Page - 261 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

Fleet in Being 261 which the fourth, the Szent István, was however only due for completion in 1915, were warships of a highly impressive size, and with equally impressive armaments. Weighing 20,000 tonnes, with belt armour 280 mm thick and 44 guns, of which twelve were 30.5 cm cannon, they were comparable to the best formations in the Mediterranean. To the warship fleet, which was divided into two squadrons with two divisions each, were added the cruiser flotilla with six ships, two torpedo flotillas with 48 ships, as well as the supply ships, the formations designed for the defence of coastal zones and for the local defence, for example of the naval base at Pula (Pola), six submarines, and much more. Austria-Hungary’s Navy, which ranked among the world’s largest, totalled over 200 formations, when all training ships, auxiliary ships and hulks (but not the Danube Flotilla) were taken into account, with a personnel of officers and crew of over 40,000 men. These were supplemented by the facilities on land, the coastal batteries, naval avi- ation, radio and signalling stations, the personnel in the naval base areas and others. In short : Austria-Hungary had a more than respectable navy. The entry by France and Britain into the war and the Italian neutrality had however altered the situation from the ground up in July 1914, since without the Italians, Aus- tria-Hungary’s navy was significantly inferior to that of the Franco-British forces. This also put paid to all plans that had the goal of uniting the Austro-Hungarian, Italian and German Mediterranean forces into a single fleet, which was to be commanded by the Austro-Hungarian Commander of the Fleet, Admiral Anton Haus. Instead, Haus, as Commander of the Imperial and Royal Fleet, was able only to present a ‘fleet in being’, to make threats and to protect the Adriatic coast. This reticence was felt first in Germany, where there was no understanding whatso- ever for such an attitude. At the start of the war, the German Navy had the battle cruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau in the Mediterranean. The Goeben had departed from Pula and reached Messina on 2 August, where the naval forces of the Triple Alli- ance were to gather. Instead, the Germans learned that Italy had declared its neutrality. As if that were not enough, British and French fleet units began to hunt down the two German ships. The commander of the Goeben sought support from the Imperial and Royal naval forces. Admiral Haus was unable to provide it, since Austria-Hungary was at that time not yet at war with France and Great Britain. Additionally, the main Austrian force was gathered in Pula and was therefore at a far greater distance from the two German ships than the British and French. Haus therefore advised the Germans to seek refuge in the Adriatic, and sent an imposing force to meet them, consisting of the three dreadnoughts from the 1st Battleship Division, three further warships, eight cruisers and destroyers and 13 torpedo boats. However, while the Imperial and Royal Navy was still steaming southwards through the Adriatic, the Germans had decided differently and steered their two ships towards Turkish waters. They suggested that the Austrians should follow them, possibly also to enter the Black Sea and as such to