, April 8, 1866.

"... to convene an assembly on the basis of direct elections and universal suffrage for the whole nation in order to adopt and discuss the draft reform of the federal constitution proposed by the German governments."

O. Bismarck attached great importance to the preparations for war in domestic political terms and decided to wage war under the broad slogan of establishing a North German Confederation. He put forward an official program for such an unification, with a sharp limitation of the sovereignty of individual German states, with the creation of a single common parliament, elected on the basis of universal secret male suffrage and designed to become a counterbalance to centrifugal aspirations, with the unification of all the armed forces of the union under the leadership of Prussia. This program naturally alienated most of the medium and small German monarchies. O. Bismarck's proposal was rejected by the Sejm.

On June 14, 1866, he declared the German Confederation "null and void". As a result, the rest of the German states decided to create a federal executive body directed against the offender - Prussia. In practice, the war against Prussia was waged by a coalition of most German states led by Austria. Bismarck addressed the German people in order to confront the horror of the "fratricidal war" that was engulfing the entire nation:

“For half a century, the German Confederation was a bulwark not of unity, but of the fragmentation of the nation; as a result, it lost the trust of the Germans and in the international arena became evidence of the weakness and impotence of our people. These days the Union is going to be used to call on Germany to turn its arms against that of the Allies who has proposed the formation of a German Parliament and has thus taken the first and decisive step towards satisfying national aspirations. The war against Prussia, which Austria so desired, lacks an alliance-constitutional basis; there is no reason for it and not the slightest reason.

The chancellor was very worried about the outward justification of the impending war. He turned things around in such a way that Austria was the first to mobilize. A scheme of the forthcoming Prussian invasion was thrown on the table of the Austrian emperor, drawn up by the outstanding military strategist H. Moltke the Elder.

2. The state of the armed forces of Austria

3. The state of the armed forces of Prussia

4. The state of the armed forces of Italy

5. Participants

6. The beginning of the war

6.1. Mobilization and concentration

On June 7, Prussian troops began to push the Austrians out of Holstein. On June 10, having sent out to the German states his draft reform of the German Confederation, which provided for the exclusion of Austria from it, O. Bismarck provoked an armed conflict. On June 11, the Austrian ambassador was recalled from Berlin. On June 14, at the request of Austria, supported by the majority of small German states, the Diet of the German Confederation decided to mobilize four corps - the contingent of the German Confederation, put up by medium and small states. But this decision to mobilize had already been taken by Prussia as a declaration of war. Hostilities between the mobilized Prussians and the non-mobilized allies of Austria began the very next day, June 15; as soon as Austria began to concentrate regiments at the borders, the Prussian troops under the command of General von Moltke completed their concentration and invaded Bohemia. Only the Saxon troops were alerted in advance and withdrew from Saxony, where the Prussians invaded, to Bohemia - towards the Austrian army. The most valuable thing that Austria received from its allies was thus the 23,000-strong Saxon corps. The chief of staff, General H. Moltke the Elder, developed a plan for a lightning war, according to which on June 16, 1866, the Prussian troops began to occupy the lands that were part of the German Union - Hanover, Saxony and Hesse. The next day, June 17, Austria declared war on Prussia. On June 20, Italy, fulfilling the terms of the agreement with Prussia, declared war on Austria, which had to wage war on two fronts - on the Italian (see. Third Italian War of Independence) and the Bohemian (Czech) theaters. A number of South German and Prussian-occupied states sided with Austria, but were unable to provide her with appropriate assistance.

A century and a half ago, a confrontation between the Italian and Austrian fleets flared up in the Adriatic Sea. Until the end of the 19th century, the outcome of this war determined the development of naval tactical doctrine and the design of warships. The battle near the tiny island of Lissa was the last battle of the naval forces of Sardinia and Naples, and the first for the newborn fleet of a single Italian state. Passing through the smoke of cannon salvos, yesterday's Sardinians, Tuscans and Neapolitans recognized themselves as Italians. For their opponents, this battle was a consolation against the backdrop of the overall results of the war, as well as a sign that the Habsburgs could still protect their interests. What were the main events of the Austro-Italian war at sea and how did the naval forces that took part in it differ?

In the 50s and 60s of the XIX century, after the turbulent era of the Napoleonic wars and revolutions, Italy and Germany embarked on the path of consolidation within the framework of united states. The rapid development of the Prussian economy gave the "Iron Chancellor" Otto von Bismarck sufficient funds and material resources to begin to unite the scattered German lands under the rule of the Prussian king. Austria, also being a German state, claimed the leading role in the unification of the German nation. Another significant force on the way to a national German state was the French Empire.

Otto von Bismarck. Portrait of the artist Christian Allers.
pinterest.com

The political center of the unification of Italy was the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Prime Minister of Sardinia, a brilliant diplomat and an intelligent politician, Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, managed to enlist the support of the French Emperor Napoleon III in his struggle for a united Italy.

Italian Prime Minister Count Camillo Benso di Cavour.
britannica.com

From 1860 to 1862, all Italian lands, except for Rome and Austrian Venice, were included in Sardinia. Now it was necessary for Prussia and Italy to eliminate the resistance of Austria, and they moved on to decisive action. On June 17, 1866, Prussia started the war, three days later Italy also declared war on Austria. The goals of the Prussians were the military defeat of Austria and the removal of obstacles on her part in the unification of German lands around Prussia. Italy, as a result of the war, was supposed to annex the Austrian Venetian region.

War on land

From June 17 to July 26, 1866, Austria, in alliance with the small German states, fought against Prussia and Italy. The organizational and technical superiority of the Prussian army predetermined the course of the war: on July 3, the Austrians were defeated at Sadovaya, and soon the Prussian army came close to Vienna. Having completed the tasks, Bismarck did not want to risk the results achieved and was ready to make peace with Austria. On June 20, the superior forces of the Italian army invaded the Venetian region, but on June 24 they were defeated by the Austrians at the Battle of Custozza. The defeat at Sadovaya forced Austria to transfer significant forces to the north. Taking advantage of this, the Italians again went on the offensive, but did not achieve success.

Austrian lancers attack at the Battle of Custozza. Artist - Kazimir Olshansky.
pinterest.com

On July 26, Austria agreed to the terms of a preliminary peace treaty with Prussia. Left alone with a strong enemy, Italy agreed to a truce on August 10, and on October 3 received the Venetian region under the Vienna Peace Treaty. The war ended with the victory of the Prussian-Italian alliance.

During the war, it was important for both the Austrians and the Italians to ensure the safety of their coasts and the continuity of transport across the Adriatic Sea. The fulfillment of these tasks was the main duty of both fleets.

The tasks of the two fleets

In the Middle Ages, the powerful Venetian Republic owned the coast of Dalmatia, and the Adriatic Sea was the "Venetian lake". The politicians of the young Italian kingdom dreamed of the return of these glorious times, but without a strong fleet it was impossible to achieve this. The absence in Italy of a unified network of land routes made maritime communications indispensable and required their protection by the navy.

Similar tasks: countering amphibious landings, protecting the transport, merchant and fishing fleets - faced the naval forces of the Austrian Empire. In fact, the fate of the Austrian possessions in the region depended on the situation in the Adriatic.

Navy of Italy

Since 1860, Italy has invested huge amounts of money in the development of the fleet - about 12 million pounds sterling annually. In 1862, the then Minister of the Navy, Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano, made a strategic decision to abandon the construction of wooden ships as the main force of the fleet and move on to manning ironclads. Long allied relations with France and the unpreparedness of the Italian industry for the urgent construction of armored ships led to the order of ships abroad. Most of the new Italian battleships were designed on the basis of the French ones that had already entered service and were built at the shipyards of France. In addition, two ships were ordered from the United States, and an armored ram was purchased from the British.

Formally, the two strongest Italian ships were wooden armored frigates built by the American company Webb: Re d'Italia and Don Luigi Re di Portogallo (better known under the short name Re di Portogallo). However, in view of the poor quality of building materials and the very construction of these ships, as well as poor seaworthiness, it can be concluded that each of them was not worth the 325,000 pounds sterling paid by the Italian government. The maneuverability of the ships also left much to be desired, but this drawback was inherent in most of the first battleships.

Italian armored frigate Don Luigi Re di Portogallo.
kuk-marine-museum.net

The iron double-tower armored ram "Affondatore" was built in the UK at the Harrison shipyard - the Italians considered it the most combat-ready ship in their fleet. When designing and building, the British tried to use the entire American Civil War experience, and they managed to bring the ship's seaworthiness to a level acceptable for the Mediterranean Sea. The disadvantages of the ram were that the nose was heavier due to the heavy turret and bow casemate, as well as insufficient maneuverability. Protection similar to the five-inch armor belt was given to the two turrets of the Captain Kolz system. The deck was covered with flat armor 2 inches thick.

Italian armored ram "Affondatore".
marina.defesa.it

The next four battleships in terms of combat power: "Regina Maria Pia", "Castelfidardo", "San Martino" and "Ancona" - were built taking into account the project of French ships of the "Provence" type. The priority in the execution of the Italian order by the French is visible in the timing of the entry into service of the ships. Italy received the first three battleships already in 1864, and the French fleet was replenished with three Provences only a year later. The main visual difference was the presence of a pronounced ram on Italian ships. The hulls of the Italian ships, unlike the French prototypes, were made of iron and carried wrought iron armor. Good speed was combined with good seaworthiness and maneuverability. Ships of the "Regina Maria Pia" type constituted the homogeneous high-speed core of the Italian fleet.

Italian armored corvette Regina Maria Pia.
marina.defesa.it

The armored corvette "Principe di Carignano" became the first battleship of its own Italian construction. As of 1866, two more battleships were under construction, which would later enter service as Messina (1867) and Conte Verde (1871). Initially, all ships of this series were laid down as wooden steam frigates, but during construction they were redesigned into battleships.

The Principe di Carignano is the only Italian-built battleship.
marina.defesa.it

The first Italian battleships "Terribile" and "Formidabile" combined small size with good maneuverability. The architecture of these ships, built at the French shipyard "La Seine", shows the influence of the first French seaworthy battleship "Gloire" and French armored batteries.

The Palestro and Varese pair, designed by the Italian engineer Giuseppe de Luca and built in France at the La Seine shipyard, are sometimes classified as armored gunboats or iron-hulled coastal defense ships. They were distinguished by low speed and weak armament with good armor.

Italian armored gunboat Varese.
marina.defesa.it

In addition to battleships, the Italians had seven steam screw frigates, three steam screw corvettes, as well as eight advice letters and three gunboats.

If much attention was paid to the acquisition of the fleet with new ships, then the organization of personnel training and the management structure were far from ideal. On the one hand, the morale of the Italian sailors was at its best, on the other hand, there was a serious shortage of technical specialists. Mechanics did not know the material part well, and the steam engines were in poor condition. Since the armored fleet was built from scratch, most of the crews required training and considerable practice both in managing their ship and in actions as part of a squadron. Shooting and joint maneuvering exercises were not carried out, although fuel, provisions and ammunition were allocated for this. There was no unity among officers from different, previously independent areas, and the constant struggle of admirals for leadership positions and privileges did not allow for the discipline of officers, not to mention ordinary sailors.

At the head of this kingdom of anarchy was a good politician, but indecisive and unwilling to risk his position, Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano. In 1866, this man turned 59 years old, all his adult life he served in the Sardinian fleet: he participated in the Austro-Sardinian war of 1848, the Crimean war of 1854-1855, in 1859 he blocked the Austrian Adriatic, in 1860 he ensured the actions of Garibaldi on Sicily. He did not have any special achievements, but he did not stain himself with anything either. From the point of view of the Italian king, Persano was the only possible leader of the fleet, and this turned out to be a major and insoluble problem.

I must say that among the Italian officers there were people who showed promise, but in the conditions of the estate Sardinian monarchy, they had no chance to change the current situation. Undoubtedly, the Italians can be called a nation of sailors, and before joining the navy, most of the recruits served as sailors on merchant or fishing ships. The main problem was not personnel, but the political system of the new state. The undoubted advantages of the Italian ships and the great potential of their crews were negated by poor training of personnel, poor discipline, and a low level of command, and, in general, the combat capability of the Italian fleet was low.

Austrian Navy

Unlike Italy, where the core of the association - the Kingdom of Sardinia - had a glorious naval tradition, the Austrian Empire was always a land state and maintained a fleet in the Adriatic only because of the need to protect its coastal possessions. Austrian naval forces have never been distinguished by special power or achievements - however, dominating scattered Italy and bordering Turkey, which is weak in maritime terms, the empire did not feel much need for a strong fleet.

The situation changed with the threat of a landing by the Sardinians or their French allies on the Adriatic coast. The fastest and cheapest communication between the possessions of the Habsburgs, like that of the Italians, was carried out by sea and needed protection. The Austrian government, located in Vienna far from the sea, needed time to realize this. The lessons of the first wars with the participation of naval forces (1848) led the Austrians to first acquire wooden sailing corvettes according to the English model, and then rebuilt them into steam propeller ships. Most likely, the development of the imperial fleet would have ended there, but the Austrians were lucky. Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Habsburg was a talented man, sincerely loved the sea, and most importantly, being the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I, he could quickly resolve many issues, bypassing bureaucratic obstacles.

Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph von Habsburg in 1864.
flickr.com

Before the start of the wars in Italy, the Austrian fleet was commanded by ethnic Italians from the Venetian region, and the rank and file were recruited from the coastal regions of the Italian possessions of Austria, as well as the former Venetian colonies in Dalmatia. The language of official and business communication of sailors was Italian. After the war of 1848, the situation changed, and the Austrians began to be appointed to command posts, and the German language became mandatory for naval officers.

To carry out reforms and create a modern combat-ready fleet from Denmark, the Danish captain Count Hans Birk von Dalerup and a number of foreign officers were invited to replace the Italians who had left the service. In 1854, Archduke Ferdinand Max took over the fleet, and Dalerup was under his direct command. Huge work has been done to reorganize the entire fleet, including strengthening discipline, improving the system of training, basing and building ships. The main achievement of the Archduke was the victory over the public opinion of the country, which did not understand the importance of creating a combat-ready fleet.

By 1864, when Ferdinand Max left his post, a healthy atmosphere had been created in the navy, allowing talented people to realize their abilities and advance in the service. Officers and sailors received practical experience during campaigns in the Mediterranean and to the shores of South America.

Another significant achievement was the construction of a fleet at national shipyards from our own materials, according to the project of the talented Austrian shipbuilding engineer Joseph von Romako. Initially, the Austrians planned to build a fleet based on wooden steam frigates, but the order of ironclads by the Italians and the experience of the first naval battles of the American Civil War forced them to rely on armored ships.

Bypassing the approval of the cost estimate by the Reichstag, Ferdinand Max ordered the Trieste shipyard the first pair of battleships: Salamander and Drach, and the first of them entered service just 15 months after the start of construction. Being smaller copies of the French "Gluar", these ships became the design standard and served as the basis for the development of the project in the next two series (Kaiser Max and Ferdinand Max types). In total, by the start of hostilities, seven wooden screw armored frigates were in varying degrees of readiness: Drach, Salamander, Kaiser Max, Prince Eugen, Juan de Austria, Ferdinand Max and Habsburg . In addition, the fleet included one steam battleship, five steam screw frigates and two steam corvettes.

Austrian armored corvette "Drach" in 1866 (before modernization).
history.navy.mil

The disadvantages of the Austrian battleships were the weakness of steam engines and poor maneuverability, however, the ships were built with all possible care, from high-quality materials and using many design solutions worthy of a separate story. Corrosion protection of the outer iron plating, armor and reduction of the fire hazard of wooden hulls became almost textbook. The body was covered with a layer of lead white, then upholstered with thin lead plates, and a layer of rubber was applied on top of them. After that, plates of excellent armor made at the factories of Styria were attached to galvanized bolts. The ships were armed with obsolete 48-pounder smoothbore guns, and the 210-mm steel rifled guns ordered by Krupp were detained by the Prussian government immediately after the start of the war.

Austrian armored frigate "Habsburg".
history.navy.mil

After the uprising in Venice, the dismissal of Italian officers and the reforms carried out, the officer corps of the fleet was predominantly Austrians, Germans, Scandinavians and a small number of Italians. The rank and file was recruited from the inhabitants of Dalmatia and the Italian regions of Venice and Trieste, so its reliability was always in question. The situation was saved by the influence of Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff. Without the reforms of Ferdinand Max, Austria would hardly have been able to create a fleet, but without Tegetthoff, she would have had little chance of winning.

The army traditions of the Tegetthof family led him to military service. The choice fell on the Naval Cadet Corps in Venice. Strict discipline in the family and material problems brought up the tough enterprising character of the future admiral. After five years of study, Tegetthof began serving as a midshipman, studied foreign languages and features of the fleets of France and England. This man was an ardent German nationalist, a supporter of imperial power and the unification of German lands under Austrian rule.

After the suppression of the national revolutions of 1848, when the empire burned in the flames of national uprisings, the time for career growth began for Tegetthoff. In 1854, with the rank of lieutenant, he was given command of the schooner Elizabeth. This was followed by service abroad, secret missions, acquaintance with Archduke Ferdinand Max and appointment in 1857 as head of the department of the fleet headquarters. From October 1862, Tegetthoff commanded a division consisting of a frigate, a corvette and two gunboats. During this period, his ability to correctly assess the political, economic and military situation and act with high efficiency became especially important. The leadership noted the desperate courage and resourcefulness of the officer. In 1864, commanding two steam frigates, he distinguished himself in the war of Austria and Prussia against Denmark, managing to withstand the battle against two more powerful Danish frigates and one corvette. After the death of Archduke Ferdinand Max, Admiral Tegetthoff had many opponents - primarily because of his irrepressible temperament and violent disputes with the leadership. Despite this, after the aggravation of Austrian relations with Italy and Prussia, Tegetthoff was appointed commander of the fleet.

A feature of the organization of the Austrian fleet was that it was not an independent branch of the armed forces, but was subordinate to the ground forces. This had an extremely negative effect on the possibilities of using warships. Knowing nothing about maritime affairs, land generals tried not to risk ships that were considered expensive toys of the late Ferdinand Max. No one wanted to take the post of commander of the fleet, since it was believed that the Italians at sea could not be defeated, and there was no need to. That is why the energetic Admiral Tegetthof managed to stand at the head of the imperial naval forces.

The admiral was famous for his justice, respect for his subordinates, regardless of their nationality, and attention to all the details of the service. He encouraged personal initiative in every possible way, knew how to listen to the opinions of others, and paid great attention to combat and tactical training. Even in the face of a constant shortage of funds, Tegetthof's ships made maneuvers under steam and sail, conducted practice shooting and tested various tactical battle schemes. On board the flagship battleship Ferdinand Max, daily meetings and elaborations of plans for waging war against the Italians were held. The struggle with the ground command was no less difficult: the generals believed that it was enough for the fleet to protect the key harbors and cover the flank of the army in Venice. Tegetthoff, on the other hand, emphasized the possibility of active operations in the Adriatic Sea and the destruction of the Italian fleet in a decisive battle, despite the almost threefold superiority of the enemy in terms of tonnage and artillery.

Battleships that took part in the Austro-Italian War of 1866

ship name		Built (country, year)	Armament and armor
Armored squadron of Italy
"Re di Portogallo" "Re d'Italia"	battery battleship	USA, 1864–66	2×10” OD, 26×6.4” OD armor iron 4.7”
	armored ram	England, 1864	2×1×9” OD, iron 5”
"Regina Maria Pia" Castelfidardo, San Martino,	battery battleship	France, 1864–65	4×68-lb, 22×6.4” OD armor iron 4.3”
Principe di Carignano	battery battleship	Italy, 1861	10x68-lb, 12x6.4” O.D. armor iron 4.7”
	armored battery	France, 1861–62	4×68-lb, 16×6.4” OD armor iron 4.3”
	battery battleship	France, 1865	4×68-lb, 1×6.4” OD armor iron 4.5”
Austrian armored squadron
Ferdinand Max,	battery battleship	Austria, 1865	16×48-lb armor iron 4.8”
Prince Eugene, "Juan de Austria"	battery battleship	Austria, 1863	16×48-lb, 15×6.4” OD armor iron 4.5”
	armored battery	Austria, 1862	10x48-lb, 18x6.4” O.D. armor iron 4.5”

2 × 10” ND - two 10-inch rifled muzzle-loading guns.

26 × 6.4 "ND - a battery of 26 rifled muzzle-loading guns with a caliber of 6.4 inches.

Despite the differences in the number and quality of the personnel and ships of the two fleets, at the time of the outbreak of the war, none of the opponents had clear advantages ...

Bibliography:

Pemsel G. Wilhelm von Tegetthoff (in the book "Great Admirals"). Per. from English. - M.: AST, 2002
Wilson H. Battleships in battle. Per. from English. - M.: EKSMO, 2003
Granovsky E. Battle of Lissa // "Flotomaster", 1997, No. 2.
Petrov M. A. Review of the most important campaigns and battles of the steam fleet. - L., 1927.
Poluyan V.V. Battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Part 1. - St. Petersburg, 2007
Shtenzel A. History of wars at sea. Per. with him. - M.: EKSMO, 2002.
Antonicelli A. I cannoni di Lissa // "Storia Militare", 2012, no. 223 .
Bargoni F. Esploratori, Fregate, Corvette ed Avvisi Italiani 1861–1968 - Roma: USMM, 1969.
Bargoni F., Gay F., Gay V.M. Navi a vela e navi miste italiane 1861–1887. - Roma: USMM, 2001.
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. - London: Conway Maritime Press, 1979.
Dassano F. La Battaglia di Lissa at la morte del deputato Pier Carlo Boggio // "L'Arduino", 2013.
Giorgerini F., Nani A. Gli incrociatori italiani 1861–1967. - Roma: USMM, 1967.
Giorgerini G., Nani A. Le navi di linea italiani 1861–1969. - Roma: USMM, 1969.
Gogg K. Österreich Kriegsmarine 1848–1918. - Salzburg: Bergland Buch, 1974.
Green J. The "Re D'Italia" // "Warship International", 1976, no. 4.
Green J., Massignani A. Ironclads at War. - Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 1998.
Lengnick A., von Klimburg R. Unsere Wehrmacht zur See. - Wien: L.W. Seidel & Sohn, 1904.
Schelma de Heere R.F. Austro-Hungarian Battleships // "Warship International", 1973, No.1.

The Austro-Prussian-Italian War of 1866, in the history of Germany is also known as the German War and the Seven Weeks War, in Italy it is known as the Third War for the Independence of Italy - a military conflict between Prussia and Italy with the Austrian Empire for hegemony in Germany and control over the Venetian region, which predetermined the little-German way of unifying Germany and completing the wars for the independence of Italy and its unification around the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The war involved two coalitions, led by both great German powers - Austria and Prussia, respectively. On the side of Austria were Bavaria, Saxony, the Grand Duchy of Baden, Württemberg and Hanover, on the side of Prussia - Italy. In addition, each of the opponents was able to win over several insignificant German states to their side. A total of 29 states directly participated in this war, of which 13 were on the side of Austria and 16 on the side of Prussia.

The state of the armed forces of Austria at the beginning of the Austro-Prussian-Italian war

Army

As a result of the pulling of troops by Italy from the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily, on April 21, 1866, Austria began the partial mobilization of the three corps of the Southern Army. In order to force Austria to expand the mobilization, Bismarck brought to her attention the outline of the campaign plan made by H. Moltke during the winter of 1865/66. This sketch did not at all correspond to the political conditions of 1866: the internal situation of Prussia was extremely doubtful, an insidious surprise attack, contrary to all norms of international law, could lead not to mobilization, but to a revolution against the unpopular government of O. Bismarck. The latter had to prepare the war gradually, shifting the armaments initiative to Austria. For this last purpose, the thoughts of H. Moltke's sketch were extremely useful. As soon as the rumors of a possible surprise attack by the Prussians reached Vienna, in the first half of March, a marshal's council was convened there - a meeting of representatives of the highest military authorities in the center, reinforced by corps commanders invited from the provinces and outstanding generals. The Marshal's Council began to discuss the plan of the campaign and decided first of all to strengthen the I Corps stationed in Bohemia by 6,700 people in order to bring it to full civilian strength. In order to hide the new measures that the army was forced to take, the Austrian censorship forbade the newspapers to print any information about the movements of troops or the strengthening of their composition. O. Bismarck took advantage of this circumstance, inviting the Prussian press to publish verified data on changes in the deployment and composition of the Prussian troops and throwing the shadow of secret preparations for war over Austria. On April 27, Austria announced a general mobilization.

Austria, thanks to the deadline given to her, was able to mobilize a field army equal to the Prussian; but behind it were only very weak second-line formations, distracted, moreover, by the protection of internal security. During the war, only an insignificant number of reserve battalions were formed, and even replenishment, with the loss of first-line troops, was delayed for a long time. The militia was not trained and had no equipment, and could only be used in Tyrol, against the Italians. The main forces of Austria immediately made their debut on the battlefields.

The only achievement of the Austrian policy was to win over to its side most of the states of the German Union, frightened by the Bismarck program, which deprived them of their sovereignty. These German allies of Austria had an army, according to wartime states, of 142,000 men. However, while Italy, Austria and Prussia began arming already in April, the troops of Austria's German allies remained unmobilized.

The rationality of Moltke's operational deployment is most clearly outlined when compared with the Austrian deployment based on opposite views. The Chief of the Austrian General Staff, Baron Genikstein, a wealthy man of the world, least of all thought about questions of strategy and operational art. Archduke Albrecht, son of Napoleon's famous rival, Archduke Charles, the most prominent candidate among the members of the dynasty for command of the troops, hastened to settle on the calm Italian front on the pretext that the reputation of the dynasty should not be threatened with defeat.

General Benedek, an excellent combatant commander who commanded the Italian army in peacetime, a connoisseur of Lombardy, completely unprepared to lead large masses, unfamiliar with the conditions of the Austro-Prussian front, was nominated to the Bohemian theater as commander-in-chief, against his wishes; at the same time, Archduke Albrecht did not allow Benedek to capture his chief of staff, General Ion, the most capable of understanding major issues of the Austrian general staff officer.

When, in view of the threat of war, in March 1866, a plan of operations against Prussia was demanded from the chief of the Austrian general staff, Baron Genikstein, the latter suggested that Colonel Neuber, professor of strategy at the military academy, draw up one. The latter stated that for this work he needed data on the mobilization readiness of the Austrian army. The War Office gave Neuber an extremely pessimistic assessment of the condition of the Austrian troops; only after a few months the army could become fully combat-ready. Therefore, Neuber advocated that, before the start of operations, the Austrian army should be assembled in a defensive position near the fortress of Olmutz and enter Bohemia, threatened by the Prussians from two sides, only after acquiring sufficient combat capability.

Then, under the patronage of Archduke Albrecht, Neuber's predecessor in the department of strategy, General Krismanich, was appointed head of the operational office of the Bohemian army. The latter was an expert on the Seven Years' War and believed that in a hundred years the pattern of Daun and Lassi's operations against Frederick the Great would be repeated. Krismanich edited the military-geographic description of Bohemia and studied all kinds of positions that were available in the Bohemian theater. Krismanich retained Neuber's idea of a preliminary concentration of the Austrians in a fortified camp at Olmutz, with the exception of the I Bohemian Corps, which remained in the vanguard in Bohemia to take over the Saxon withdrawal. All 8 buildings, 3 cav. the divisions and the artillery reserve destined to operate in Bohemia were to represent one army. Krismanich refused to advance into Silesia, since he did not see advantageous "positions" for battle in this direction. Regardless of the railways, Krismanich expected the concentration of all Prussian forces in Silesia and their direct movement to Vienna. As a separate option, the movement of the Austrian army along three roads from Olmutz to the region of the right bank of the Elbe was developed.

In Austria, secret maps were still being published with black semicircles underlined on them - “positions”. Krismanich's plan was a hodgepodge of memories of the fight against Frederick the Great, several principles of Napoleonic military art, several principles of Clausewitz (Austria pursues a negative political goal, why should it accordingly conduct defensive actions) and a detailed taxation of all kinds of defensive lines, lines and positions. His plan had an impressive volume, was read with difficulty, and was reported by Krismanich with unusual self-confidence; Krismanich impressed with his optimism and professorial peremptory judgments. It is not surprising that the poorly educated Austrian generals were overwhelmed by the confidence and scholarship that Krismanich deployed - generally a lazy, superficial and narrow-minded person; but it is a mystery to us how Krismanich's plan could be considered exemplary in strategy textbooks even 40 years later.

Undoubtedly, if the Austrians had divided their forces into two armies and chosen two different areas for their concentration, for example, Prague and Olmutz, they could have made much better use of the railways, completed their deployment sooner, would not have subjected troops to hardships and would have retained a much greater ability to maneuver. But for this they had to take that step forward in military art, which Moltke took and which remained incomprehensible to theoreticians for decades.

Fleet

The new Austrian fleet was created in 1848-49, during the war with Piedmont, during which many naval officers of the Austrian fleet, of Italian origin, went over to the side of the enemy. In order to form a new one from the remnants of the old fleet, on a new basis, a Dane, Count Hans Birk von Daglerup, was invited. The new principle of manning the fleet reflected the interests of the Austrian Empire. The "Venetian heritage" worried the Austrians, who feared a new manifestation of sympathy for Piedmont, which led the movement for the unification of Italy.

Daglerup's attempt to achieve greater independence for the fleet and for the naval minister failed, since the fundamental principle in Austria was precisely the dependence of the armed forces on the emperor, his military office, and administration. However, he managed to introduce German as the main language, strict discipline, and replace many Venetian officers with Austrians, Germans, and even Scandinavians. Another important measure taken by Daglerup was the transfer of the fleet base from Venice to Pola.

However, the founder of the Austrian naval power is considered to be Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who in 1854 became the commander-in-chief of the Austrian fleet. At first he wanted to create a fleet, the core of which would be "half a dozen wooden battleships", but when Italy ordered the construction of ironclads, he abandoned this idea. He believed that Austria had enough of a fleet of second-rate ships, and engaged only in defense, countering this with the idea of creating a fleet at least as strong as the Italian one. In the end, after the Hampton raid, the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating an armored fleet was accepted in Austria. Until 1862, when Daglerup left his post, he studied the organization of the British fleet, and sought to strengthen the organization of the Austrian fleet. Thanks to him - as well as a powerful shipbuilding industry concentrated in Venice, Trieste and Paul, in 1866 the fleet had 7 battleships built exclusively in Austria.

At the end of April 1866, Austria began to prepare for a possible war against Prussia and Italy, which also affected the fleet. His main rival was to be the Italian fleet - since the Prussian fleet was both small and too far away. The appointment in May 1866 of V.F. Tegetthoff to the post of commander of the fleet became very important event. He was popular in the navy - especially after the Battle of Heligoland, and this popularity influenced both the morale of the sailors and the combat capability of the ships. The shipyards had to ensure the readiness of the ships as soon as possible, the battleships "Archduke Ferdinand Max" (German: Erzherzog Ferdinand Max) and "Habsburg" (German: Habsburg), built in Trieste, were commissioned ahead of schedule. This allowed the establishment of the guns and the fighting capacity of the ships on 21 and 27 June respectively. The old wooden battleship Kaiser, which was under repair, was also ready for battle on 25 June. Finally, another old warship Novara (German: Novara), damaged by a fire possibly caused by sabotage on May 3, joined the fleet anchored in the Fazana channel - north of Pola - already on July 4.

V. F. Tegetthoff, being subordinate to the commander of the Southern Army, Archduke A. F. Rudolf, received an order to support land operations from the sea. At the beginning of the war, the Austrian fleet had five battery battleships - Drach, Salamander, Prince Eugen, Kaiser Max, Don Juan de Austria - the other two entered service after the start of the war. In addition, there were seven more unarmored ships and seven gunboats. The protection of the weakest ships of the fleet - wooden ones - was strengthened by iron chains, in the spirit of those used in the US Civil War, which covered the boilers and guns. Also, their hulls were reinforced along the waterline. Novara also received protection from pieces of rail. The lack of coal did not prevent the Austrians from conducting exercises on the high seas, although they had to move at night only under sail, and during the day under steam to develop a speed of no more than five and a half knots. Basically, the exercises consisted of firing volleys at targets, maneuvering and ramming. Concentrating the fire of several not too powerfully armed Austrian ships on one target made it possible to increase the effectiveness of firing.

The state of the armed forces of Prussia at the beginning of the Austro-Prussian-Italian war

Army

Due to the territorial system of mobilization, Prussia had a gain of several weeks in terms of mobilization compared to Austria, in which the regiments were located, for reasons domestic policy, perhaps far from the territory of their constituent nationality. Therefore, even if Austria did not want to enter the war, it was forced to start mobilization measures in advance. The Prussian press inflated to a huge extent the strengthening of the Austrian troops in Bohemia; On March 28, Prussia began to strengthen the available composition of the battalions of 5 divisions located near the Saxon and Austrian borders, from 530 people to 685 people. Further purchases of horses for field artillery followed. After the beginning of the general mobilization in Austria, the Prussian king still resisted the mobilization of the Prussian army. Only in succession, on May 3, 5 and 12, Moltke and Bismarck wrested from him decrees on mobilization, which covered the entire Prussian army in three stages.

H. Moltke proposed to give the future war a bright offensive character, to start hostilities without the slightest diplomatic warnings, using the complete military unpreparedness of Prussia's opponents. In the midst of deep peace, the unmobilized Prussian troops were to break into the allied fortress of Mainz and disarm the Austrian and allied troops that made up its garrison. At the same time, on the very first day of mobilization, the Prussian troops were to invade Saxony from different sides, take the non-mobilized Saxon troops by surprise in their barracks and, only having finished with them, proceed to mobilization; having finished the last, two armies - 193,000 and 54,000 people. - were to invade Bohemia and crush the Austrian army before it could assemble.

During the entire war, the Prussians mobilized 664 thousand people. All units of the standing army were assigned to the front; in addition, out of 116 Landwehr battalions (1,002 men each) that formed the garrison of the fortresses, 30 battalions were brought in for secondary active operations. For each field three-battalion regiment, a fourth reserve battalion of 800 people was formed, half from recruits, half from reserve, who had already received military training. A total of 129 reserve battalions were formed, of which 48 battalions were assigned to serve in secondary theaters. From the landwehr and reserve battalions, in addition to the existing army corps, 2 reserve corps were formed. Only a truce prevented their entry into battle. Thus, behind the 334,000th field army of Prussia there were over 300,000 second-line troops.

Fleet

However, at least in the 1860s, armor manufacturers managed to keep up, and ironclads were still not very vulnerable to armor-piercing and explosive shells. C. I. Hamilton. At the beginning of the Danish War of 1864, the Prussian navy had only two ships with experienced crews - the Arkona (German: Arcona) and the 19-gun corvette Nymph (German: Nymphe), partially manned by sailors from the Niobe (German: Niobe) withdrawn from the fleet. This detachment was commanded by Captain Edward von Jachmann, who held his flag on the 30-gun Arkona steam frigate, capable of speeds up to 12 knots.

During the armistice, the Prussians purchased several ships under construction for the Confederation. These were the "Prince Adalbert" (German: Prinz Adalbert) - an armored ram, of the same type as the "Stonewall", and two steam corvettes - "Augusta" (German: Augusta) - the former "Mississippi", and "Victoria" (German: Victoria) - Former Louisiana.

After the end of the truce in the Baltic, another battle took place - on July 23 at Hiddensee. On the whole, the war in the Baltic was over, and the Prussian fleet could quite rightly be proud of the way it fought the war.

The state of the armed forces of Italy at the beginning of the Austro-Prussian-Italian war

Army

To influence Austria, O. Bismarck used Italy, which began in advance to strengthen its army, in which, for economic reasons, the next age of the contingent was not called up at all in 1865, and to draw troops from the southern part of the peninsula and Sicily. Italy fielded 165,000 field troops. The Prussian military commissioner, General Bernhardi, and the Prussian envoy persuaded the Italian command to energetically begin operations: to transport the bulk of the troops across the lower reaches of the river. By and push it to Padua, in the deep rear of the Austrian army concentrated in the quadrangle of fortresses (Mantua, Peschiera, Verona, Legnago), which would lead to a battle with an inverted front; then launch an energetic offensive into the interior of Austria - to Vienna; transfer across the Adriatic Sea Garibaldi and his volunteers to support the Hungarian uprising; to take part, through emigration, in his organization and thus "to strike a blow to the heart of the Austrian power." Of course, Italy, whose interests were secured even before the outbreak of hostilities, was not disposed to follow these advice, and the Austrians could, from the very beginning of the war, limit themselves to a minimum of forces on the Italian front; however, the strategy did not take full advantage of Austria's political retreat towards Italy.

Fleet

The Italians have always been a seafaring nation whose past was marked by glorious achievements. But almost all of their ships had just entered service, most of the guns were installed on the ships quite recently, and neither the officers nor the sailors were sufficiently trained in handling them. The squadrons, formidable in composition, did not receive appropriate tactical training in peacetime. In addition, the navy was plagued by controversy and envy between officers, stemming from the recent merger of two groups - the officers of Sardinia and Naples. There was not enough time for this merger to become complete ... Courage alone was not enough. It required a lot of administrative work, the ability of commanders to lead people behind them, and preparation. H. W. Wilson

When war was imminent, on May 3, 1866, the Italian Minister of Marine ordered the formation of an active fleet of 31 ships, which were supposed to be selected from 69 steamships and 75 sailboats, many of which were unable to participate in hostilities.

This fleet was supposed to be fully equipped with people, weapons and equipment by June 20 - the day war was declared. By this date, 29 ships were ready - although not everything planned was done, especially with regard to guns. It should be noted that the Minister of Marine ordered the replacement of unfastened (the so-called "fastened with hoops") rifled 160-mm guns with rifled guns of the same caliber, but fastened with rings, thus strengthening the armament of the battleships. Alterations were made in Taranto, from where the fleet left on June 21 - a day after the declaration of war - to Ancona, located on the Adriatic coast. Due to the fact that several low-speed ships were included in the squadron, and the squadron speed did not exceed 4-5 knots, they reached Ancona only on June 25th. Here the squadron stopped in anticipation of supplies and new orders.

Here the fleet was fully equipped before the battle - "all, with a few exceptions - concerning only the weakest - the ships received the artillery prescribed by the Ministry." This report also notes that "all modifications to the ships at Ancona were completed by 20 June, and the artillery had been replaced on all but one of the ships by the time the Austrian commander appeared in front of Ancona on 27 August." When this happened, the "Principe di Carignano" (Principe di Carignano), on which eight guns were replaced by guns from the armored corvette "Terribile" (Terribile), delayed somewhat, moved on the enemy.

The commander of the Italian squadron was Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano, born March 11, 1806 in Vercelli. He distinguished himself by commanding one of the ships off Tripoli in 1825, but was later court-martialed for recklessness. From March 3, 1862, he was Minister of the Navy. When, on May 3, 1866, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the "Armata di Operazione", he was already 60 years old, and, apparently, he was already too old for this appointment. In any case, he was no longer a hot and reckless commander. In 1862, he made perhaps the most important change in Italian shipbuilding policy, abandoning the construction of wooden ships supported by the Minister Urbano Ratazzi in favor of ironclads. In addition, in order to nullify the rivalry that existed in the combined fleet between the Sardinian and Neapolitan officers, he planned to establish a Royal Academy - to turn them into Italian officers. During these years, the Italian fleet had just turned to armor. In June 1862, he told the Italian parliament "recent events in the American war have shown that the importance of wooden ships is reduced to a minimum by the undeniable superiority of ironclads, even one of which can sink a whole fleet of wooden ships with its ram."

Although Persano proved to be a good politician and organizer, introducing undeniable improvements in the fleet, he completely failed as a commander of the fleet. July 20, his squadron consisted of 56 ships. Of these, Persano could rely on 11 ironclads - with the twelfth joining them a few hours before the battle. It was the "Affondatore" (Affondatore), which arrived in almost ready condition from its place of construction - Millwall on the Thames. It was a unique seaworthy turret battleship with a 26-foot ram.

Two other battleships, the class 1 frigates Re di Portogallo and Re d'Italia, armed with pole mines, were built by Webb in New York during the Civil War. All the rest, with the exception of the second-class frigate Principe di Carignano, were built in French shipyards. These were second-class frigates Maria Pia, Ancona, Castelfidardo, and San Martino, armored corvettes Terribile and Formidabile. (Formidabile), and the armored gunboats Varese and Palestro. "Re d'Italia" became the first ironclad to cross (in March 1864) the Atlantic alone.

Vice Admiral Batista Giovanni Albini Count of Sarda (Battista Giovanni Albini, count Sarda), commander wooden ships, held his flag on "Mary Adelaide" (Maria Adelaide). The rest of his ships were first-class steam frigates Duca di Genova, Vittorio Emanuele, Gaeta, Principe Umberto, Carlo Alberto ), Garibaldi, and corvettes Principessa Clotilde, Etna, San Giovanni and Guisardo. The third detachment consisted of four gunboats armed with four rifled 12-cm guns each. They were commanded by Captain First Rank Antonio Sandri.

According to Persano's critics, he did not conduct purposeful exercises, which were the Austrians, who constantly trained their gunners, in the order of things. Moreover, the naval department of the Italian military ministry found it possible to provide ammunition specifically for artillery exercises.