The Battle of the Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in World War I

Five: The Pursuit

c h a p t e r f i v e THE pursuit The first information to reach the Italian naval command at Brindisi that a raid was in progress came from the semaphore station on the island of Saseno off Valona bay. At 0348 (central European time), Saseno transmitted a wireless signal stating that artillery ¶ashes had been observed to the southsoutheast . This was obviously the destroyer attack on Borea’s convoy, and four minutes later, at 0352, Saseno sent an additional message con¤rming that it was the convoy under attack. At 0433 Saseno reported the sound of heavy gun¤re to the south-southwest, which was obviously the cruiser’s attack on the drifters. At 0450 the Italian wireless station at Palascia—the lighthouse on the promontory south of Otranto forming the easternmost point of the Italian mainland—reported the alarm and distress ¶ares ¤red by the drifters as well as the sound of a heavy bombardment along the barrage. At 0505 Palascia sent a new report stating that a cruiser was systematically attacking the drifter line. The Italian semaphore station at Palascia made similar reports. At 0410 the latter reported the initiation of gun¤re in the straits and at 0510 observed two ships but could not establish the type in the prevailing mist. The unknown ships were still in sight at 0555, apparently proceeding northward at approximately fourteen knots, and they only disappeared from sight at 0615.1 There was yet an additional report of Austrian activity from the French destroyer Commandant Bory, which was proceeding from Taranto to Corfu for exercises . Her commander, Lieutenant de vaisseau Cras, at approximately 0430 observed ¶ashes of gun¤re far to the north and proceeded to the scene of the The main action 70 the battle of the otranto straits apparent action. Due to a faulty air pump the destroyer was unable to make more than eighteen knots, but she arrived in time to observe two Austrian cruisers leaving the scene. Unable to follow, the destroyer proceeded to the aid of the survivors, who noted the identi¤cation “BR” painted on her bow. Cras, however, spotted an Austrian submarine, apparently the U.4. The submarine submerged and the Commandant Bory, restricted in speed and therefore unable to follow the cruisers, spent the remainder of the morning hunting the submarine, without success. The mechanical faults that prevented the destroyer from taking part in the pursuit were among a number that would bedevil the French and Italians during the day. Commandant Bory’s signal reporting the Austrians was only received by Brindisi at 0530 according to French sources, or 0537 according to Italian.2 It was obvious that just before dawn the Italian authorities knew a raid of some sort was taking place in the Strait of Otranto. How did they react? Contrammiraglio Alfredo Acton, the commander of the Divisione Esploratori and senior naval of¤cer at Brindisi, was in his ¶agship, the old cruiser Etna. Launched in 1885, the ship had been relegated to training duties well before the war and now served as a ¶oating headquarters or depot ship.3 Acton ordered the ships in harbor to raise steam. He also attempted to use those of his ships that were already at sea, notably the Mirabello group under the command of Capitano di fregata Vicuna. This force, consisting of an Italian ¶otilla leader and three French destroyers, had proceeded along its planned patrol route well to the north of the drifter line. It had probably crossed paths with the Austrian cruisers during the night, each side unaware of the other. At 0420 Vicuna had reached the northern limit of his patrol, 41° 30′ north and 19° 06′ east, and turned to the south. At approximately 0435 he had intercepted the wireless signal from Saseno concerning the action against the drifter line and at 0440 received Acton’s signal from Etna con¤rming the presence of the enemy in the straits and ordering him to steer to the south.4 The British light cruiser Bristol had been at a half hour’s notice and was therefore one of the ¤rst to sail at 0450, accompanied by the Italian destroyers Pilo and Mosto. Acton ordered the Bristol to steer a course of 45°, toward the Gulf of Drin, but at a speed of only twenty knots so as not to distance themselves too far from the Dartmouth or...