Chapter 11 - Reconquest
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The harbour-town of Arba
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Reconquest
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The harbour-town of Arba
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Reconquest
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The intervening days between the Battle of Zara and the final clash of the Istrian War were rife with military preparation, diplomatic manoeuvring and commercial competition.
Perhaps the most significant event that took place during that time was the signing of a treaty of perpetual alliance between Zara and Ancona on the 18th of March. The final document (written in Latin, Dalmatian and Anconetan Italian[1]) bound the two cities together as economic and military partners, a relationship which endured far into both cities’ futures. For Zara the agreement was important for many reasons – not only to ensure aid in the ongoing struggle with Venice, but also to act as an external ‘buttress’ to Zaratin pre-eminence in the Dalmatian League. Even at this early stage, the divisions within Dalmatia that later brought about great discord were already developing
Elsewhere, preparations for the liberation of the northern islands were underway. At Arba the Dalmatian fleet reassembled and rallied, presided over by the reinstalled Arban Comes and the Zaratin naval commanders; Berto Matafarri and Zuane Zorzi (later a man of some renown).
On the Venetian side, the remnant of the Grand Fleet was concentrated at Pola. Tasked with defending Crepsa and Veglia, the plan was to hold back the main body of the fleet whilst scouting vessels were left to keep watch over the isles. When an enemy force was sighted, the intention was to mass the Venetian ships for an engagement and then inflict a defeat on the enemy in pitched battle. In Istria, there were proposals for an offensive towards Fiume in the Duchy of Merania, with the intention of securing its harbour as a forward base to ensure the retention of Veglia, and perhaps retake Arba. Ultimately, however, such plans were abandoned due to a lack of sufficient naval support and the risk of inciting stronger Hungarian intervention, or even a response from one of the Imperial claimants.
The final confrontation of the Istrian War was the Battle of Veglia, which began on the 20th of March 1203. In purely aesthetic terms it outmatched even the Battle of Zara, and has consequently been the subject of a far greater number of artistic pieces. The remnants of the Grand Fleet and as many other ships as the Venetians could muster were arrayed in the defence of the city of Veglia, from which the isle gained its name. Over thirty warships in total were assembled by the Republic, which set forth on the 18th once the approaching Dalmatian fleet was sighted. Enrico Dandolo had also seized many merchant ships, loading them with mercenary sailors and survivors of lost vessels. Present too were impressed sailors from Istria; some forced to fight for Venice, others who found Venetian rule preferable to the Aquileian alternative.
Against Venice lay the combined Dalmatian fleet, which made up the largest portion of their force. Attached to it were ships of Genoa, Pisa, Gaeta and Ancona – few in number, but testament to the tacit support the merchant republics had lent to the League. There was even a contingent from Sebenico[2], under the command of their Comes, Domald of Sidraga[3]. However, in battle on the open seas, the larger and more deadly Venetian galleys held the advantage over the lighter, smaller Dalmatian vessels.
Reports concerning the course of the Battle of Veglia are confused and contradictory. The events of that day are impossible to define without fault, primarily due to the close-packed, chaotic nature of the sea-battle. Few details are thought to have been preserved correctly by contemporary historians.
It is known, however, that the Venetians were the first to act. As dawn broke on the morning of the 20th, Dalmatian lookouts espied the Venetians advancing with full sails towards their fleet. They swiftly roused their compatriots with horns, and arrayed themselves for battle.
Pro-Venetian historians, such as Tobias Gruber[4] of Vienna, claim that the Venetians carved a swathe of destruction through the ranks of Dalmatian and allied ships, almost severing the enemy force in two. Pro-Zaratin scholars contrastingly maintain that the Venetian 'wedge' shattered against the resistance put up by the Dalmatians. The truth likely lies somewhere in between. Whatever the case, the battle was not one of motion and deception as the Battle of Zara had been. Rather, it was one of attrition and heavy casualties.
When the smoke finally cleared, very late into the afternoon, the Dalmatians emerged as the victors – but only just. The Grand Fleet had suffered enormous damage, with its remnants fleeing to Pola once their position became untenable. But they had inflicted losses on the Zaratins nigh on as devastating as their own. Though the Venetians were forced to abandon Veglia and, on the 23rd of March, Crepsa, the battle was without doubt a pyrrhic victory. Nor, incidentally, was Venice crippled. The Republic, though it had suffered severe losses to its fleet, remained in a stronger position than it had before the Crusade with its new holdings in Istria.
Neither Venice nor Zara had anything left to give. Without sufficient strength on either side to press an offensive, the war quickly dissolved into a stalemate. On the 6th of April, it was agreed that a treaty of peace would be signed in Venetian-held Pola, Istria.
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Extract from: Great Battles and How They Changed the World
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Footnotes:
[1] Anconetan Italian is the dialect of Italian spoken in Ancona and the surrounding region.
[2] Sebenico is the Italian form of OTL Šibenik. Sebenico was in 1203 a city of Croats, but had been 'Dalmatianised' to some extent, with its governing elite using the Dalmatian language and the city adopting much of Dalmatian Roman law. In 1203 Domald of Sidraga was Comes of the city.
[3] Domald will show up later - he was an ambitious and powerful Croat-Dalmatian nobleman OTL who held the comital title in many Dalmatian cities and Croatian counties (Sidraga was one of the latter).
[4] Gruber is entirely fictional. I threw him in to emphasise the ambiguity of events and different interpretations of the Battle of Veglia.
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Hope that was a good read. It was a challenge to write; I had to make some pretty heavy edits from the last incarnation of the TL, and the unreasonably warm temperatures in England right now aren't helping me focus. Next up, we'll be looking at the peace treaty and the impact the war had on the wider neighbourhood.
I'm not sure when the next update will be out - most likely Tuesday because my fingers still haven't healed. Feel free to comment and discuss in the meantime - I always try to respond to comments if they seem to be directed at me or to all readers.
See you in the next one!
- Iluvatar
