Yeah claps hands does a little twirl
o.k. Thanks old boy I just love reading excellent Alternate historys and this one is good.
o.k. Thanks old boy I just love reading excellent Alternate historys and this one is good.Revised Great War at Sea
- Thread starter Perky50
- Start date
The Great War at Sea (Revised)
Book 1
1914 -The Mediterranean
5b. the battle off Kimovica pt.2
Admiral Hoth’s journey southward had so far not been uneventful. Shortly after leaving Pola two of his ships, the battleship Ezherzog Franz Ferdinand had developed trouble with her rudder and was sent back. Shortly after that another battleship, the Babenberg, fell out with engine trouble and returned as well.
The older battleships were having a struggle maintaining position which had forced the Admiral to reduce their speed of advance, dropping from 16 to 14 knots as the Austrian fleet continued its advance toward Budya.
It was early in the afternoon of the 23rd that Hoth’s force was discovered by the French submarines Papin and Ampere off Molat While Ampere was out of position to the west of the Austrians, Hoth’s command was advancing directly onto Papin’s position. As the Austrian’s advanced unawares the captain of Pepin managed to avoid the scattered screen as the smudge of funnel smoke from the approaching Austrian columns grew larger.
At 1430 hours, Pepin was spotted just as the two columns of Austrian battleships began to pass her on either side. Just before she realized she was sighted Papin launched her first torpedo at the larger vessel to her starboard, followed shortly by a second. As Austrian shells began to slam into the sea above her, Pepin’s captain hauled his vessel around to port and launched a third and last torpedo at the second vessel in the Austrian starboard column.
Moments later a heavy Austrian shell burst close enough to concuss the crew and rupture some seams on the French sub. With his small crew reeling and water coming into the sub, her captain ordered her to the surface. But as the bow broke from the depths an Austrian 5.9” shell struck square on the conning tower, splitting it open. The fast flooding sub lingered for a short while in a bow up attitude as it was struck at least three more times before sliding into the depths, leaving a pair of survivors to a questionable fate.
But even as the plucky Pepin disappeared, the first of her torpedoes struck the Viribus Unitis square amidships, ripping open her flank to the sea and penetrating her torpedo bulkhead which allowed flooding into the starboard engineering spaces. Even as the first motions of the Austrian ship’s damage control were beginning to swing into action, the second torpedo struck aft, below Ceasar turret. The flooding began here as well in a more pronounced manner than the hit further forward, and in a short period of time Viribus Unitis had a very pronounced list to starboard as her speed quickly fell off.
The third torpedo, fired at Ezherzog Ferdinand Max was avoided as the western column had successfully turned to a west course to avoid it. But as they came on to the west the captain of the other French submarine couldn’t believe his luck as they advanced into range of his torpedoes. Ampere first launched two torpedoes at Ezherzog Freidrich, followed as soon as possible afterward by another at the Arpad.
The first torpedo ran faulty, passing under the Freidrich with no result, but the second struck just forward of her forward turret and badly holed the hull.
As the Austrians began to turn away to the north the torpedo launched on Arpad was avoided.
While the crew of Ezherzog Freidrich struggled to control her flooding, it was to no avail as the limited subdivision of the old ship was not up to the test. Ezherzog Freidrich lasted two hours longer before she sank to her watery grave.
On the flagship Viribus Unitis the struggle continued for some time. But with a low reserve of buoyancy and poor subdivision it would prove to be a losing struggle. By 1800 the last of the crew had been lifted off and Hoth’s flagship capsized to starboard. She held there for a few minutes as the rumble of machinery and equipment falling free carried across the water. Then in a hiss of spray her bows raise slightly while her stern dropped, then she was gone.
Hoth eventually made it to Teggetthoff where he set about getting his command back under control, while the Austrian ships back tracked to the NNW. He sent a signal off to Pola expressing his intent to return, but a reply came back ordering him to continue as ordered.
Hoth was livid, for with his force now reduced to just two Dreadnoughts, along with two of the semi-dreadnoughts and five of the older battleships he was in no way guaranteed an overwhelming force to meet the Entente off Budya with. But with his command now back in formation, at 2030 hours, Hoth brought his fleet about and set course for Budya.
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On board his flagship, Lapeyrere had received a fragmented report some time later from the submarine Ampere, which reported the Austrian fleet to his north, but the position was not clear, other than it was last sighted retiring to the NW.
The French admiral, while remaining concerned was somewhat relieved by the change of course which would hopefully allow Craddock to join him in the chance that the Austrians decided to once again come south. His last report from the British stated they should be with him before noon the following day.
By that time most of the troop transports would have their soldiers unloaded as well, albeit the heavier equipment would need more time.
But sadly for Lapeyrere, the Austrians were already coming south, and while the advanced British cruisers and destroyers would be gathered in during the first hours of daylight, Craddock would not arrive before Hoth would.
Book 1
1914 -The Mediterranean
5b. the battle off Kimovica pt.2
Admiral Hoth’s journey southward had so far not been uneventful. Shortly after leaving Pola two of his ships, the battleship Ezherzog Franz Ferdinand had developed trouble with her rudder and was sent back. Shortly after that another battleship, the Babenberg, fell out with engine trouble and returned as well.
The older battleships were having a struggle maintaining position which had forced the Admiral to reduce their speed of advance, dropping from 16 to 14 knots as the Austrian fleet continued its advance toward Budya.
It was early in the afternoon of the 23rd that Hoth’s force was discovered by the French submarines Papin and Ampere off Molat While Ampere was out of position to the west of the Austrians, Hoth’s command was advancing directly onto Papin’s position. As the Austrian’s advanced unawares the captain of Pepin managed to avoid the scattered screen as the smudge of funnel smoke from the approaching Austrian columns grew larger.
At 1430 hours, Pepin was spotted just as the two columns of Austrian battleships began to pass her on either side. Just before she realized she was sighted Papin launched her first torpedo at the larger vessel to her starboard, followed shortly by a second. As Austrian shells began to slam into the sea above her, Pepin’s captain hauled his vessel around to port and launched a third and last torpedo at the second vessel in the Austrian starboard column.
Moments later a heavy Austrian shell burst close enough to concuss the crew and rupture some seams on the French sub. With his small crew reeling and water coming into the sub, her captain ordered her to the surface. But as the bow broke from the depths an Austrian 5.9” shell struck square on the conning tower, splitting it open. The fast flooding sub lingered for a short while in a bow up attitude as it was struck at least three more times before sliding into the depths, leaving a pair of survivors to a questionable fate.
But even as the plucky Pepin disappeared, the first of her torpedoes struck the Viribus Unitis square amidships, ripping open her flank to the sea and penetrating her torpedo bulkhead which allowed flooding into the starboard engineering spaces. Even as the first motions of the Austrian ship’s damage control were beginning to swing into action, the second torpedo struck aft, below Ceasar turret. The flooding began here as well in a more pronounced manner than the hit further forward, and in a short period of time Viribus Unitis had a very pronounced list to starboard as her speed quickly fell off.
The third torpedo, fired at Ezherzog Ferdinand Max was avoided as the western column had successfully turned to a west course to avoid it. But as they came on to the west the captain of the other French submarine couldn’t believe his luck as they advanced into range of his torpedoes. Ampere first launched two torpedoes at Ezherzog Freidrich, followed as soon as possible afterward by another at the Arpad.
The first torpedo ran faulty, passing under the Freidrich with no result, but the second struck just forward of her forward turret and badly holed the hull.
As the Austrians began to turn away to the north the torpedo launched on Arpad was avoided.
While the crew of Ezherzog Freidrich struggled to control her flooding, it was to no avail as the limited subdivision of the old ship was not up to the test. Ezherzog Freidrich lasted two hours longer before she sank to her watery grave.
On the flagship Viribus Unitis the struggle continued for some time. But with a low reserve of buoyancy and poor subdivision it would prove to be a losing struggle. By 1800 the last of the crew had been lifted off and Hoth’s flagship capsized to starboard. She held there for a few minutes as the rumble of machinery and equipment falling free carried across the water. Then in a hiss of spray her bows raise slightly while her stern dropped, then she was gone.
Hoth eventually made it to Teggetthoff where he set about getting his command back under control, while the Austrian ships back tracked to the NNW. He sent a signal off to Pola expressing his intent to return, but a reply came back ordering him to continue as ordered.
Hoth was livid, for with his force now reduced to just two Dreadnoughts, along with two of the semi-dreadnoughts and five of the older battleships he was in no way guaranteed an overwhelming force to meet the Entente off Budya with. But with his command now back in formation, at 2030 hours, Hoth brought his fleet about and set course for Budya.
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On board his flagship, Lapeyrere had received a fragmented report some time later from the submarine Ampere, which reported the Austrian fleet to his north, but the position was not clear, other than it was last sighted retiring to the NW.
The French admiral, while remaining concerned was somewhat relieved by the change of course which would hopefully allow Craddock to join him in the chance that the Austrians decided to once again come south. His last report from the British stated they should be with him before noon the following day.
By that time most of the troop transports would have their soldiers unloaded as well, albeit the heavier equipment would need more time.
But sadly for Lapeyrere, the Austrians were already coming south, and while the advanced British cruisers and destroyers would be gathered in during the first hours of daylight, Craddock would not arrive before Hoth would.
Are you sure this shouldn't be 'Great War under Sea'?
I wonder how many extra submarines will get built after this adventure in the Adriatic, this has been utter carnage and the two fleets haven't even met yet. If there are any more subs out there then neither side will survive long enough to meet at all!
I wonder how many extra submarines will get built after this adventure in the Adriatic, this has been utter carnage and the two fleets haven't even met yet. If there are any more subs out there then neither side will survive long enough to meet at all!
Indeed. The Allies will all be forced to put a lot more resources into submarine related activity
sharlin
Banned
Nice ambush by the Marine Nationale, they put a lot of effort into Submarine warfare before the war and here it paid off. The Theggies were well armed ships but by all accounts that i've read were horribly protected beneath the waterline and as was proven in the war, vulnerable to torpedoes despite being ultra-modern units at the time and especially here at the time of their sinking.
And you highlighted the advantage of turbine engines over triple expansion very well, the older AH ships must have been flogging their guts out to keep going at 16 knots for long periods of time.
And you highlighted the advantage of turbine engines over triple expansion very well, the older AH ships must have been flogging their guts out to keep going at 16 knots for long periods of time.
The Great War at Sea (Revised)
Book 1
1914 -The Mediterranean
5c. The Battle off Kimovica pt.3
French Fleet
MN France (BB) flag
MN Paris (BB)
MN Danton (SBB)
MN Diderot (SBB)
MN Condercet (SBB)
MN Mirabeau (SBB)
MN Jules Ferry (CA)
8 DD
Advanced Cruiser Force
HMS Yarmouth (CL)
HMS Falmouth (CL)
4 DD
British Squadron
HMS Lord Nelson (SBB) (Flag)
HMS Agamemnon (SBB)
HMS Colossus (BB)
2 DD
3rdC.S.
HMS Antrim (flag)
HMS Devonshire
HMS Argyll
HMS Roxborough
At Budya
2 RN DD
Austro-Hungarian Fleet
SMS Tegetthoff (BB) (flag)
Kuk Prinz Eugen (BB)
Kuk Radetzky (SBB)
SMS Zrinyi (SBB) (S)
Kuk Ezherzog Karl (B)
Kuk Ezherzog Ferdinand Max (B)
SMS Hapsburg (B)
SMS Arpad (B)
SMS Kaiser Karl VI (CA)
SMS Sankt Georg (CA)
SMS Saida (CL)
SMS Helgoland (CL)
14 TB
As well there is a French submarine now closer to Pola, and the French submarine Ampere returning to her patrol position near her attack on the Austrian fleet.
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As dawn broke on the 24th Admiral Lapeyrere was buoyed by the reports of the arrival of the British cruisers and destroyers which Craddock had sent on ahead. While the sightings of the cruisers’ light masts had been welcome, the admiral would have been much happier if they had been accompanied by the heavy tripods of Craddock’s battleships.
But even as the British light forces were moving past the head of his column to take their position to the NNW of his squadron, a report came in from MN Jules Ferry of smoke to her north. Hoth had made his appearance. Lapeyrere cursed quietly as he spat over the rail before marching onto the bridge to set about preparing for the battle to come.
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The smoke sighted by Jules Ferry was from the advanced scouts of the Austrian fleet. As the range closed the report was expanded to a pair of large cruisers accompanied by smaller one and two torpedo boats, with more smoke on the horizon.
Jules Ferry came about to a parallel heading to keep herself between the Austrian cruisers and the French squadron. But as she did so the Austrians turned a few points toward her to close the range. The French cruiser increased her speed to stay out of the range of the Austrian Armoured cruisers, but the light cruiser and torpedo boats increased their speed and continued to close.
At 0900 hrs the main battery on the big French cruiser commence fire on the approaching light cruiser and with that the Battle off Kimovica commenced. The Austrian cruiser Helgoland was nimbly handled and avoided any hits for a quarter hour as the range closed. The accompanying torpedo boats continued on unmolested for a bit further until they came under fire from a pair of French destroyers which had arrived to reinforce Jules Ferry.
Shortly after 0915 Helgoland’s luck changed when a pair of 7.6” shells struck her. The first punching through her starboard side and detonating against a boiler while the second struck between the bridge and the forward gun mount, scything down the gun crew and flaying the bridge with fragments and fire. With her command struck down the Austrian cruiser came on for a few more minutes, being struck several more times before control was regained and she was turned away to limp clear of the fight.
Her accompanying torpedo boats were similarly roughly handled, with one turning away burning amidships, while the other was slowing and clearly in distress after absorbing numerous hits not only from the French destroyers, but the secondary’s of the cruiser as well and within the next few minutes she would be further reduced to a sinking wreck, and abandoned to her fate.
As Jules Ferry came about to engage the approaching pair of Austrian Armoured cruisers, Lapeyrere sent orders to the British cruisers to probe ahead and make contact with the main body of the Austrian Fleet. He then brought his column around to the ENE in an attempt to block the path of Hoth’s advance on Budya. As His column proceeded through their turn, he sent off a signal to Craddock to apprise him of the contact as well as to inquire as to him joining him. Lastly he sent a signal to the small force covering the approaches to Budya as well as the grounded Victor Hugo.
With these tasks completed and his ships crews at their stations, there was nothing left but to stand to and ready him for the coming fight.
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On board Teggetthoff, Admiral Hoth was angrily looking over the initial report of Helgoland’s encounter with a French armoured cruiser. Why had Helgoland attempted to close without the support of her heavier comrades? The light cruiser has sustained sufficient damage to remove her from the fight. As well two of his precious few torpedo boats were lost to further action as well. More importantly he still had only a vague reference to the approach of the Entente squadron and no real inclination of its composition.
Another report came in from the armoured cruiser Kaiser Karl VI, reporting that her and her consort Sankt Georg were engaging the French armoured cruiser. Why was there just one French cruiser? Where were the rest? The initial intelligence had reported at least a half dozen, with more escorting the convoys.
He felt surely this must be a ruse to draw off his scouting cruisers so that the Entente might catch him off guard on his western flank. It was at that time that a report from the light cruiser Said disclosing the approach of a pair of cruisers from the SW. Taking this to be an attempt to strike at his right flank after the action with the solitary cruiser, Hoth decided to forestall the Entente attempt and ordered his column to the SW in an attempt to head off what he took to be the advancing armoured cruisers.
Weymouth had sighted Saida as well as the tell tale smudge of Hoth’s main force and had reported that back to Lapeyrere, but the admiral was not to receive the signal, and as a result was in the dark as to the exact where abouts of the Austrian fleet.
In the mean time battle had been joined between Jules Ferry and the pair of Austrian armoured cruisers. As the range closed initially the French gunnery was quite good, with the lead Austrian cruiser, Kaiser Karl VI being rather badly handled for little gain in return. Thick smoke was evident to the French from amidships and her fore turret and a number of her starboard battery mounts were silenced. What the French could not see was that she had been holed at the water line as well in three places and flooding was becoming a major problem as well in the old cruiser.
But even as Kaiser Karl VI was being mauled, her second, Sankt Georg began to gain result in her gunnery on Jules Ferry. While slow in fire, her pair of heavy 9.4” guns were starting to land telling blows on the French cruiser, and even after the older Kaiser Karl finally left the fight, and the French cruiser turned her attention to the remaining Austrian cruiser, it was an unequal contest, and Sankt Georg was easily gaining the upper hand.
With most of her port battery as well as her aft turret destroyed the captain of Jules Ferry attempted to bring his ship about to clear her starboard mounts to fire. But as she began her turn a heavy Austrian shell punched trough her side and detonated in the aft engineering spaces. In a hellish flash of steam, fragments and fire the bulk of the crew there were scalded, burned and torn to shreds, while boilers and machinery were ripped asunder.
Jules Ferry’s speed fell of as did her progress through the turn.
Seizing her opportunity Sankt Georg laid down a fearsome barrage, raking the hapless French cruiser and receiving very little return fire in return. It was only the selfless intervention of the accompanying French destroyers that finally forced off Sankt Georg when they drove in through an increasingly heavy hail of fire to launch torpedoes.
While the torpedo attack was unsuccessful and one of the French destroyers was smashed in the process and brought to a halt, by the time Sankt Georg was able to return her attentions to the crippled Jules Ferry, the main French squadron had hove into view. The Austrian cruiser came about to the WNW and as she set off for the safety of the Austrian line she sent off a sighting report.
Now being aware of the position of the main Entente force, Hoth once again ordered a change of course to the SE in an attempt to head off the advancing opponent.
Meanwhile HMS Falmouth again reported the change of course of the Austrian battleships, but sadly once again it was not to reach Lapeyrere. But even as Jules Ferry limped past the head of the French column a report was received from the last of the French destroyers on the location of Hoth’s force, and moments later the first reports of smoke and then tripod masts were reported from the fighting tops of the French flagship and others.
Lapeyrere immediately ordered a change of course to the E in his own attempt to head off the Austrian advance. As the two forces came on the range steadily fell off, and with the wind blowing moderately from the ESE both columns had a pretty good view of their opponent as they closed.
A signal from Falmouth was finally received with a sufficient enough tally on Hoth’s force to let Lapeyrere know he was out numbered. But at the same time the French admiral he had no choice but to stand and fight, for to retire would leave Budya at the mercy of the Austrian fleet. He would have to face down this foe long enough for Craddock to arrive and hopefully turn the tide in the Entente’s favour. The honour of France was at stake and he would not fail her.
At 1042 hrs with the range down to just over 16,000 yards Lapeyrere’s flagship MN France lashed out with her first salvo, followed in turn by the ships which followed. Shortly after that the spotters reported the flash and dark smudges of smoke from the Austrian line which told of their return fire. The battle was now under way in earnest.
The gunnery of both sides was good, with the salvoes firing regularly and the towering spires of the shells striking the sea clawing closer to their respective targets. After almost ten minutes of firing a salvo from MN France straddled Teggetthoff, followed soon after by Austrian straddles on both France and Paris. Lapeyrere felt his flagship shudder from a hit further aft in the process, but any noise was drowned out by the continuing fire of the ship’s main guns.
As the range closed further hits began to register up and down the line on both forces, inflicting varying levels of damage as a result. The French gunnery in particular was very accurate and they were landing continual blows on the Austrians. But while the Austrians gunnery was somewhat poorer, there shells that did strike were delivering a much better result from their newer vessels.
With the range down to just over14,000 yards and relatively clear atmospheric conditions it was actually easier to see the damage taken by the enemy ships than it was to note the damages sustained on their own respective forces. Hoth would see an example of this himself when a 12” shell from an Austrian battleship pierced the barbette on Danton’s aft wing turret and detonated with spectacular result. There had been a small flash followed by a belch of dark brown smoke, followed shortly after by a towering pillar of fire which leapt to a height higher than the ship’s tripod masts. But while he had seen this clearly, it had taken the rumbling low growl of a large explosion somewhere aft of his flagship to tell him that something similar had befallen one of the ships under his command.
The Austrian battleship Zrinyi had been struck by a full salvo from Diderot. One shell had struck the fore turret and detonated, dismounting the port gun and punching red hot splinters into the turret. In an instant most of the crew was torn to pieces and those that weren’t were soon immolated as the powder was ignited, followed soon after by the detonation of a shell in the cradle. The resultant flash and explosion ignited more charges in the trunk to complete the destruction, but as the turret roof had been peeled back most of the blasts force had been allowed out of what was left of the structure.
The second hit was much more catastrophic as it struck just at the base of the starboard wing turret. The force of the contact tipped it down and it sliced through the barbette just as it detonated with fearsome result. The blast and fire swept all before it as it swept up into the turret and down the trunk into the magazines in a whirlwind of fire and shards of steel. Moments later the magazine erupted, the force of the blast throwing the turret off its mount while at the same time ripping the hull open from the ruptured keel to the main armoured deck.
As the bow of the ship began to buckle down and to starboard the forward magazine detonated as well, ripping the stricken ship in two as the remaining aft portion of the ship nosed down and fell over to port. More blasts followed and in just a few minutes the Zrinyi was no more.
Back in the French line while not as spectacular, Danton’s end was just as certain. The force of the blast in her magazine had ruptured her hull plating and totally destroyed her watertight integrity over a large area. While the massive intake of water saved Danton from a similar fate to that of Zrinyi, she was doomed none the less and quickly fell out of line to port with a steadily increasing list as she rapidly filled.
While both sides were absorbing heavy hits, the better Austrian shells were accumulating far better damage on their French opponents. While Hoth was still cautious regarding maintaining g his fleet in being he could see with his own eyes that His fleet was gaining the definite upper hand. Barring an event unforeseen, the Austro-Hungarian fleet would roll back the French and deny Budya to the Entente.
Meanwhile Lepayrere was seeing the other side of the same argument and coming to the same conclusion. While his command was performing admirably as the action progressed it was becoming more obvious that the Austrians were gaining the upper hand.
His flagship was being badly handled by the Austrians and had been struck at least eleven times. The fore main turret, as well as the port wing turret and most of the port secondary battery were destroyed. There were breaches in the hull below the water line in at least three places, and while damage control was doing it’s best to contain it, MN France was down by the bow and listing to port. Fires were burning amidships and two of her boiler rooms were flooded and abandoned.
Reports from the other battleships under his command were no better. MN Paris was returning fire with just two of her main turrets and had reported serious flooding amidships as well as sundry other damages.
The next in line, MN Diderot was the one bit of good news as so far in he battle she had led a lucky life and while struck five times earlier in the fight, the damage was not threatening. With the sinking of Zrinyi, she had not been receiving fire for some time, so she was the least unaffected of the French ships.
But behind Diderot the remainder of the French line was feeling the wrath of the Austrian guns. MN Condercet had been greatly reduced in effectiveness under a steady battering by Radetsky, and while Radetsky’s gunnery had fallen off in weight and accuracy due to the undivided attentions of both Diderot and Condercet, the slackening of fire had not come about until Condercet was grievously injured, and by this point Condercet was a shambles and falling back as she struggled to remain in the fight.
MN Mirabeau the last of the French battleships, was receiving the undivided attention of the four old and small Austrian battleships at the tail of the Austrian column. Mirabeau had initially done quite well for herself, pounding The luckless Ezherzog Karl so badly as to force her from the line and leaving her sinking.
Mirabeau had then focused on Ezherzog Ferdinand Max, and was soon delivering telling blows on that ship as well. But the combined gunnery of the remaining Austrian battleships was leaving their mark on Mirabeau and her effectiveness was being worn down as the range closed.
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With the accumulated damage on the French ships beginning to affect their battle worthiness as the range closed, Lapeyrere was forced to starboard in an attempt to open the range in hopes of reducing the hits being made by the Austrians. As his flagship began to come around to a SSE heading Lapeyrere sent of his last signal to Craddock, apprising him of the current condition and that the situation was in doubt. As well he advised Craddock that he was unsure if he could keep the Austrians clear of Budya.
When Craddock received the signal he was left with the impression that the French would be overwhelmed before he would join them, leaving his squadron to face the Austrians on his own. His first concern was for the second French convoy which would be in a highly exposed position if the Austrians managed to avoid his force after defeating the French. He could order the convoy to retire, but that was no guarantee of safety of the Austrians managed to bypass him. If he held back to cover the convoy it would remove what little hope there might be of reaching Lapeyrere in time to avoid a rout.
As there was no safe way for the convoy to continue on, that left just one option, which was to order the ships to Vlore in Albania. While Craddock was fully aware of the strain between the French and the Balkan League, at this point all he was concerned with was the safety of those ships and their cargoes. They would do the Serbs no good back at Malta or on the bottom of the Adriatic. With that he sent a signal to the convoy’s commander advising him that his best choice was Vlore as Craddock was moving to relieve Lapeyrere and would not be able to guarantee the merchantmen’s safety if their passage to Budya continued.
The convoy commodore, a Frenchman, was not at all happy with the choice offered, but given the situation at the moment, he felt he had no option but to accept, and adjusted his course for Vlore. While the result of Craddock’s decision meant the convoy would be safe, it was to cause a major diplomatic argument in the days that followed.
In Budya proper a mad flurry of activity had broke loose as well, for upon a warning from Lapeyrere the transports there made haste to remove themselves from the port and retreat south to safer waters if at all possible regardless as to whether they had finished unloading or not. With just two destroyers in the area which were committed to securing the approaches to the port, the ships would have to sail independently. By 1100 hrs three of the five had made good their escape and were fleeing south at their best speed. The remaining pair were hoping to sail in the next couple of hours.
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The battle itself continued on as the opposing forces moved ESE parallel to the coast of Montenegro. While the French had attempted to open the range, Hoth used his advantage in speed to keep the French close and his ships continued to pummel the French as the action moved steadily toward Budya.
While ships on both sides were taking loathsome damage, the French were right and truly being marked down at a much more rapid pace. At the end of the French formation, Mirabeau had been slowed by a pair of 9.4” shells in her engineering spaces, and she was flooding severely from numerous hits along the waterline. Only half of her guns were still in operation, but those that were had delivered good result. Ezherzog Ferdinand Max was a shattered hulk and had fallen back. But the last pair of the old Austrian battleships were laying a hellish fire on Mirabeau.
Condercet in the meantime had been silenced and was struggling off to the west in very poor condition. Once clear of the action she came to a halt, and her surviving crew abandoned her as she settled bow first into the Adriatic.
Diderot in turn was now receiving the attentions of Radetsky’s remaining guns. But here as before Diderot was giving much better than she was taking, and Radetsky was hurting. The Austrian battleship had taken severe damage including hits which had dismounted her fore turret from its race and destroyed her bridge. Both her starboard 9.4” turrets had been torn open as well and her battery deck was a shambles.
Ahead of Diderot the situation was much worse however. MN Paris was clearly in trouble under the savage gunnery of Prinz Eugen’s remaining heavy guns. With her bows nearly awash and returning fire intermittently from her aft most turrets, she was in a sorry state. In between the accumulating damage from the attentions of Prinz Eugen her crew was involved in heroic efforts to save her, but in the end it would be all for naught, as the proud French battleship would succumb a short time later.
At the head of the French line Lapeyrere’s Flagship, MN France, was in a struggle to the death with Teggetthoff. Both vessels were suffering, but here again the better shells of the Austrians were giving a decided advantage over the French, and it was showing true in the comparative damage both ships had sustained so far.
Teggetthoff’s upper works were a shambles, and her Ceasare turret was splayed open from an internal explosion. Dora turret had a damaged rifle, but the Austrian flagship was belching off salvoes with her remaining heavy guns at a steady pace. MN France however was not as well off. B turret had been destroyed by a direct hit and in an effort to save the magazines from exploding after, both forward powder stores had been inadvertently flooded. The forward superstructure was hammered into a shape hardly recognizable ad the fore mast was canted at an odd angle to starboard.
The ship was riding low and listing moderately to port and oily smoke billowed out of her amidships from the fires raging below decks. Only Y turret was still firing, but it was apparent that any hopes of retrieving the situation was lost to Admiral Lapeyrere.
The Light cruisers, destroyers and torpedo boats had been busy throughout the battle so far and here was one area the Entente had gained the upper hand. HMS Falmouth and Yarmouth had caught Saida and two of the torpedo boats. In a furious action Saida was pounded to ruin and left sinking, along with one of the Torpedo Boats, while the other was driven off badly damaged. Falmouth had serious damage forward, and was retiring to the SW while Yarmouth had came about and after gathering in a trio of destroyers had set about to neutralize the remaining Austrian torpedo boats.
The battle was moving into its final stages as the seriously wounded Lapeyrere was carried from the wreckage of France’s bridge to the dubious shelter of the starboard quarter of the battleship. In spite of his protestations a surgeon was tending to his wounds as the Austrian shells continued to strike home. It was at this point with all hope lost that a cry went up as men pointed to the south.
Through the swirling smoke and haze of battle was the unmistakable shape of British battleships steaming hard from the south, Craddock had arrived.
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The sight that was laid out before Craddock was unbelievable. Even at a distance of 17,000 yards the dirty gouts of flame and smoke could be seen rising from Lapeyrere’s battered flagship as it seemed hardly to be making way. Further off another dreadnought was seen to point its bows to the sky as it gave up the fight. Beyond that a shadowy shape identified more by the flash of its guns firing was all that could be seen of the French squadron.
After a quick analysis, Craddock altered course slightly to port to clear his squadron’s broadsides and at a speed of 19 knots headed for the sounds of the guns.
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Hoth at this point had just called for a cease fire on MN France as it was noted that the ship was sinking as her surviving crew went over the side. The second French dreadnought had succumbed to her damage shortly before, leaving only a battered Danton class battleship, which was now being engaged by Prinz Eugen as the shattered Radetsky limped off to the NW.
From his position Hoth could not see the last struggle between the French Mirabeau and the two old battleships at the end of the Austrian line. Mirabeau was in a sorry state from her assailants, but she had not been bettered by her foes. The Austrian battleship Arpad was even now being abandoned by her crew as the Hapsburg limped off to the north, and out of the range of Mirabeau’s remaining guns.
Mirabeau was in no shape to pursue the fleeing Hapsburg, instead concentrating on efforts to save herself from her damages.
Hoth was for a moment contented with his apparent victory over the French. As he brought his flagship around to rejoin with Prinz Eugen in finishing off the stubborn Diderot he was feeling somewhat relieved by the fact that to his knowledge at that point a good portion of his fleet had survived, and while the survivors were damaged, the fleet of Austria-Hungary would remain as a potent force to be reckoned with.
But it was at that moment when he was just beginning to appreciate his victory when a look out called out a report of unknown ships approaching from the south. In the first instance he took them to be the missing French armoured cruisers, but that thought soon fell away as the seas to the south of his flagship erupted into a half dozen towering waterspouts as the first British shells landed.
As the great forward turrets began to swing out to port he looked out to the south at the unmistakeable shape of the heavy Royal Navy tripod masts just as the British battleships fired again. As the first salvo roared out of Teggethoff’s forward turrets, Hoth felt weak as he realized his victory was about to be taken from him. Ordering an immediate change of course to the NNW he had a signal sent to Prinz Eugen to rejoin and retire.
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But even as the Austrians attempted to break off, Craddock held on. His ship’s gunnery lessened noticeably as Hoth disappeared for almost twenty minutes behing the smoke and haze of the scattered sinking and damaged ships that scattered the area. But HMS Yarmouth had spotted the retiring Austrians and had held on to them, reporting their position course and bearing to any who could hear.
Craddock had came out into clear air with the two Austrian dreadnoughts some 15,000 yards to his NE and had resumed fire in earnest with his ship’s heavy 12” guns. The 9.2” secondary’s of HMS Lord Nelson and HMS Agamemnon were busy with the hapless Hapsburg which was much closer. A few salvoes was all it took before Hapsburg fell over to starboard and capsized.
Craddock continued on after Hoth overtaking the damaged Austrian battleships steadily. Prinz Eugen was lagging back a little farther all the time as the cumulative damage and flooding from the battle with the French began to effect her. As the range lessened the British gunnery became more accurate and more damage afflicted the limping Prinz Eugen. A 12’ shell from Agamemnon struck the barbette just below the gear ring on her last operating turret aft and dismounted the race, jamming the great triple turret in train. More shells struck home amidships, fouling the last of the intake ventilators and slowing her further.
Seeing that Prinz Eugen was crippled and falling back more Craddock sent a signal to Captain Pound in HMS Colossus telling him that Lord Nelson and Agamemnon would deal with the nearer target and instructing Colossus to pursue the leading vessel. Captain Pound ordered up full revolutions and the dreadnought’s black gang responded admirably as Colossus worked up to 22 knots as she set off in pursuit of Teggetthoff.
Prinz Eugen offered up a stout defence, landing seven solid hits on Lord Nelson but the return fire of the two British battleships soon marked her down, and as the range closed to just under 10,000 yards Prinz Eugen’s bows dropped beneath the waves as she began to settle to starboard. As her forward momentum carried her bow deeper the battered ship gracefully rolled over on her beam ends then in a grumble of steam and escaping air slid into the deep.
HMS Colossus in the mean time was trading blows with Teggetthoff as the British battleship closed for the kill. But while the fate of the Austrian battleship was clearly decided the final action was in no way one sided. The surviving Austrian gunners were stalwart to the end and dealt heavy blows on their assailant before finally being silenced. When Teggetthoff was finally finished and sinking, Pound’s command had been seriously damaged.
With two boiler rooms flooded, A turbine damaged and A and Q turret knocked out, along with other damage, Colossus would be needing a long stay in British dock yards to effect repairs.
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As the sun began to set the various survivors began to attempt to struggle home. For some it would be a valiant struggle against the odds, while for others it would be not so fortunate.
Of the French battleships, only the lucky Diderot would eventually arrive back at Toulon after a stay in Malta to effect rudimentary reinforcement for the longer leg of the journey back to France. The armoured cruiser Jules Ferry would accompany her as well, along with the survivors of the Straits of Otranto Debacle. Three French destroyers would survive as well.
Admiral Lapeyrere would survive but due to the extent of his injuries he would not serve at sea again in a battle squadron.
British losses were held to three destroyers, with another pair seriously damaged. The light cruiser Falmouth would make her way back to Malta, before heading back to Britain for a proper rebuild. Lord Nelson would return to England as well for repairs. HMS Colossus would limp back to Malta, only surviving due to the determined efforts of her captain and crew who battled flooding and seepage all the way back. After a month in His Majesty’s dockyard there she was deemed worthy enough for the voyage back to Britain for proper repairs. She would not rejoin the Grand Fleet until late May of 1915.
For the Austrians the it was heart wrenching. The light Cruiser Helgo land was the first survivor of the battle to limp in, accompanied by a pair of torpedo boats. Sankt Georg arrived a few hours later. The armoured cruiser Kaiser Karl VI made it back as far as Split before finally sinking just off the port.
The last ships to arrive at Pola were the battleships Radetzky and Ferdinand Max which arrived close to noon the following day, along with another torpedo boat.
While the British had gathered a few survivors from the Teggetthoff, Admiral Hoth was not among them, nor was he found by the collection of smaller civilian vessels which scoured the battle area over the next few days.
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Book 1
1914 -The Mediterranean
5c. The Battle off Kimovica pt.3
French Fleet
MN France (BB) flag
MN Paris (BB)
MN Danton (SBB)
MN Diderot (SBB)
MN Condercet (SBB)
MN Mirabeau (SBB)
MN Jules Ferry (CA)
8 DD
Advanced Cruiser Force
HMS Yarmouth (CL)
HMS Falmouth (CL)
4 DD
British Squadron
HMS Lord Nelson (SBB) (Flag)
HMS Agamemnon (SBB)
HMS Colossus (BB)
2 DD
3rdC.S.
HMS Antrim (flag)
HMS Devonshire
HMS Argyll
HMS Roxborough
At Budya
2 RN DD
Austro-Hungarian Fleet
SMS Tegetthoff (BB) (flag)
Kuk Prinz Eugen (BB)
Kuk Radetzky (SBB)
SMS Zrinyi (SBB) (S)
Kuk Ezherzog Karl (B)
Kuk Ezherzog Ferdinand Max (B)
SMS Hapsburg (B)
SMS Arpad (B)
SMS Kaiser Karl VI (CA)
SMS Sankt Georg (CA)
SMS Saida (CL)
SMS Helgoland (CL)
14 TB
As well there is a French submarine now closer to Pola, and the French submarine Ampere returning to her patrol position near her attack on the Austrian fleet.
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As dawn broke on the 24th Admiral Lapeyrere was buoyed by the reports of the arrival of the British cruisers and destroyers which Craddock had sent on ahead. While the sightings of the cruisers’ light masts had been welcome, the admiral would have been much happier if they had been accompanied by the heavy tripods of Craddock’s battleships.
But even as the British light forces were moving past the head of his column to take their position to the NNW of his squadron, a report came in from MN Jules Ferry of smoke to her north. Hoth had made his appearance. Lapeyrere cursed quietly as he spat over the rail before marching onto the bridge to set about preparing for the battle to come.
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The smoke sighted by Jules Ferry was from the advanced scouts of the Austrian fleet. As the range closed the report was expanded to a pair of large cruisers accompanied by smaller one and two torpedo boats, with more smoke on the horizon.
Jules Ferry came about to a parallel heading to keep herself between the Austrian cruisers and the French squadron. But as she did so the Austrians turned a few points toward her to close the range. The French cruiser increased her speed to stay out of the range of the Austrian Armoured cruisers, but the light cruiser and torpedo boats increased their speed and continued to close.
At 0900 hrs the main battery on the big French cruiser commence fire on the approaching light cruiser and with that the Battle off Kimovica commenced. The Austrian cruiser Helgoland was nimbly handled and avoided any hits for a quarter hour as the range closed. The accompanying torpedo boats continued on unmolested for a bit further until they came under fire from a pair of French destroyers which had arrived to reinforce Jules Ferry.
Shortly after 0915 Helgoland’s luck changed when a pair of 7.6” shells struck her. The first punching through her starboard side and detonating against a boiler while the second struck between the bridge and the forward gun mount, scything down the gun crew and flaying the bridge with fragments and fire. With her command struck down the Austrian cruiser came on for a few more minutes, being struck several more times before control was regained and she was turned away to limp clear of the fight.
Her accompanying torpedo boats were similarly roughly handled, with one turning away burning amidships, while the other was slowing and clearly in distress after absorbing numerous hits not only from the French destroyers, but the secondary’s of the cruiser as well and within the next few minutes she would be further reduced to a sinking wreck, and abandoned to her fate.
As Jules Ferry came about to engage the approaching pair of Austrian Armoured cruisers, Lapeyrere sent orders to the British cruisers to probe ahead and make contact with the main body of the Austrian Fleet. He then brought his column around to the ENE in an attempt to block the path of Hoth’s advance on Budya. As His column proceeded through their turn, he sent off a signal to Craddock to apprise him of the contact as well as to inquire as to him joining him. Lastly he sent a signal to the small force covering the approaches to Budya as well as the grounded Victor Hugo.
With these tasks completed and his ships crews at their stations, there was nothing left but to stand to and ready him for the coming fight.
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On board Teggetthoff, Admiral Hoth was angrily looking over the initial report of Helgoland’s encounter with a French armoured cruiser. Why had Helgoland attempted to close without the support of her heavier comrades? The light cruiser has sustained sufficient damage to remove her from the fight. As well two of his precious few torpedo boats were lost to further action as well. More importantly he still had only a vague reference to the approach of the Entente squadron and no real inclination of its composition.
Another report came in from the armoured cruiser Kaiser Karl VI, reporting that her and her consort Sankt Georg were engaging the French armoured cruiser. Why was there just one French cruiser? Where were the rest? The initial intelligence had reported at least a half dozen, with more escorting the convoys.
He felt surely this must be a ruse to draw off his scouting cruisers so that the Entente might catch him off guard on his western flank. It was at that time that a report from the light cruiser Said disclosing the approach of a pair of cruisers from the SW. Taking this to be an attempt to strike at his right flank after the action with the solitary cruiser, Hoth decided to forestall the Entente attempt and ordered his column to the SW in an attempt to head off what he took to be the advancing armoured cruisers.
Weymouth had sighted Saida as well as the tell tale smudge of Hoth’s main force and had reported that back to Lapeyrere, but the admiral was not to receive the signal, and as a result was in the dark as to the exact where abouts of the Austrian fleet.
In the mean time battle had been joined between Jules Ferry and the pair of Austrian armoured cruisers. As the range closed initially the French gunnery was quite good, with the lead Austrian cruiser, Kaiser Karl VI being rather badly handled for little gain in return. Thick smoke was evident to the French from amidships and her fore turret and a number of her starboard battery mounts were silenced. What the French could not see was that she had been holed at the water line as well in three places and flooding was becoming a major problem as well in the old cruiser.
But even as Kaiser Karl VI was being mauled, her second, Sankt Georg began to gain result in her gunnery on Jules Ferry. While slow in fire, her pair of heavy 9.4” guns were starting to land telling blows on the French cruiser, and even after the older Kaiser Karl finally left the fight, and the French cruiser turned her attention to the remaining Austrian cruiser, it was an unequal contest, and Sankt Georg was easily gaining the upper hand.
With most of her port battery as well as her aft turret destroyed the captain of Jules Ferry attempted to bring his ship about to clear her starboard mounts to fire. But as she began her turn a heavy Austrian shell punched trough her side and detonated in the aft engineering spaces. In a hellish flash of steam, fragments and fire the bulk of the crew there were scalded, burned and torn to shreds, while boilers and machinery were ripped asunder.
Jules Ferry’s speed fell of as did her progress through the turn.
Seizing her opportunity Sankt Georg laid down a fearsome barrage, raking the hapless French cruiser and receiving very little return fire in return. It was only the selfless intervention of the accompanying French destroyers that finally forced off Sankt Georg when they drove in through an increasingly heavy hail of fire to launch torpedoes.
While the torpedo attack was unsuccessful and one of the French destroyers was smashed in the process and brought to a halt, by the time Sankt Georg was able to return her attentions to the crippled Jules Ferry, the main French squadron had hove into view. The Austrian cruiser came about to the WNW and as she set off for the safety of the Austrian line she sent off a sighting report.
Now being aware of the position of the main Entente force, Hoth once again ordered a change of course to the SE in an attempt to head off the advancing opponent.
Meanwhile HMS Falmouth again reported the change of course of the Austrian battleships, but sadly once again it was not to reach Lapeyrere. But even as Jules Ferry limped past the head of the French column a report was received from the last of the French destroyers on the location of Hoth’s force, and moments later the first reports of smoke and then tripod masts were reported from the fighting tops of the French flagship and others.
Lapeyrere immediately ordered a change of course to the E in his own attempt to head off the Austrian advance. As the two forces came on the range steadily fell off, and with the wind blowing moderately from the ESE both columns had a pretty good view of their opponent as they closed.
A signal from Falmouth was finally received with a sufficient enough tally on Hoth’s force to let Lapeyrere know he was out numbered. But at the same time the French admiral he had no choice but to stand and fight, for to retire would leave Budya at the mercy of the Austrian fleet. He would have to face down this foe long enough for Craddock to arrive and hopefully turn the tide in the Entente’s favour. The honour of France was at stake and he would not fail her.
At 1042 hrs with the range down to just over 16,000 yards Lapeyrere’s flagship MN France lashed out with her first salvo, followed in turn by the ships which followed. Shortly after that the spotters reported the flash and dark smudges of smoke from the Austrian line which told of their return fire. The battle was now under way in earnest.
The gunnery of both sides was good, with the salvoes firing regularly and the towering spires of the shells striking the sea clawing closer to their respective targets. After almost ten minutes of firing a salvo from MN France straddled Teggetthoff, followed soon after by Austrian straddles on both France and Paris. Lapeyrere felt his flagship shudder from a hit further aft in the process, but any noise was drowned out by the continuing fire of the ship’s main guns.
As the range closed further hits began to register up and down the line on both forces, inflicting varying levels of damage as a result. The French gunnery in particular was very accurate and they were landing continual blows on the Austrians. But while the Austrians gunnery was somewhat poorer, there shells that did strike were delivering a much better result from their newer vessels.
With the range down to just over14,000 yards and relatively clear atmospheric conditions it was actually easier to see the damage taken by the enemy ships than it was to note the damages sustained on their own respective forces. Hoth would see an example of this himself when a 12” shell from an Austrian battleship pierced the barbette on Danton’s aft wing turret and detonated with spectacular result. There had been a small flash followed by a belch of dark brown smoke, followed shortly after by a towering pillar of fire which leapt to a height higher than the ship’s tripod masts. But while he had seen this clearly, it had taken the rumbling low growl of a large explosion somewhere aft of his flagship to tell him that something similar had befallen one of the ships under his command.
The Austrian battleship Zrinyi had been struck by a full salvo from Diderot. One shell had struck the fore turret and detonated, dismounting the port gun and punching red hot splinters into the turret. In an instant most of the crew was torn to pieces and those that weren’t were soon immolated as the powder was ignited, followed soon after by the detonation of a shell in the cradle. The resultant flash and explosion ignited more charges in the trunk to complete the destruction, but as the turret roof had been peeled back most of the blasts force had been allowed out of what was left of the structure.
The second hit was much more catastrophic as it struck just at the base of the starboard wing turret. The force of the contact tipped it down and it sliced through the barbette just as it detonated with fearsome result. The blast and fire swept all before it as it swept up into the turret and down the trunk into the magazines in a whirlwind of fire and shards of steel. Moments later the magazine erupted, the force of the blast throwing the turret off its mount while at the same time ripping the hull open from the ruptured keel to the main armoured deck.
As the bow of the ship began to buckle down and to starboard the forward magazine detonated as well, ripping the stricken ship in two as the remaining aft portion of the ship nosed down and fell over to port. More blasts followed and in just a few minutes the Zrinyi was no more.
Back in the French line while not as spectacular, Danton’s end was just as certain. The force of the blast in her magazine had ruptured her hull plating and totally destroyed her watertight integrity over a large area. While the massive intake of water saved Danton from a similar fate to that of Zrinyi, she was doomed none the less and quickly fell out of line to port with a steadily increasing list as she rapidly filled.
While both sides were absorbing heavy hits, the better Austrian shells were accumulating far better damage on their French opponents. While Hoth was still cautious regarding maintaining g his fleet in being he could see with his own eyes that His fleet was gaining the definite upper hand. Barring an event unforeseen, the Austro-Hungarian fleet would roll back the French and deny Budya to the Entente.
Meanwhile Lepayrere was seeing the other side of the same argument and coming to the same conclusion. While his command was performing admirably as the action progressed it was becoming more obvious that the Austrians were gaining the upper hand.
His flagship was being badly handled by the Austrians and had been struck at least eleven times. The fore main turret, as well as the port wing turret and most of the port secondary battery were destroyed. There were breaches in the hull below the water line in at least three places, and while damage control was doing it’s best to contain it, MN France was down by the bow and listing to port. Fires were burning amidships and two of her boiler rooms were flooded and abandoned.
Reports from the other battleships under his command were no better. MN Paris was returning fire with just two of her main turrets and had reported serious flooding amidships as well as sundry other damages.
The next in line, MN Diderot was the one bit of good news as so far in he battle she had led a lucky life and while struck five times earlier in the fight, the damage was not threatening. With the sinking of Zrinyi, she had not been receiving fire for some time, so she was the least unaffected of the French ships.
But behind Diderot the remainder of the French line was feeling the wrath of the Austrian guns. MN Condercet had been greatly reduced in effectiveness under a steady battering by Radetsky, and while Radetsky’s gunnery had fallen off in weight and accuracy due to the undivided attentions of both Diderot and Condercet, the slackening of fire had not come about until Condercet was grievously injured, and by this point Condercet was a shambles and falling back as she struggled to remain in the fight.
MN Mirabeau the last of the French battleships, was receiving the undivided attention of the four old and small Austrian battleships at the tail of the Austrian column. Mirabeau had initially done quite well for herself, pounding The luckless Ezherzog Karl so badly as to force her from the line and leaving her sinking.
Mirabeau had then focused on Ezherzog Ferdinand Max, and was soon delivering telling blows on that ship as well. But the combined gunnery of the remaining Austrian battleships was leaving their mark on Mirabeau and her effectiveness was being worn down as the range closed.
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With the accumulated damage on the French ships beginning to affect their battle worthiness as the range closed, Lapeyrere was forced to starboard in an attempt to open the range in hopes of reducing the hits being made by the Austrians. As his flagship began to come around to a SSE heading Lapeyrere sent of his last signal to Craddock, apprising him of the current condition and that the situation was in doubt. As well he advised Craddock that he was unsure if he could keep the Austrians clear of Budya.
When Craddock received the signal he was left with the impression that the French would be overwhelmed before he would join them, leaving his squadron to face the Austrians on his own. His first concern was for the second French convoy which would be in a highly exposed position if the Austrians managed to avoid his force after defeating the French. He could order the convoy to retire, but that was no guarantee of safety of the Austrians managed to bypass him. If he held back to cover the convoy it would remove what little hope there might be of reaching Lapeyrere in time to avoid a rout.
As there was no safe way for the convoy to continue on, that left just one option, which was to order the ships to Vlore in Albania. While Craddock was fully aware of the strain between the French and the Balkan League, at this point all he was concerned with was the safety of those ships and their cargoes. They would do the Serbs no good back at Malta or on the bottom of the Adriatic. With that he sent a signal to the convoy’s commander advising him that his best choice was Vlore as Craddock was moving to relieve Lapeyrere and would not be able to guarantee the merchantmen’s safety if their passage to Budya continued.
The convoy commodore, a Frenchman, was not at all happy with the choice offered, but given the situation at the moment, he felt he had no option but to accept, and adjusted his course for Vlore. While the result of Craddock’s decision meant the convoy would be safe, it was to cause a major diplomatic argument in the days that followed.
In Budya proper a mad flurry of activity had broke loose as well, for upon a warning from Lapeyrere the transports there made haste to remove themselves from the port and retreat south to safer waters if at all possible regardless as to whether they had finished unloading or not. With just two destroyers in the area which were committed to securing the approaches to the port, the ships would have to sail independently. By 1100 hrs three of the five had made good their escape and were fleeing south at their best speed. The remaining pair were hoping to sail in the next couple of hours.
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The battle itself continued on as the opposing forces moved ESE parallel to the coast of Montenegro. While the French had attempted to open the range, Hoth used his advantage in speed to keep the French close and his ships continued to pummel the French as the action moved steadily toward Budya.
While ships on both sides were taking loathsome damage, the French were right and truly being marked down at a much more rapid pace. At the end of the French formation, Mirabeau had been slowed by a pair of 9.4” shells in her engineering spaces, and she was flooding severely from numerous hits along the waterline. Only half of her guns were still in operation, but those that were had delivered good result. Ezherzog Ferdinand Max was a shattered hulk and had fallen back. But the last pair of the old Austrian battleships were laying a hellish fire on Mirabeau.
Condercet in the meantime had been silenced and was struggling off to the west in very poor condition. Once clear of the action she came to a halt, and her surviving crew abandoned her as she settled bow first into the Adriatic.
Diderot in turn was now receiving the attentions of Radetsky’s remaining guns. But here as before Diderot was giving much better than she was taking, and Radetsky was hurting. The Austrian battleship had taken severe damage including hits which had dismounted her fore turret from its race and destroyed her bridge. Both her starboard 9.4” turrets had been torn open as well and her battery deck was a shambles.
Ahead of Diderot the situation was much worse however. MN Paris was clearly in trouble under the savage gunnery of Prinz Eugen’s remaining heavy guns. With her bows nearly awash and returning fire intermittently from her aft most turrets, she was in a sorry state. In between the accumulating damage from the attentions of Prinz Eugen her crew was involved in heroic efforts to save her, but in the end it would be all for naught, as the proud French battleship would succumb a short time later.
At the head of the French line Lapeyrere’s Flagship, MN France, was in a struggle to the death with Teggetthoff. Both vessels were suffering, but here again the better shells of the Austrians were giving a decided advantage over the French, and it was showing true in the comparative damage both ships had sustained so far.
Teggetthoff’s upper works were a shambles, and her Ceasare turret was splayed open from an internal explosion. Dora turret had a damaged rifle, but the Austrian flagship was belching off salvoes with her remaining heavy guns at a steady pace. MN France however was not as well off. B turret had been destroyed by a direct hit and in an effort to save the magazines from exploding after, both forward powder stores had been inadvertently flooded. The forward superstructure was hammered into a shape hardly recognizable ad the fore mast was canted at an odd angle to starboard.
The ship was riding low and listing moderately to port and oily smoke billowed out of her amidships from the fires raging below decks. Only Y turret was still firing, but it was apparent that any hopes of retrieving the situation was lost to Admiral Lapeyrere.
The Light cruisers, destroyers and torpedo boats had been busy throughout the battle so far and here was one area the Entente had gained the upper hand. HMS Falmouth and Yarmouth had caught Saida and two of the torpedo boats. In a furious action Saida was pounded to ruin and left sinking, along with one of the Torpedo Boats, while the other was driven off badly damaged. Falmouth had serious damage forward, and was retiring to the SW while Yarmouth had came about and after gathering in a trio of destroyers had set about to neutralize the remaining Austrian torpedo boats.
The battle was moving into its final stages as the seriously wounded Lapeyrere was carried from the wreckage of France’s bridge to the dubious shelter of the starboard quarter of the battleship. In spite of his protestations a surgeon was tending to his wounds as the Austrian shells continued to strike home. It was at this point with all hope lost that a cry went up as men pointed to the south.
Through the swirling smoke and haze of battle was the unmistakable shape of British battleships steaming hard from the south, Craddock had arrived.
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The sight that was laid out before Craddock was unbelievable. Even at a distance of 17,000 yards the dirty gouts of flame and smoke could be seen rising from Lapeyrere’s battered flagship as it seemed hardly to be making way. Further off another dreadnought was seen to point its bows to the sky as it gave up the fight. Beyond that a shadowy shape identified more by the flash of its guns firing was all that could be seen of the French squadron.
After a quick analysis, Craddock altered course slightly to port to clear his squadron’s broadsides and at a speed of 19 knots headed for the sounds of the guns.
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Hoth at this point had just called for a cease fire on MN France as it was noted that the ship was sinking as her surviving crew went over the side. The second French dreadnought had succumbed to her damage shortly before, leaving only a battered Danton class battleship, which was now being engaged by Prinz Eugen as the shattered Radetsky limped off to the NW.
From his position Hoth could not see the last struggle between the French Mirabeau and the two old battleships at the end of the Austrian line. Mirabeau was in a sorry state from her assailants, but she had not been bettered by her foes. The Austrian battleship Arpad was even now being abandoned by her crew as the Hapsburg limped off to the north, and out of the range of Mirabeau’s remaining guns.
Mirabeau was in no shape to pursue the fleeing Hapsburg, instead concentrating on efforts to save herself from her damages.
Hoth was for a moment contented with his apparent victory over the French. As he brought his flagship around to rejoin with Prinz Eugen in finishing off the stubborn Diderot he was feeling somewhat relieved by the fact that to his knowledge at that point a good portion of his fleet had survived, and while the survivors were damaged, the fleet of Austria-Hungary would remain as a potent force to be reckoned with.
But it was at that moment when he was just beginning to appreciate his victory when a look out called out a report of unknown ships approaching from the south. In the first instance he took them to be the missing French armoured cruisers, but that thought soon fell away as the seas to the south of his flagship erupted into a half dozen towering waterspouts as the first British shells landed.
As the great forward turrets began to swing out to port he looked out to the south at the unmistakeable shape of the heavy Royal Navy tripod masts just as the British battleships fired again. As the first salvo roared out of Teggethoff’s forward turrets, Hoth felt weak as he realized his victory was about to be taken from him. Ordering an immediate change of course to the NNW he had a signal sent to Prinz Eugen to rejoin and retire.
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But even as the Austrians attempted to break off, Craddock held on. His ship’s gunnery lessened noticeably as Hoth disappeared for almost twenty minutes behing the smoke and haze of the scattered sinking and damaged ships that scattered the area. But HMS Yarmouth had spotted the retiring Austrians and had held on to them, reporting their position course and bearing to any who could hear.
Craddock had came out into clear air with the two Austrian dreadnoughts some 15,000 yards to his NE and had resumed fire in earnest with his ship’s heavy 12” guns. The 9.2” secondary’s of HMS Lord Nelson and HMS Agamemnon were busy with the hapless Hapsburg which was much closer. A few salvoes was all it took before Hapsburg fell over to starboard and capsized.
Craddock continued on after Hoth overtaking the damaged Austrian battleships steadily. Prinz Eugen was lagging back a little farther all the time as the cumulative damage and flooding from the battle with the French began to effect her. As the range lessened the British gunnery became more accurate and more damage afflicted the limping Prinz Eugen. A 12’ shell from Agamemnon struck the barbette just below the gear ring on her last operating turret aft and dismounted the race, jamming the great triple turret in train. More shells struck home amidships, fouling the last of the intake ventilators and slowing her further.
Seeing that Prinz Eugen was crippled and falling back more Craddock sent a signal to Captain Pound in HMS Colossus telling him that Lord Nelson and Agamemnon would deal with the nearer target and instructing Colossus to pursue the leading vessel. Captain Pound ordered up full revolutions and the dreadnought’s black gang responded admirably as Colossus worked up to 22 knots as she set off in pursuit of Teggetthoff.
Prinz Eugen offered up a stout defence, landing seven solid hits on Lord Nelson but the return fire of the two British battleships soon marked her down, and as the range closed to just under 10,000 yards Prinz Eugen’s bows dropped beneath the waves as she began to settle to starboard. As her forward momentum carried her bow deeper the battered ship gracefully rolled over on her beam ends then in a grumble of steam and escaping air slid into the deep.
HMS Colossus in the mean time was trading blows with Teggetthoff as the British battleship closed for the kill. But while the fate of the Austrian battleship was clearly decided the final action was in no way one sided. The surviving Austrian gunners were stalwart to the end and dealt heavy blows on their assailant before finally being silenced. When Teggetthoff was finally finished and sinking, Pound’s command had been seriously damaged.
With two boiler rooms flooded, A turbine damaged and A and Q turret knocked out, along with other damage, Colossus would be needing a long stay in British dock yards to effect repairs.
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As the sun began to set the various survivors began to attempt to struggle home. For some it would be a valiant struggle against the odds, while for others it would be not so fortunate.
Of the French battleships, only the lucky Diderot would eventually arrive back at Toulon after a stay in Malta to effect rudimentary reinforcement for the longer leg of the journey back to France. The armoured cruiser Jules Ferry would accompany her as well, along with the survivors of the Straits of Otranto Debacle. Three French destroyers would survive as well.
Admiral Lapeyrere would survive but due to the extent of his injuries he would not serve at sea again in a battle squadron.
British losses were held to three destroyers, with another pair seriously damaged. The light cruiser Falmouth would make her way back to Malta, before heading back to Britain for a proper rebuild. Lord Nelson would return to England as well for repairs. HMS Colossus would limp back to Malta, only surviving due to the determined efforts of her captain and crew who battled flooding and seepage all the way back. After a month in His Majesty’s dockyard there she was deemed worthy enough for the voyage back to Britain for proper repairs. She would not rejoin the Grand Fleet until late May of 1915.
For the Austrians the it was heart wrenching. The light Cruiser Helgo land was the first survivor of the battle to limp in, accompanied by a pair of torpedo boats. Sankt Georg arrived a few hours later. The armoured cruiser Kaiser Karl VI made it back as far as Split before finally sinking just off the port.
The last ships to arrive at Pola were the battleships Radetzky and Ferdinand Max which arrived close to noon the following day, along with another torpedo boat.
While the British had gathered a few survivors from the Teggetthoff, Admiral Hoth was not among them, nor was he found by the collection of smaller civilian vessels which scoured the battle area over the next few days.
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sharlin
Banned
A bloody and bruising encounter but one that is very decisive, whilst the Marine Nationale has been gutted in terms of capital ships the Austro-Hungarian fleet has ceased to exist outside of small combattants and maybe the odd survivor from this battle, ending the threat of any AH fleet and probably making the indecisive italians think about swapping sides to the Ente to take advantage of their traditional enemy the AH Empire.
Great writing, great action and a great update!
Great writing, great action and a great update!
Bloody hell that a lot of corpse's for the fish to feed on. Just wish there was a few more of the RN bastards among them. Anyhows very well explained and excellent battle I wonder will historions in the future realise how much of this victory was due to the french holding on and taking the sting out of the A-H fleet as it was due to any particular excellence on the part of the RN. Whatever happens Perky50 Please keep up this excellent TL.
Just wish there was a few more of the RN bastards among them. Anyhows very well explained and excellent battle I wonder will historions in the future realise how much of this victory was due to the french holding on and taking the sting out of the A-H fleet as it was due to any particular excellence on the part of the RN. Whatever happens Perky50 Please keep up this excellent TL.Bloody hell that a lot of corpse's for the fish to feed on.
What is your problem with the Royal Navy?
Sorry I apologise If I come across as hating anyone in particular. Just the RN pre 1939, Nazis and sometimes myself. No offense was ment to anyone on this Board.
Good morning,
The battle has left the Austrian fleet gutted, and the French have had the heart of their fleet cut out as well. The RN has taken a double hit and while their losses are no where near as drastic as those taken by the others, the impact of the French losses in combination a probable need to redeploy units to the Med will have a major impact on on the numbers count in the North Sea.
The Italians have suddenly found themselves with the largest fleet in the Med and this will cause major concerns for the other three parties in the region as a result until such a time as Italy decides which way it will go, if any.
There will of course be other variables which will spin off from these encounters, ranging from how Entente support for Serbia and their dealings with The Balkan League, to submarine and mine warfare and efforts to curtail them.
I will have another post (or maybe two) on the Mediterranean, then i will be switching over to deal with the Far East, The North Sea, and Cruiser operations to bring them up to date before finishing out 1914.
... oh yes, dread naught, Micheal .... the RN will take its knocks in due course. There'll be a lot of bloody noses to come and the Gallant lads of the RN will have their share.
The battle has left the Austrian fleet gutted, and the French have had the heart of their fleet cut out as well. The RN has taken a double hit and while their losses are no where near as drastic as those taken by the others, the impact of the French losses in combination a probable need to redeploy units to the Med will have a major impact on on the numbers count in the North Sea.
The Italians have suddenly found themselves with the largest fleet in the Med and this will cause major concerns for the other three parties in the region as a result until such a time as Italy decides which way it will go, if any.
There will of course be other variables which will spin off from these encounters, ranging from how Entente support for Serbia and their dealings with The Balkan League, to submarine and mine warfare and efforts to curtail them.
I will have another post (or maybe two) on the Mediterranean, then i will be switching over to deal with the Far East, The North Sea, and Cruiser operations to bring them up to date before finishing out 1914.
... oh yes, dread naught, Micheal .... the RN will take its knocks in due course. There'll be a lot of bloody noses to come and the Gallant lads of the RN will have their share.
Hi Shar,
I'm thinking the French just have two Danton's left. as well as a single dreadnought at this point, I'll have to check back for certain, But Condercet, Mirabeau, Danton , and Voltaire are already lost if I my memory serves me correctly ... I may have Voltaire mixed up with Vergniaud .
the French still have a sizable amount of older vessels, but they'll need to be bolstered by elements of the RN until Italian intents become clearer
I'm thinking the French just have two Danton's left. as well as a single dreadnought at this point, I'll have to check back for certain, But Condercet, Mirabeau, Danton , and Voltaire are already lost if I my memory serves me correctly ... I may have Voltaire mixed up with Vergniaud .
the French still have a sizable amount of older vessels, but they'll need to be bolstered by elements of the RN until Italian intents become clearer
Derek Pullem
Donor
Situation normal for anyone from the South if I'm not mistaken (and no I'm not talking Confederacy)
