The Bombardment of Ancona - Derailing Your Mobilisation

Today we look at the Bombardment of Ancona, the first and as it turned out only time the Kaiserliche und Konigliche Kriegsmarine would sail into battle at full strength.
Sources:
“A Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet Békében és Háborúban" (Ku.K. Kriegsmarine in Peace and War) - Lajos Győri
www.amazon.co.uk/Austro-Hungarian-Battleships-1914-18-New-Vanguard/dp/1849086885
www.amazon.co.uk/Crown-Waves-Great-Navies-First/dp/1612510825
Az Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia Csatahajói: 1904-1914 - Mihaly Kramli
Hungarian translator and researcher - Gazenberg
Free naval photos and more - www.drachinifel.co.uk
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[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@ibbi32]

How is your day

[@ibbi32]

What is the best way to kill panzerchiefe with Didos and destroyers

[@louierenault7344]

Drach is there any possibility of you covering "la naval de manila" the spanish miraculous victory against the dutch during the attempted dutch invasion of the philippines,it was a battle where the spanish got the short end of the stick but nonetheless won and the battle was so miraculous that it was declared a miracle by the catholic church?

[@seppokajantie9588]

In regards to cross-deck fire, were there technical difficulties in designing ships with many centerline turrets, or was it a matter of doctrine (i.e. some end-on fire without compromising broadside weight)? If it was at all an matter of the engineering, how on earth did they arrive at ships like the Fusos or HMS Agincourt, and what workarounds did they have to incorporate?

[@keab42]

How effective would the network of Martello Towers on England's South and East coast have been in the event of an invasion by Napoleon?

[@DanielSilverthorn]

"A volley of various curses in all 11 official languages of the Austro-Hungarian Empire"

[@Errafri]

I lost it when he said that...

[@BlackMasterRoshi]

i should just not read the comments till i finish the video, since they're all repeating what drach already said.

[@ussessexcv-9189]

@@BlackMasterRoshi you clearly have not been here very long

[@luisnunes2010]

Diversity is our strengh, and all that...

[@Wolfen443]

@@luisnunes2010 , yeah that worked out great for them as we saw later on. Did Liberals today remember what happened to the Austro Hungarian Empire diversity issues?.

[@jiks270]

With the wine store disabled, Jean Bart was no longer combat effective.

[@jvtagle]

Sad pirate noises

[@TexasSpectre]

The fact that there was no backup or auxiliary wine store is an indictment of the French naval architects. :P

[@lavrentivs9891]

Makes you wonder what would happen to the RN back then if they ran out of grog.

[@JBGARINGAN]

@@lavrentivs9891 "England expects that every man do his duty."

[@trxnme2082]

Depends on the CO, Nelson would organise theft of French Brandy and convince the matelots this was brilliant. Blythe would have some spare rum stashed and, well, Blythe... RN depended on some supeb leadership, combined with rum, sodomy and the cat o nine (lash), the good CO only used rum, be good get rum, be bad and dont get rum.... :) :)

[@Chrischi3TutorialLPs]

"Hit a pier, which promptly fled in many diections at high speed, leaving little more than a pool of smoke and pleasant memories." You never disappoint Drach.

[@Melody_Raventress]

Wrong, sir, and may god have mercy on your benighted soul. Drach makes what is already an interesting subject and with his entertaining performance brings a singular charm to the tale.

[@glenmcgillivray4707]

"Elsewhere in the town the oil refinery took a direct hit and started a 'somewhat larger fire', and many longing looks on the parts of the citizens at where the water tower had so recently stood"

[@Melody_Raventress]

*yawn* Oh sorry, were you attempting to sound intelligent? All you reveal is the vast gap between how you act and the way you actually appear to the rest of us. Child, go away and play, you bore me.

[@jimtaylor294]

@@Melody_Raventress Amen. A man of culture he is not.

[@j_taylor]

I agree with Jim.

[@kkirschkk]

"A water tower lost a leg and fell over, with the resulting surge of water paradoxically causing a fire.." and you say the pistol ammo needed further investigation lol

[@Norbert_Sattler]

Not really. Too much water prevents fires, but if just a little bit of water on the ednges of the flooded zone got into some transformer or other electrical equipment, that can easly cause short-circuits and in turn fires. Especially when you have more "primitive" electrics with not-isolated wires in a casing made out of wood for example. Hell even in today's world there are still electrical fires burning down rooms or entire building on occasion and that's with far higher savety regulations and with a decided lack of warship artillary impacting the surroundings.

[@wallacegrommet9343]

The irony!

[@KarlfMjolnir]

@@Norbert_Sattler or just doing something like knocking around a box of unstable explosives, knocking over an oil lamp... the list goes on.

[@charlesc.9012]

Electrics and wood are unfriendly, and both exist in vast quantities in a 20th century urban building alongside asbestos.

[@jagerbombasstic]

“Treasonous people do not deserve water to boil their pasta in!” -Austrian leadership probably

[@emiliomoncher154]

Do not worry . On june 1918 Luigi Rizzo presented the bill.

[@falloutghoul1]

A French battleship losing the wine store is a national tragedy.

[@winestu5322]

That depends on the wine.

[@charleshite7707]

I am sure they had a secondary "magazine'

[@toddkes5890]

They had to return to port for Port

[@Errafri]

@Sony Pony you've never seen a desperate frenchman then 😂

[@jaimemetcher388]

@@winestu5322 Indeed. From what I've heard of French military wine rations, they could swap it with the contents of the paint locker and consider it an upgrade.

[@norbertblackrain2379]

Pulling up a true combined air sea operation in 1915. Hitting multiple targets well synchronized ... K.u.K or Austrian navy might sound like a joke but these guys were surely serious and professional as well as willing to use newest technology.

[@VersusARCH]

All gangsta until their battleships encounter some torpedo boats...

[@GUYCLIP]

@@TheTutch He's referencing the voyage of the 2nd Russian Pacific Squadron.

[@VersusARCH]

@@TheTutch kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6G2mnagm82Ii9k

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

@@VersusARCH The Adriatic WAS the living hell for a reincarnated Kamchatka. The k.u.k. Kriegsmarine had comissioned over 100 torpedoboats of various sizes, plus the Huszár and Tátra class destroyers. Italy, the RM, the RN and late even the USN (no kidding) all threw in their share in the fray

[@VersusARCH]

@@TheTutch Btw a group of Japanese destroyers took part in the operations in the Mediterranean in WW1 (notably guard duty at the Otranto barrage) with one being lost.

[@DERP_Squad]

It seems Drach quite enjoys saying 'Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine'.

[@arnonuhm6922]

I think he practised a lot, he pronounced it very well. But pronouncing Erzherzog needs some more practise.

[@benbaselet2026]

Who wouldn't?

[@OutlawedOutlander]

@DERP Squad I mean saying Kriegsmarine alone is fun. Let alone the others!

[@stamfordly6463]

He does seem to have forgotten that George V was, by the grace of God, King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India...

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet? :)

[@otosjvantolerbok4177]

This is a rare and fine demonstration of an inhabitant of the formal British Empire to pronounce as many foreign names as possible and as well as possible. Well done! This, apart from a well explained naval part of the Great War. Splendid. Now, just lets hope the Italian people, the people of the formal Austria-Hungarian Empire including all of its eleven different langauges and all other nationalities involved in this video do not find this an excuse to start hostillities all over again. After all, he is Brittish.

[@a6mzeke1]

My god, the war crime of destroying the wine cellar on a French warship.

[@dancingwiththedarkness3352]

Limping off, leaking chardonnay as the fish got drunk.

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

The Adriatic is bad for you, "Tokaj"?

[@lycossurfer8851]

Rumor has it that date was almost made a national day of mourning

[@francoistombe]

Having a good wine "cellar" is a sensible priority. Living well is the best revenge. The French have that right.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

The French had wine cellars, the Americans had ice cream machines. You shouldn't mess with either of them on a warship.

[@fuuryuuSKK]

I am amused at the pistol-caliber coastal bombardment

[@davidbrennan660]

“ Decisive” I am sure you just forgot to add.

[@huskarlar961]

"Sail me closer I want to shot them with my side arm!" -the captain of that ship probably

[@johnbuchman4854]

HE or AP pistol rounds? (Asking for a Japanese ship off Samar)

[@Ensign_Nemo]

Perhaps somebody mistakenly raised the signal flag for "engage the enemy more closely" when the ship was already close enough to hurl verbal insults at the Italians.

[@attilarischt2851]

You almost nailed "Szigetvár" perfectly. Excellent job. Though I can hear your tongue crying through the list of the ships.

[@attilarischt2851]

Also, note, just pronounce "Szent" as "Saint". They are close enough and mean the same thing, and is probably easier on your tongue.

[@charliepayne4033]

You know it's a bot in most of the videos unless it says it says human narrator or someshit

[@attilarischt2851]

@@charliepayne4033 ...What?

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

@@charliepayne4033 Wrong, the early videos used a computer generated voice but he started using his own voice ages ago. Where you see 'Human voice', or something like it, is where he's redone computer generated audio in his own voice.

[@Cbabilon675]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@randomguy-tg7ok]

It must be kind of embarrassing that the Austro-Hungarians were able to do better shore bombardment with their Pre-Dreadnoughts than the British and French combined were able to, even given the different contexts.

[@Leptospirosi]

You have to keep in mind this attack was one special occasion, against an enemy nation that was not fully committed to a war: the attack came out of the blue for most of the area bombarded, which were probably been noticed of the war a few hour before the shells started landing. Early 1915 was not WWII: most dispatch and communications were delivered via cavalry men or telegraph, if available, meaning a full mobilization for a nation took probably weeks. By this time, the Austro-Hungarian navy had been at war for months and the accurately picked infrastructure targets rather then heavily defended Italian naval bases. This allowed for a reasonable degree of success, despite being far less important that reported in this video: the industrial areas of Italy at the time and still today were situated in northern Italy and there were based the land forces that engaged the Austrian Front on Carso mountain, while from the south mostly came supplies and later men reinforcements in a later stage of the conflict. I doubt the Austrian would have fared better then the Anglo French forces in the Bosforo region, which was heavily guarded and defended after the debacle the Turks suffered in 1912, mostly at the hands of Regia Marina.

[@phantom_dreamer]

@@Leptospirosi You completely miss the point of this attack: it was not supposed to destroy the industry, but rather the infrastructure for transporting troops, allowing the AH army more time to react, which it did.

[@Volnas97]

I've heard, that mostly Czechs and Slovaks were maning ship guns. If that's true, there's no wonder, that they were so effective.

[@shaunsalter450]

Yes well, as Herr Georg Ludwig Ritter Von Trapp was a captain in the AH Navy, they probably had excellent harmonisation and good orchestration. (Yes I know he ran submarines, don't spoil the joke)

[@mebsrea]

Adam Volný From everything I’ve read, the Czechs and Slovaks were generally unenthusiastic to downright treasonous when fighting the Russians, but quite committed and very enthusiastic against the Italians.

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

If someone wonders the handgun ammo expended by the SMS Scharfschütze, it must be noted, that the channel leading into the inner harbor of Ravenna (where Porto Corsini is) was at the time 30 meters "wide" - while the Huszár class destroyer was 67 meters long. This explains the "stern first" approach as well as the need for shooting sidearms the way out at charging Italian infantry. No lack of spirit on either side.

[@AtholAnderson]

2:1 odds some Italian troops considered the practicality of bayonet charging a warship.

[@sirrliv]

Wow! With a channel that narrow, I'm almost surprised the Italian infantry didn't try to find a long ladder or something and attempt a boarding action. A bit Keystone Cops perhaps, but with a determined enough attempt and enough covering fire, it might have stood a good chance of working.

[@LordOceanus]

I think you are right though the fact that no rifle ammo was listed as expended means its likely a pair or trio of officers were responsible likely running out of the bridge cursing in multiple languages and firing at the startled Italians to the cheers of their own equally surprised men

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

@@LordOceanus the captain of the ship pulled off at least two more spectacular sortie during WWI as well becoming the first admiral of the Polish interwar navy. I have yet to read Bagumil Nowotny's memoires.

[@Tuning3434]

@@sirrliv Well, Panamax is still only 32 meters, and you can fit Iowa's through there. Lets not get to excited with 'long ladders'.

[@Chrischi3TutorialLPs]

When you waited to choose your side in WW1 and changed sides in WW2, but everyone only ever remembers italy for this: *Sneaky romania noises*

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

3:28 " The treason of the century" Italy a few decades later: "Hey, wanna see me do it again?"

[@richardtaylor1652]

Everyone loves a sequel.

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

Poor old Franz-Joseph was too optimistic to declare the "Treason of the Century" in 1914...

[@Chrischi3TutorialLPs]

When you waited to choose your side in WW1 and changed sides in WW2, but everyone only ever remembers italy for this: *Sneaky romania noises*

[@dariomasi9]

Buit it was germany that betrayed italy in ww2,there was to be no aggression by the italian army towards germany after the armistice,germany was the one that attacked italy,and in some occasions even betrayed ceasefires to use the element of surprise (action off bastia)

[@davidbrennan660]

Also almost as predictable as a Japanese surprise attack.

[@slinkerdeer]

3:08 "The Austro-Hungarian leader, wonderfully titled King *and* Emperor" My brain: *Karl Franz* "I am King and Emperor!" & "Summon the Elector Counts!"

[@gokbay3057]

Karl Franz is Prince and Emperor. And British had the King-Emperor while German Emperor was the King of Prussia, It really isn't fair to mock His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty. (Thought everything being called "Imperial and Royal" is pretty funny)

[@slinkerdeer]

Oh right prince lol, still.. a prince is a king to be lol

[@Dave_Sisson]

I thought he was King of Hungary and Emperor of Austria? ???

[@gokbay3057]

@@Dave_Sisson that's what the Austro-Hungarian Emperor-King was. OP is talking about Karl Franz, Emperor of Mankind, Prince of Altdorf and Grand Prince (Elector Count) of Reikland. From Warhammer Fantasy Battle.

[@davieturner339]

Dave Sisson : Queen Victoria was also Empress of India

[@Leptospirosi]

I remember talking with a Gesuite named Father Valerio 30 years ago: he was 7 yo when the shelling began in Rimini and he still carried a gruesome scar on the left eyebrow as a reminder of the event. It was more then "A few holes in the rail road bridge": he was looking at the sea from his bedroom early in the morning woke up by the thunders and vividly remembered the muzzle flashes of the Austro-Hungarian guns, despite living almost 2Km away form the seaside. My guess is that the A-H were targeting the whole rail road infrastructure stretching along the city, extending almost 5 km in length considering the distance between the bridge on the River and the extended depots and facilities. The bridge is an extremely important chokepoint, connecting everything on the Adriatic coast: it stands side by side, (a few meters away) with the bridge that Cesar crossed with is army when he pronounced the famous "Alea Jacta Est". The same bridge was held and partially demolished by the Ostrogoths garrison, trying to hold Narses force from reaching south, and it was mined by the German Nazi Army to bottleneck the Allies out of Emilia Romagna (but the German commander refused to blow up the 2K yo structure and simply retreated). You can see railroad bridge still standing (it wasn't damaged) side by side with the "Bridge of Tiberius" The 1915 bombardment caused quite a few casualties among the civilians and a lot of wounded as shelling went on for more then an hour and a half. Valerio was hit by splinters while looking outside of the window. As most of the people living in Italy at the time, he had no knowledge of being at war, since information run slowly at the time and it took weeks before mobilization could begin effectively. They probably learned about the war the morning after from the newspapers.

[@RCAvhstape]

Cool. I just looked up that Roman bridge on google maps. Seems there is a golf course just west of it that kind of makes it pointless now, I am guess the golf course is built over the old stream bed and the water course was rerouted?

[@Leptospirosi]

@@RCAvhstape The river was deviated by it's course after WWII to prevent it from flooding the city as it happened from time to time: now it is just a blind canal port dragging water from the sea and the old river course was filled with earth and it is now a park. the old river now runs a few km north into the sea.

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

Thank you for these personal(ish) details, albeit the SMS Sankt Georg "revisited" Rimini in 1915, on the 18th of June, with SMS Szigetvár.

[@maxschon7709]

ITaly never should have gone on war with Austria on the frist place. It had nothing really to gain from it while it could get Egypt from the Birtish and Tunesia or Algeria from the French. Italy could have been an Empire for its own after the winning over French and Brits and stay out of the next war and keeping its colonies till the 1960 or 1980ies. Italy would be rich as Britain and Italian would be a world spoken language.

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

@@maxschon7709 Yes, Italy remaining neutral might have saved a few million young men around Isonzo, which in hindsight far outweight the meager gains of being an "active winner".

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

Thank you for bringing to us this video. My grandfather would(as a member of the USN serve as a member of the capture crew)serve on the Zrinyi. He spent the last few months of 1918, and most of 1919 in the Croatian port of Split. The Italians ended up with her and was scrapped by 1922. I have a post card sent by him to his mother in Feb. 1919. The card featured a photo of Zrinyi. My grandfather died in May 1934 after a truck accident in the mountains of western Pa.

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

If you still have the postcard, could you send it digitalised to Drachinifels channel admin e-mail? I cannot speak in his name, but would bet that he will like it.

[@the_real_ch3]

Last time I was this early Archduke Ferdinand had merely made a wrong turn

[@Hidensee]

You know, have a Slavic driver (his driver was Czech (and survive)) if Slavs try to kill you, was not good idea, You know he symply change car direck to shooter and stop befor him :-D

[@weldonwin]

But, I was told the war started because some bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich because he was hungry?

[@Kumimono]

I'm a bit late, he's just thrown a bomb out of his car. (I think that happened.)

[@joryadamson7854]

No his chauffer made a wrong turn

[@weldonwin]

17:40 Ah, so the crews were suffering from a mild case of Kamchatka Syndrome. I say a mild case, because although they experienced "Attack" by phantom submarines, at least they didn't start screaming the doom was upon them, start shooting at their own allies or engage in hand to hand combat with phantom boarding parties

[@rayceeya8659]

This is like the back story for Porco Rosso.

[@Dave_Sisson]

Just what I was thinking. That flying boat looks like something from a Hayao Miyazaki film.

[@weldonwin]

@@Dave_Sisson In fact I think those exact flying boats appear in Porco Rosso in the Aviator's Heaven scene

[@basicpigeonbee]

@Cumberland Sausage ghost in the shell, one piece, nauroto, Shrek, Cory in the House, fullmetal alchemist, azure Lane

[@tanegashima5395]

@@weldonwin I think the model is slightly different, since the model shown in the video didn't have forward facing machine guns.

[@benholroyd5221]

So Porco Rosso is the 'English' translation of a Japanese name. Did the original use the same name, or was it changed for stylistic reasons. As an Anglophone I can work out the general meaning etc which I'm guessing the average Japanese wouldn't.

[@ericgrace9995]

Would water towers be of particular interest as they supplied the water for steam trains ?

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

As well as providing water for firefighters and being a SPECTACULAR target if hit.

[@magnemoe1]

@@karlvongazenberg8398 Yes, hitting it with an battleship shell would look cool,

[@animal16365]

Probably not. The water tower he was probably talking about was probably used to provide water for industry or fire fighting.

[@ericgrace9995]

@@animal16365 And where would the water for steam trains come from ? All train lines had water towers along their routes that would require filling.

[@animal16365]

@@ericgrace9995 Depends. In the rail yards there were a few locations. Out on the main line. It was the same or in combination with a coaling tower and some even had track pans. The water was either a spring or pond when along the main line. In rail yards it was connected to a towns water system. A railroads water tank were along the tracks were low. Because they had a pipe that ran from the base of the water tank. It could be lowered to the tender and opened up to provide the water for the locomotive.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

This is fascinating hearing about a navy, that's not really mentioned, but was obviously well trained and performed quite a feat. The warning shot for civilians, creating and pulling off this daring mission, the way they were able to target spots smilingly rather accurately, has really increased the Austro-Hungarian navy (I'm not going to type out the full name 😂) up in my estimation of it's ability.

[@todo9633]

You dishonor the Kaiserliche und Konigliche Kriegsmarine by not using their right and honorable name.

[@seneca983]

@@todo9633 Didn't you dishonor them as well by misspelling their name? ;) (My German is rather rusty but I think it should be "Königliche".)

[@todo9633]

@@seneca983 It's true. I am shame, I will commit sudoku for the kaiser.

[@Ealsante]

How dare you not call them the Kaiserliche und Koenigliche Kriegsmarine. What has the Kaiserliche und Koenigliche Kriegsmarine done against you, eh?

[@Voron_Aggrav]

This story is Brilliant, a Ship expending Pistol ammo, a Water Tower that was the cause of a Fire, too many funny Anecdotes to mention, Great work with this Episode :)

[@evensgrey]

If only those employed to teach history in our schools were this good at making the facts of history interesting. (Those in universities have been, in my experience, better. This is likely because professors are drawn from the ranks of those who really ENJOY their subject, rather like Drach, while a good many history teachers are just people who wanted a steady job and had a lot of history credits.

[@sirrliv]

This is a prime example of why I love this channel. Drach tells these tales of naval history with impeccable well-researched accuracy and in such a way that I have to repeatedly pause the video because I'm laughing too much to pay attention. I'd like to see Mark Felton pull that off!

[@DarthAverage]

I often believe that when Drach writes his scripts he asks himself, "How would John Cleese express this?", and then goes with that.

[@mennoltvanalten7260]

'The betrayal of the century' That sounds a bit early to call, in 1914, when the century is only 14% complete.

[@ericgrace9995]

Believe it or not, I heard a BBC news reporter describe the Russian Invasion of Afghanistan in January 2000 as , -" The most serious crisis of the decade..."

[@robertmatch6550]

@@ericgrace9995 russians were 1980. Americans were late 2001 early 2002.

[@michalsoukup1021]

Dont forget his Imperial Majesty was not far short of a century of age himself...

[@ericgrace9995]

@@robertmatch6550 Yep...Brain freeze. It was January...and the first year of the decade.!

[@riograndedosulball248]

​@@ericgrace99952000 was the last year of the 1990's, the new decade only started in January 1st 2001

[@leonlibbey2211]

My great great grandfather actually served in the SMS Zenta during her voyage to Asia during the boxer rebellion. It's nice to hear the ship mentioned.

[@oceanriderz65]

that is epic, i always loved these 3 ships, simple clear lines always pleasing to the eye

[@juliet_whiskey6625]

The advantages of working night shift in the US. I get to end my day with only the freshest of naval history videos, courtesy of Drachinifel. Much obliged

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

Austro Hungarian Navy fights its most hated adversaries...water towers.

[@stamasd8500]

And wine cellars.

[@STScott-qo4pw]

lose your water towers you lose your steam-powered locomotives.

[@phaasch]

"to repair the hole in the bow where the wine store had once been". One hopes the Somellier was unhurt, and that damage to the ballroom and soft furnishings was minimal.

[@brownwrench]

The cheese compartment within it stopped there being an exit hole.

[@parvuspeach]

12th Battle of the Isonzo... "it all started in 1915 with THAT water tower you see"

[@joeblow9657]

"subject to a rather irregular form of building quality control" LOL, I love that Drachism. If KZbin doesn't work out he should become a government spokesperson

[@Bt3615]

Ironically the release of this video coincides with a massive fire in the Ancona harbor.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

Oof

[@jamesdeery5377]

No doubt the shell holes are still there for the unwary to fall in to.

[@tutupre]

of course yes there is mustard gas being fired in the trenches BUT PIERRE THE WINE

[@shaunsalter450]

Fascinating, I had no idea the Adriatic was that busy a theatre. Not an area much brought to the fore in our West-centric view of history, and surprisingly a quite traditional set of rules of engagement: It's interesting to compare the somewhat chivilrous attitude of the Austro-Hungarians with the "civilians are combatants, they know the risks" attitude of the Germans bombarding the East coast of England. War is indeed Hell, but there's no need to be rude about it.

[@larrytischler570]

The attitude of the Germans was that they were a superior race. At least they were being told that when they attended Nazi rallies in huge numbers and they chanted "total war" responding to Hitler's rants. So Hitler bombed civilian targets in London as a terrorist attack to try to destroy the Brits resolve to defend themselves. Later they attacked, and still do, the west for firebombing their cities as "war crimes". You say the risks were known but denied?

[@Tom-2142]

@@larrytischler570 why are you talking about nazis? This is ww1

[@luisnunes2010]

The role of the navy in allowing the austrians to scramble and defend their flank from their putative allies is usually ignored. Great stuff, Drach!

[@curium9622]

Imagine a Royal Navy destroyer named HMS Sniper

[@weldonwin]

Actually I can. When one considers the sheer breadth of names the Royal navy gives their warships, an HMS Sniper is perfectly reasonable, especially when taken into consideration alongside HMS Hyacinth, HMS Marigold and HMS Pansy

[@erikhesjedal3569]

(Or sharpshooter. )

[@leeboy26]

Only if it's ironic and it couldn't hit a barn door.

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Marksman_(1915) HMS Marksman?

[@roscoewhite3793]

There was the Sharpshooter class of torpedo gunboats, FWIW.

[@barrydysert2974]

"The 'warning short' hit a pier which promptly fled in many directions at high speed leaving little more than a pall of smoke and pleasant memories." Drach's mastery of illustrative prose is what keeps me coming back. i've seen many of you call them Drachisms which is a fine name. For me, it doesn't quite translate how i delight in hearing his presentations. They are Drach's Pearls On A String..... the auditory equivalent of Wealth. Free to all and not one sou less precious in its hypothetical ubiquity. But then, i'm weird like that!:-) 💜🙏🖖

[@finderkeeper360]

The Austro-Hungarian fleet may have been rendered moot by the circumstances of the larger war (and the strength of the British and French fleets in particular), but they put on a jolly good show in May 1915. ;) Also (and I'm sure Drachinifel could comment on this at length in a future video) it's interesting to note that the Austrian and Hungarian portions of the Empire each had their own port/shipbuilding centers: Trieste (now Italy) and Pola/Pula (now Croatia) for Austria, and Fiume/Rijeka (now Croatia) for Hungary. Hungary's portion of the Empire's coastline was indeed rather small, encompassing a short stretch of coastline to the east and south of Rijeka, while the bulk of Dalmatia (approximately from Zara/Zadar to Cattaro/Kotor) was administratively part of Austria. I'm interested in this because I have a personal connection--my great-grandfather left Dubrovnik (aka Ragusa) for the U.S. in the 1890s. His nationality, according to U.S. documents, was 'Austrian'. This is my first Drachinifel video watched in full, I can tell I'm going to immensely enjoy watching all the others!

[@1977Yakko]

Good to know my .45 handgun now qualifies as ashore bombardment weapon.

[@MrAjfish]

A prime example of why I love the this channel. I don't think I'd ever have known about this slice of history without you Drach. Top marks.

[@oscarsusan3834]

MrAjfish absolutely fascinating stuff

[@bernhardwagner5749]

Many thanks for this great Video! There are many interesting storys about the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine. For example about the flying ace Gottfried von Banfield - "the eagle of Triest (der Adler von Triest)", the Submarine Commander Georg Ritter von Trapp (Sound of Music), the Battle of Otranto, the battle of Durazzo, the first ever hovercraft, Austrias biggest naval victory the battle of Lissa, or many more. It would be a great joy for me to see another video about this forgotten navy. Some years ago I restored a marine chronometer form an Austro-Hungarian submarine, that was sunk for around 60 years. The clock was so well protectet, that it is still alive and working again. Greetings form Austria.

[@carneymalone4132]

Excellent coverage of a major but obscure naval action.

[@comunistubula4424]

9:16 "Dante Alehari"....I can hear Italians going "Mamma mia!!!!"

[@Voron_Aggrav]

did sound like he was pronouncing something Arabic

[@jefferyindorf699]

Drachinifel is merely keeping up the British tradition of mispronouncing non English words.

[@mch12311969]

Thank you for this, the AH navy is rarely if ever discussed.

[@Emperorvalse]

I love the little bits of humour and colour you added to your retelling of the Kaiserliche und Konigliche Kriegsmarine's greatest campaign of the Great War.

[@francescoravasio9241]

My mother is from Barletta, a city you mentioned near the end of your video, here there is a 12th century castle who look over the port and still show the sing of the shelling on its walls. I know it was during WW1 but i never been able to understand the dinamics of the whole operation. Thanks you ansewered a life long question of mine.

[@Ensign_Nemo]

The Miklos Horthy mentioned as Captain of the Novara at 14:05 later became Admiral Horthy. He led Hungary during WWII as an "uneasy ally" of Germany: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikl%C3%B3s_Horthy#Dates_of_rank_and_assignments

[@dariuszrutkowski420]

The hit to the wine store is like a shot to the left lung. If they had also hit the cheese store as well the crew would have scuttled themselves by blowing up the ammo magazine, because they lost all will to live.

[@brianbarrett2487]

"Hans you fool, you grabbed a case of 8mm not 80mm" "INTO ZE BREECH!!"

[@ibims1kevinvongretardierun553]

As an Austrian i enjoy the pronunciations very much

[@lezardvaleth2304]

13:17 Now I have the visual of an enthusiastic naval rating bunny hopping alongside the ship's decks with his pistol, shooting merrily away and shouting "BOOM HEADSHOT" every time he connected.

[@zoranocokoljic8927]

OK now. First, Austro-Hungary was, from 1867, a dual monarchy. That meant that Franz Joseph was at the same time Kaiser of Austria and King of Hungary, but the Empire and the kingdom were not united (only common ministry they had, IIRC, was of foreign affairs). So his title was "Kaiser und Koenig", meaning "The Emperor (of Austria) and King (of Hungary). Second, in Hungarian language letter "S" stands for sound "SH", and "S" is written as "SZ". So, "Szent Istvan" is pronounced "Sent Ishtvan". Same goes for letter "S" at the start of the word in German. "Sturm" is pronounced "Shturm". Special mention is due to the word "Erzherzog". It does mean Archduke, but is "Z" stands for "TZ", and "H" is not silent. Correct is "Ertz-Her-tzog". Also, you used modern map of Adriatic for illustration, while, in my opinion, it would be better to use contemporary one, where, for example, Trieste is not part of Italy, as it wasn't then. My apologies for being such a nerd, but being from that neck of woods, I find the words unpleasantly butchered.

[@Ibosz]

I would add here, that in hungarian, CS is the same as CH in english in words like Chief, Champion etc. so SMS Csepel is Chepel and not "C.S.pel". It took me some time while watching to indentify the name.

[@citamcicak]

You migjt be from that neck of wood, but you got pronounciation of S wrong. Posittion of S in a word is irellevant to it's pronounciation. Only thing that maters is what letter is following it - st and sch change it to english SH. While H stops being silent when it it's at the start of the world.

[@1teneris]

@@citamcicak You are wrong the position DOES matter in German. For example in Hast (German for hurry) it is pronounced ST whereas in Stadt (city) it is pronouced SHT.

[@1teneris]

You are not quite correct. There were actually three common ministries title k.u.k. (kaiserlich und könglich = imperial and royal): foreign affairs, war and finances off these two. The ministries of the two constiuate states were labeled k.k. (kaiserlich-königlich = imperial-royal) for the Austrian part and k.u. (königlich-ungarisch = royal-Hungarian) for the Hungarian part.

[@zoranocokoljic8927]

@@citamcicak Enchuldigen sie, bitte, aber meine Deutch ist auf Kriegkino - "Banditendeutch" mitt keine grammatic.

[@ForceSmart]

Very interesting video. I like learning more about less well-known operations or theaters like this. Also, Drach's "rallway" always cracks me up lol

[@greenefieldmann3014]

@Drachinifel is having entirely too much fun with this one.

[@panchoamd]

Excellent!! I can't imagine the work, patience and love you employ to do these awesome videos. Thank you very much!!

[@andro7862]

This was has a whole new dimension considering Slovenes and Croats live in the territories Italy wanted to take. To Austrians, losing those lands would be an inconvenience, to Croats and Slovenes it would be the very end of our existence.

[@nirfz]

I think this is the "understatement of the century" ;-) To austrians this would not be just an inconvenience, Apart from loosing land and inhabitants that were part of the empire for a long time, it would mean the empire would loose it's main international harbour at minimum, more like the whole access to the sea, landlocking the empire, and with italy posessing the area to the east/north east of trieste, there would not be a good natural defenseline preventing them to march north.

[@willis32]

I like the image of pistol volleys from the crew sinking the sail barges

[@Taluien]

Drach, as a native german speaker... boy howdy, Örszörszög (phonetically written with a german point of view) for Erzherzog is a rather adventureous way of saying that. Writing it phonetically from an english point of view, "airtshairtsog" would be closer to a german way of pronouncing it. The joys of differing phonetics. PS: I rather enjoy your videos. Just had to comment on the rather big smile your pronounciation gave me. And my inner grammar nazi wanted me to provide you with a potential betterment. ;)

[@highroller6244]

I didnt even understand what he was saying until reading the comments.😀 But he did a solid job on some of the other German words like Scharfschütze.

[@DEP717]

I thought I knew a fair bit about WW1, but this was the first time I had even heard about this. It is quite something, from the all out effort by the Austro-Hungarians to the level of coordination and technology being used, to the proficiency of the execution in carrying the mission out. Thanks, Drach!

[@maxinelouchis7272]

An interesting discussion of an action of the war I was not aware of. Again, thanks Drach.

[@samhuggons2879]

Another worthy addition to the drachifel catalogue of videos. I love the idea of a 300 ton destroyer, it sounds too small to not get laughed at.

[@mtben2094]

Funnily enough, the harbour of Ancona burst into flames this night... Drachinifel?

[@lanselithgow5865]

Fascinating Episode! Future Adriatic episodes ?..including the astonishing sinking of a French cruiser by a Tiny 32m long AustroHungarian submarine skippered by a Lt Georg Von Trapp?! Yes, the VonTrapps of Sound of Music!! This also had a Major effect on Allied capital ships venturing up the Adriatic.

[@charleswascher3751]

Capt Von Trapp approves of this action report

[@GaryNumeroUno]

The hills are alive, with the sound of shellfire!

[@gustafv1861]

This is glorious. Just checking youtube and I get to see another epic naval video. Something that has to do with my college paper as well.

[@tomaszmankowski9103]

Great as usual! I have read about this action of KuK Navy ages ago so it is nice to be reminded. Thanks! A detail you might enjoy - the commander of SMS Scharfschütze - Bogumił Franciszek Ksawery Nowotny was the first commander of the Polish Navy. At that time, November 1918, barely two weeks after Poland 're-appeared' the country technically had no access to the sea yet, but there was plenty to do due to many rivers and the vast area of Prypec Marshes which at times turned into a kind of an inland semi-sea. Still in the end Poland enjoyed just c. 70 km of sea coastline and very many Polish officers with experience in German, Russian and KuK Navy so the competition for senior posts had to be a problem. Anyway I wonder if the crew of ORP Piorun knew about Nowotny's action... that could explain a thing or two.

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

"Good Morning Ancona" !

[@toothedacorn4724]

I'm sorry did you say someone torpedoed a pier?

[@comunistubula4424]

Hey, as long as it works....

[@Kromaatikse]

Probably a pontoon rather than an actual pier. Pontoons are floating infrastructure.

[@srybo]

Well a British submarine is credited with sinking a mark IV panzer by torpedoing the pier so it collapsed and the tank fell into the harbour during wwII in north africa, so apparently it caught on.

[@toothedacorn4724]

@@srybo I know an american submarine is credited with a freight train as well

[@nonna_sof5889]

@@toothedacorn4724 That was with her scuttling charges though, not torpedoes.

[@Pyeknu]

You, my friend, are probably the best battle narrator currently active today. Even when you're speaking about a serious thing like a battle, the many cute and amusing asides you toss in nearly knock me down laughing every time! BZ!

[@GrumpyGrobbyGamer]

Well researched and delivered, very entertaining.

[@Johnnycdrums]

"We hit the deck a runnin' and we spun those guns around."

[@nkmic]

Drach, your work is great. I thought I knew a lot about the Ku.K navy, but you are really a master. Thank you.

[@hojoj.1974]

An excellent presentation...and as to your wry use of understatement... Bravo.

[@donmarlon5924]

Wonderful presentation of a comparatively little-known episode. Thanks so much!

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Thanks. That was interesting. I had no idea about the Naval War in the Adriatic during WWI. .

[@samreynolds6009]

I’ve watched almost every video but I somehow missed this one, this is one of the best you made

[@giovannidepetris6335]

Thank you for a very precise report. In particular I appreciated the knowledge of the treaty between italy and the central powers. This video should be mandatory studying material in my Italian school. Bravo.

[@bb54321abc]

A very entertaining and enjoyable review, well done.

[@johngreally9599]

Literally fascinating, and fascinatingly told.

[@jankosek7170]

My grandfather (born 1902) said that after declaration of war Italians intensively celebrated future victory. Due to this they was not able to fight at 04:00 next day.

[@MrTwotimess]

Informative and very entertaining, thank you!

[@attilarischt2851]

I am now going to look those books up, thank you for the description

[@Charliecomet82]

Hearing the story of a destroyer attacking locomotives reminds of Odd Ball and his Shermans in "Kelly's Heroes."

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

"Luckily, no one was hurt." kzbin.info/www/bejne/rouXepKOgKqmiLc

[@danielantrobus7232]

fantastic video - thank you

[@stephenmichalski2643]

This was really great....informative/entertaining.......probably wouldn't hear of these ops much anywhere else.......always excellent work/content here.......always.

[@eblingus]

Thanks so much for this! Love anything you can give me on the KKM

[@felipedejara]

Excellent!

[@oihanlarrategi4187]

A very nice gesture to leave 8 minutes for the civilians, I hadn't thought about these kind of things

[@erikaoharadwashington5769]

Awesome story teller ... could close my eyes and see it

[@hugmynutus]

Super nice of them to fire warning shots.

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

I certainly hope that the expenditure of pistol ammunition was preceeded by Captain Novotny whipping out his Luger, pointing it at Italy and drawling "Hands up, pardner. This is a stick-up". In any of the empire's eleven languages.

[@wingsofwrath4647]

Pstt, not a Luger, the Austro-Hungarians used the Steyr 1912.

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

@@wingsofwrath4647 Thanks for that. It's always nice to pick up these little tidbits of information.

[@jacobconner5382]

Well I know what I am watching after my 730 lecture today. Thanks Drach!!!

[@davidlee8551]

Thank you.

[@ThePlebicide]

Never Forget - The war started when Archie Duke shot an Ostrich, because he was hungry.

[@paradoxless5596]

And the poor old ostrich died for nothing.

[@f12mnb]

All of the general staffs of the Entente and Alliance: I have a plan, a cunning and subtle plan as cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.

[@carlost856]

@@f12mnb what's sad is his plan would probably have worked. That splinter he saw on the ladder could have been enough to wound him while climbing over the top. Putting him out of action. Although, if all of them got wounded, it would have been suspicious.

[@f12mnb]

@@carlost856 That was a surprisingly affecting scene done with very little money and resources, yet never fails to hit home. Blackadder's cynicism faded away and he went over the top because his men were. He ended up doing his duty and following orders. Private Baldrick is loyal and trusting to the end despite never really understanding what it was about. Lt. St. Barleigh could have sat it out with Gen. Melchett but he too felt a sense of loyalty to Blackadder and the soldiers and his naivety about the glories of war was only dented a bit at the end. Capt. Darling couldn't avoid being sent to the front despite all of his sycophancy - the one concession to the viewers. It shows good writing, direction and performance can do a lot.

[@rafaelokamura]

And World War Ostrich begun in Australia, not Austria.

[@MeFee100]

When you have to actually fire 15 pistol rounds during high sea battle it means that something is wrong. Something wrong with your very own crew.

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

Encouragement is sometimes required.

[@johnlavery3433]

Presumably they had an eegit in a commissars cap and sash wandering around shouting “For the God Emperor”

[@carlost856]

Taffy 3 pilot unloading his sidearm on Japanese battlecruisers says what?

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

I heard fifty, but that could have been me.

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

@@sjonnieplayfull5859 Obviously a LOT of encouragement was required ;)

[@DavidtheNorseman]

The days of the successful devastation brought about by the Austrian Imperial Navy. Sounds like an alternate history in 2021! Thank you Drachinifel for this most excellent historical account.

Drach, cheers for getting the hungarian shipnames in the KuK KM right as much as a non native can! 😎